Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s a silent and peaceful night on the highway. A blanket of clouds rolls over the sky, occasionally breaking to reveal stars. A lone truck full of band equipment makes its way back home, battered and bruised. It is barely holding on, hitting potholes left and right, which only frustrates its driver more.
Sid taps the wheel of his truck nervously, trying to keep himself awake. He catches a glimpse of himself in the rear view mirror; his roots are creeping in on his green hair, but, most importantly, he looks exhausted. Party exhausted. Sex exhausted. Alcohol exhausted. So exhausted.

It’s not his fault he had to leave so suddenly. The last person that let Sid crash on their couch ended up fucking him over. Now he’s got little to no money, and is driving while on 3 hours of sleep.
He had to go back at some point, anyway. All his stuff is there. He loved getting away from that shithole town, though. ‘’No respect for real music, like mine,’’ he thought, squaring off his shoulders.

Who would’ve guessed the life of an up and coming punk rocker would take a lot of time, effort, and money? Certainly not Sid. It's easier to rile up a crowd when you’re in a small town where nothing happens. In a city, you get lost in the shuffle, where you’re one in a sea of million up and coming musicians, all competing for the love and admiration of the crowd. You have to put on the show of a lifetime, almost every night, for 2 weeks straight.

‘’Can’t these fucks realize the raw skill and talent that my band is made of?’’ Sid thought as he gritted his teeth.
His drummer left immediately after his gig was over, leaving Sid to do whatever he wanted with his measly earnings. For better or for worse, he did do whatever he wanted. Whether it was getting into fights with patrons of the bar at his third show, or ending up in a stranger’s bed after a generous amount of drinks at his fifth, it was all a sign of victory for Sid. The people both loved and hated him, and that meant success. It was almost impossible to keep up the typical rocker lifestyle, but he’d also never felt so alive.

Maybe this was why he stayed out of town for so long. A whole month away when it only should’ve lasted 2 weeks. It was just too addicting. No one in his boring small town would give him the time of day like this, they all think he’s a fuckup.
Sid gripped the steering wheel harder.
He needed to focus on not falling asleep at the wheel. No way a punk like him would be found dead by the side of the road in a shit truck. Not enough glory and spectacle in that death. What would his fans think of him when he’ll be dead and gone? Maybe his music will get up in value, a cult indie classic, that you just had to be there for. Success, either way.

Street lights illuminate the way as he returns home.
Well, it's barely a home, Sid thinks. But, it’s all he’s got, before he finally leaves it for good. There’s no one waiting for him there, so what?
God, he needs to sleep. His mind has been running in circles.

Sid parks next to his apartment. He stumbles out, his vision having a hard time getting a grip. The horizon line feels like it's doing cartwheels. Stairs, more stairs. He fumbles for his keys, as he’s somehow already at his door. It clicks in, thank god, it's still his keys. With a sigh of relief, Sid steps into his apartment.

The first thing that hits him is what he feels under his boot - letters. He picks them as he falls onto his couch. It creaks under his weight. He pulls the cord and the coffee table lamp lights up. The warm glow barely reaches him.
He starts swiping through the letters. Bills. Rent. Ads. More of the same. The flurry of paper makes his eyes blur.

Sid throws the pile of paper in defeat and takes out his phone, instead. Missed calls upon missed calls. Scams. People he owes money to. Always more of the same.

Then, a stop. A blink and you’ll miss it - missed calls from Dex.

Sid’s eyebrows furrowed. Dex? Why?

His eyes fall again onto the pile of letters at his side.

Hidden between the water bill and electricity bill, there it was - a letter from Dex.

Someone did miss him, after all.

Sid’s sleep deprived brain buffers for a second. In a sort of mechanical motion, he picks up the letter. His eyes finally come into focus on its surface - it's from about 2 weeks ago. When Sid said he was supposed to come back. He snaps out of his trance and scoffs in disbelief.

‘’Oh, great. This is who missed me’’, he seems to complain to his wall.

One would think this would be the time to throw both the letter and his phone and go off to sleep. Especially since Sid seems to care so little.
But, then again, he makes no effort to move away from that letter, or even his phone. There’s a moment of hesitation, of whether or not to stick to the ‘’lack of care’’ type coolness he’s so known for.

Well, he’s completely alone, in his own apartment. No one would know.

With the same amount of anxiety and fear as a teenager trying to sneak alcohol out of a convenience store, Sid goes through the voicemails Dex has left him. The letter’s not going anywhere anytime soon, though, safe in his grip.

Dex’s voice comes through as he presses to hear the voicemail. It crackles every now and again, distorted by the less than ideal phone quality. It is flawed, but Sid’s attention could not be drawn to anything else in his room.

‘’Just a uh, a quick check-in. How was the tour…?’’ Beep.

‘’Hey, I noticed you didn’t reply to the other call… everything okay?’’ Beep.

‘’Look, Sid, I was just… I’m a little worried. Usually you drop by to say hello - or well - you usually drop by to annoy me into making a new guitar! Not that… oh I didn’t mean to make it sound like-’’ Beep.

‘’Sid, I’m sorry if I’m bothering you or anything like that… just a quick call back, you know? … Goes a long way…’’ Beep.

He listens to all of them. Agonizingly. Occasionally groaning and rolling his eyes, again, to no one in particular. Everything in the room feels heavier than it should be. Every message hits him in waves.
Sid realizes he’s been nervously scratching at the letter, and stops himself.

No voicemails left.

After a few moments of staring at the ground, he perks up.

‘’I don't owe this guy anything’’, Sid spits out. It comes out of him like a bitter rebuttal to whatever he was feeling. He clenches the letter in his hands, clammy now.
He was out on a kickass tour, made a bunch of friends and had new groundbreaking experiences. Who does Dex think he is - his lap dog? Doesn’t he have anyone else to bother with this? Friends? A girlfriend? There’s no reason for him to be this fucking worried about him.

Fuck this. He needs to sleep. This was a waste of time.

Sid throws his phone next to the letter on the couch. There’s no will in him to get up to go lay down in his room - couch it is. No reason to get dressed down either. Sid lays down onto his back, throwing a dirty blanket over himself.

Sleep doesn’t come easily, or even at all.

He’s back home, and someone noticed he had gone.

That doesn’t sit right with Sid.

Soft orange light peeks through Sid’s window and seeps into his living room. A stray beam of sunlight hits him in the eyes and forces him to wake up. The couch makes the same agonizing noises that Sid makes as he shifts himself awake.
Everything’s quiet. He’s back in his own business, but that doesn’t feel as welcoming as it should.
He groggily props himself up unto his elbow, and notices the crumpled letter underneath him. It’s still Dex’s letter.

Everything from last night hits him at once.
Right, Dex. Might as well go say hi, not like can do anything else in this state, beaten down and barely awake. It might also make Dex less worried about him, and, hopefully, let him live his fucking life, Sid thought.

Why was Dex that worried about him, anyway? Did he also think that Sid would be found dead in a ditch on the side of a highway?
Sid’s already given this too much thought, he realizes. Dex might just be bored, or he needs him for something. It’s not that complicated.

While groaning with pain, Sid gets up from his mess of a couch. Looks like his hungover caught up to him. He makes his way to his door, not forgetting to pick up his keys on the way.
However, in his haze, he doesn’t notice what passes under his boot as he exits - Dex’s letter, now trampled.

Sid knows this by heart, it’s second nature. Go down this road, take a left, then pass through that alleyway, walk into that guy’s driveway as a shortcut, and you’re basically there - Dex’s house.

As he steps up to his door, he knocks a familiar tune. Sid takes a moment as he waits for an answer, thinking it might've been a good idea to check in a mirror before this. Then again, he hadn’t been paying attention to his looks up until very recently. There was no time to stop and rest in all those weeks, he had other things to do. He probably smells a little funny, these are the same clothes he’s been wearing for 2 days. Oh, right, and his roots have been showing, his eye bags, too.
So much for wanting to make Dex less anxious, he looks like a walking corpse.

Muffled sounds of steps approaching the door make him stand at attention. A turn, a click, and the door opens.

Dex stands there, caught by surprise. There’s a bit more scruff on his cheeks, and at the top of his lip. He’s in his usual lab coat, although this is a Star Trek shirt he hadn’t seen before. Still nerdy.
Dex’s face goes through so many changes in so little time; bafflement, concern, excitement, and more that Sid didn’t have time to catch.

With all the bravado he can muster, Sid says:

‘’Hey.’’

Which leaves room for, quite literally, anything. Dex is still stumbling over himself, but finally manages to say:

‘’Hey, Sid.’’

There’s a pang of bitterness in there, which Sid completely misses and or ignores as he lets himself in Dex’s house.
Dex closes the door behind the both of them, reluctantly letting Sid in.

Chapter Text

Dex leads Sid down into his basement, occasionally checking over his shoulder. A walking corpse follows him along. It’s a strange feeling to see him back again. Why wasn’t he back sooner? Did he do something wrong? Frankly, Sid’s absence had been eating away at him.
He would laugh at him if he ever admitted that, Dex knows that much is true. Sid’s never been the ‘’genuine’’ type. He says that’s for girls.

To ignore the sweat starting to form on the back of his neck, and to break the silence, Sid asks;

‘’Worked on any new rad stuff while I was outta town? New guitar, maybe?’’

The floor creaks under both of their weights as they make their way towards Dex’s working - and also living - space. Dex scratches at his chin scruff nervously. As he’s about to answer, Sid continues;

‘’Mine’s a bit fucked ‘cause y’know… the tour and all…’’ , his sentence trails off and ends with a chuckle.

Dex lets out a chuckle as well and picks up where Sid left, ‘’Right, you must’ve smashed it at the end of your last show. Gotta give the people what they want, huh?’’

His mind starts to wander as he imagines Sid up on stage, full of adrenaline and completely in his element, deciding to unleash the finale of a lifetime by breaking the guitar in half. Not just any guitar, the guitar Dex made for him. Pieces fly everywhere, the crowd goes wild.

What a sight that would've been.

Oh, what a sight that could’ve been.

The guitar instead met its end at the hands of a pissed off drunk, who was unimpressed by Sid’s punk rock performance. Not punk enough? Not rock enough? Not enough? Who knows.
Either way, it crumpled to bits unceremoniously in the back alley of a poorly lit venue, and Sid was the one left to pick up the scraps.

Sid pushes past the memory and instead answers with;

‘’Yeah, should’ve been there to see it. Most punk shit you’d ever seen, bar none!’’

As he does, he punches Dex affectionately in the shoulder and smiles. Dex blurts out something halfway between a sound of pain and laughter.

It feels like Sid never left.

But he did. For a whole month.

Dex is violently taken out of his reverie for a moment. They’re just back to normal, now? Like nothing happened? Sid had his little side adventure and now he’s ready to be his friend again?

Wait. Thinking this through a bit more, Sid usually comes by when he needs something from him. He's already asking for a new guitar, right when he’s back from his tour. He’s not even bothering with a pretext this time.

By that reasoning, Sid’s going to leave, again. He’s going to leave him, again.

Dex has gotten used to Sid’s selfishness, but this feels a lot more personal.
He can’t just leave. Not right away. They haven’t even caught up yet. Dex just needs to keep him here, just a tiny bit longer. Just one day, even. Just a little time.

Now it’s Dex’s turn to find a pretext.

‘’Oh, Sid!’’ Dex exclaims, putting on his best acting voice. He slaps himself on the forehead, comically, ‘’I just realized, I need some parts for… a side project of mine!’’

Sid’s eyebrows furrow. He smirks, while rolling his eyes. This dork. He needs him for something. Totally called it. He’s not mad about it, though, surprisingly.

‘’Of course you do, mate. Couldn’t get someone else to carry around all that shit like your personal mule while I was busy, huh?’’

Oh. Dex starts to second guess his idea. He’s doing exactly what he was scared Sid would do: asking him for things. Should he have just asked to hang out? Too obvious? Too clingy? Oh, is he being too clingy, again?

‘’Stop biting your nails, you sissy. I’ll do it. Not like I got anything else going on.’’ He adjusts his leather jacket, looking anywhere but Dex’s face. Still cool.

Dex hadn’t even noticed he started to spiral. Sid always does though, as he’s quick to remind him.

‘’Well, good.’’ Dex smiles, sheepishly, looking directly at Sid’s face.

Then, he focuses back. Right, not too soft. Sid left, and he will leave. He doesn’t care. Dex steels himself. Don’t overdo it. This is what drove him away in the first place.

‘’I just need to get my backpack from my… oh where did I leave it. Wait here, one second.’’ Before Sid can get a word in, Dex scurries off into his workshop.

Now left alone, Sid can get a glimpse into Dex’s life.
This basement has basically been turned into an apartment. The ‘’living room’’ area also doubles as a ‘’kitchen’’ area. In other words, there’s a folding table with a microwave and a cheap coffee maker on it, right next to a couch that’s drowning in pillows and blankets. Many empty cups lay around on every flat surface available, as well as many VHS tapes spilling out of the cabinet below the TV. There’s a couple of magazines and books too, nothing of interest for Sid, though.
It’s a huge mess. Normally this would make Sid laugh; Dex has told him before that his own apartment was a mess, but this? It’s more pitiful than anything.

‘’Okay! I think I got everything…’’ Dex walks out with his backpack, suddenly noticing Sid’s eyes wander around his room. He stops himself short, starting to fidget with his lab coat. He’s not supposed to see this, see him like this.

Sid tries to not let his concern show, that wouldn’t be his style. ‘’Took you long enough. Can we go, now?’’

Dex nods silently, shooting one last glance at his basement before going upstairs. Sid follows, not too far behind.

Just like old times, isn’t it? Going on an adventure together, on the outskirts of town. Sid’s car was still too full of band equipment, so they decided to walk there, to Dex’s relief. Any bit of time matters.
Thankfully, it's springtime. It’s just starting to get warm, and while the ground might be a bit muddy and wet, the weather itself is comfortable. A road full of potholes with bursts of grass and dandelions stretches out in front of them. Otherwise, it's flat and green as far as the eye can see, with a few patches of trees here and there.

Sid’s legs hurt like hell. That tour was like running a marathon 3 times over on his body. Dex is adjusting to being out of his basement, squinting at the sunlight. At least the trek itself isn’t complicated.

‘’So Sid, how was the tour? I guess I hadn’t asked yet.’’ Dex asks as he tries to remain aloof.

Frustration overtakes Sid. Why is he going along with this, anyway? This was supposed to just be a quick check-in, and then he’d go back to his apartment, and then he’d… something. Sleep, probably. A long sleep. This was a mistake.

Sid blows up. ‘’If you’re so fucking interested in my tour why didn’t you come to it? Too busy with your little projects? Or are you too fucking squeamish to go to a real ass punk rock show?’’

Dex turns around to face Sid, confused. ‘’You told me not to! I wanted to come along and you told me to back off and…and stay in my own business! Do you not…?’’

Sid pauses, taken aback. That doesn’t sound like something he would say. His jaw tightens.

‘’I don’t remember that.’’ Sid says softly.

Dex grips his own wrist, massaging his palm. He looks down to the ground with a sigh, his shoulders slumped. ‘’Oh, so you forgot.’’
Dex lets out a bitter chuckle. ‘’I guess you were pretty drunk at the time. That explains it.’’

Now, that does sound like something he would say while drunk, and then try to forget.

‘’Well, maybe I was.’’ Sid snarls. ‘’Point is; my tour went fucking great. If you wanted to hear more, you shoulda just been there. You’re your own man, mate, who cares if I said not to? You should know by now not to listen to me. I’m nonsense.’’

Dex leans over to Sid, his expression stuck between hurt and concern. Sid avoids his gaze.

‘’Just stand up for yourself every once in a while, geez.’’ He smiles as he tussles Dex’s hair to make his half-hearted attempt at comforting him pass better. It doesn’t work.

Dex reluctantly lets the subject of the tour go, at least for the time being. The spring breeze whistles past their ears, occasionally. Maybe a bird or two passes overhead, but the rest of their walk is quiet and uneventful.

Finally, they arrive at their destination; the junkyard. Shades of rusted metal litter every pile of junk. Automobile carcasses are stacked up in rows, all picked clean. Washing machines with their lids missing, CRT TVs with smashed screens, you name it. Walking around this place is hazards upon hazards. Merely looking at all that scrap could give you tetanus.
Which is why it’s the perfect place to find spare parts: nobody goes here. Well, apart from a few teenagers who want to makeout in peace, or weirdos, like Sid and Dex.
Dex doesn’t find everything he needs here, the nuclear waste dump is farther out. A lot of the smaller scale stuff, like electronics, can be found in the warehouse that sits towards the back end of the junkyard. It has shelves upon shelves filled to the brim with cardboard boxes.
This whole thing is a maze. Thankfully, Dex has gone through the junkyard to categorize its areas, to see which piles contain which scrap, like the nerd he is. That was a boring week, that Sid was unfortunately there for.
If push comes to shove, though, Dex will actually buy the stuff he needs. Sid accuses him of being a cheap bastard, and Dex defends himself by saying he’s just recycling.

Dex is quick on his feet, his clipboard already in hand. All the parts he needs are written down, he just has to find the stuff.
Sid follows close behind like an old clueless dog, occasionally yawning and looking around, disinterested.

Noticing how boring Sid is finding this, Dex has another idea.

‘’You know, Sid, I think this would go faster if I split my workload.’’ An obvious lie. This would go twice, if not thrice, as slow. Sid hasn’t even had a passing glance at his sorting system. This is to give him something to do.

‘’You go look for these components.’’
Before Sid has even time to complain, Dex rummages through his backpack and pulls out a notepad. With lightning fast efficiency, he scribbles in pen a few of the parts he needs and rips off the page. He holds it out, barely making eye contact.

Sid begrudgingly snaps it out of his hand. The handwriting is downright awful. He bites his tongue to not outright groan at the list before him. He can already imagine his slog of an afternoon, having to find parts on his own.

‘’While I…’’ Dex writes up his own little list and tucks the pen back in his lab coat’s breast pocket. ‘’Go look for the more… ‘’complicated’’ modules.’’ Dex cannot contain his smug grin.
This is his definition of fun, much to Sid’s chagrin.

‘’Fine. No promises, though, got it?’’ Sid waves the yellowed paper in his hand as he leaves.

Dex can’t help but roll his eyes. ‘’Got it.’’ He nods, also turning away.

Finally, a distraction.

Chapter Text

The day turns to afternoon as the two of them continue to search. Sid has barely looked at the list Dex gave him, deciding instead to look for cool band equipment, maybe a motorcycle. That idea quickly falls apart, as Sid is reminded why it’s called a ‘’junk’’ yard. None of this is usable. It certainly is fixable, but there’s no way he’s fixing that on his own.
There’s always just giving it to Dex, but he quickly brushes past that thought.

Sid leans over on a car, taking a break. He looks like a lizard, sunbathing. On top of not having slept that long, he’s also dehydrated. This whole junkyard thing is slowly killing him.
He turns his head lazily and stops as he catches his reflection in the car’s smashed rear view mirror. He teeters forward, his head leading the way like it’s filled with lead. The afternoon sun hits the broken glass, making half of his reflection unrecognizable. The way the shards of glass are arranged makes him look askew. Wrong. His leather jacket feels a size larger than it should, shrinking him into his stained white t-shirt. He adjusts his clothes, feeling the painful hickeys that litter his skin underneath.

Chin up, superstar. Isn’t this what you wanted?

He should leave. How many times has he said that already? His feet refuse to obey, anchoring him to the ground. It feels like the junkyard itself is taunting him. Come, stay, watch yourself waste away under the burning sun.
Sid tears himself away from the rear view mirror, taking a step backward. He finally wills his legs to move. Away. Literally anywhere else. He needs to be anywhere else. Why is he here? Where is Dex? He must be around, right?

Dirt paths cluttered with metal pipes and rusty nails twist and turn before him. His legs pick up the pace before his brain does. He’s on autopilot again. He feels feverish. In the dead air of the junkyard, there is only the sound of his feet kicking up dirt. He needs to go. He needs to leave. He needs…

Dex is having trouble finding the parts he needs. His gloved hands push and pull, digging through tons of trash. Just more trash. The whole landscape is just trash. Mountains of it. Insurmountable.
Metal clangs against metal. More pieces are pushed away and land on the ground. Crashing with loud thuds for hours on end. No, not what he’s looking for.
Still not there. His hair and glasses are full of dust now. Drag. Throw. Faster and faster, as his searching turns frantic.

Sid skids to a halt. Wait. The sound of metal clanging together, behind that pile of crushed up cars. He hides behind the one that looks the least broken down, just in case. Crouching down, peeking through the dirty car windows, he can make out a shape. Sid chuckles to himself.

There he is.

With a final crash of scrap metal, Dex stops, his breathing heavy. The dust settles. The junkyard becomes quiet once more. It must just be in another pile.

Dex decides to sit down in one of the broken cars, its passenger side seats not having been crushed yet. Coming back to his senses, he dusts himself off.

He coughs a little.

The silence is deafening.

Thoughts and feelings start creeping in. How worried he is, how not worried Sid is. How angry and resentful he feels about being cast aside and forgotten by him. Dex is glad he’s back in one piece, genuinely. It just feels like he’s changed and is ready to move on, from their time together.
Sid’s is just turning the page on a new chapter.
From the shithole town to the big city. Leaving everything behind. Leaving everyone behind. Leaving Dex behind.
For better things. Better people.

And who will Dex have, then? An abusive father? People that aren’t totally annoyed by him, which he might as well start calling friends? A girlfriend that’s been avoiding him like the plague?

Realizations hit him in waves. One after the other, wearing him down. He’s muttering them through gritted teeth. His nails dig through the thick fabric of his gloves like he’s trying to rip them to shreds. His gut twists, desperately trying to keep him together.

Then, the dam bursts. Tears. His eyes blur with tears. Sobs come in short erratic bursts, painful.

‘’Hey, Dex, wh-’’

Dex’s heart skips a beat and makes him jump out of the car seat. He trips and lands on the ground, rocks and debris tumbling with him.

Sid slowly comes out from behind the car, not sure what to do with himself.

‘’Sid?’’ Dex tries to hastily wipe away the tears with his lab coat sleeve. ‘’What the hell were you doing, hiding behind that car?’’

‘’I was-’’

‘’Oh did you just want to watch me cry?’’ Dex interrupts him, his feelings bubbling up inside his chest. ‘’Is this funny to you? This is just funny to you, isn’t it?’’ He knows his voice wobbling and breaking isn’t making him sound convincing at all. He just needs to let it out.

Sid’s face twists in a grimace, which one might identify, after squinting hard enough, as concern. ‘’What? What the fuck are you talking about, mate?’’

‘’You, Sid! You don’t care! You didn’t answer my calls, not even my letter, nothing!’’ Dex struggles to get back up on his feet, wobbling as he stands up. ‘’You come back, not even after 2 weeks, like you told me you would, but a month! A whole month later!’’

Sid shifts his weight from one foot to another, slouching like a kid being scolded by a teacher. ‘’Yeah I was… busy.’’ He shrugs, looking off to the side.

‘’With what? What even happened on that tour? Why did you stay so long?’’ Dex throws his hands up in defeat.

He leaves a pause for Sid to answer. Nothing.

‘’Whatever it was, it couldn't've been good.’’ Dex’s voice softens up for a moment. ‘’You look like shit.’’

Sid scoffs. ‘’That’s called being a fucking star, you prick.’’ He straightens his posture holding his arms out, confrontational. ‘’What? I’m here aren’t I? You can stop worrying like a little bitch now; I’m not dead! What else do you want?’’
He steps up to Dex, mocking him. ‘’A kiss on your booboo to make you feel better? A handwritten letter where I tell you how sorry I am? A kick in the balls?!’’

Dex’s fists clench up, his shoulders shooting up. ‘’No you fucking idiot! I just want…’’ His voice gets caught in his throat from screaming. ‘’...My best friend.’’ He sounds mournful. ‘’I just want my best friend back, Sid.’’ Defeated.

Sid stands before Dex, flabbergasted. His face falls. His arms fall back to his side, too. The junkyard becomes silent again for a brief moment.

Sid slowly picks back up. He’s less scornful this time, though. ‘’Don’t you have friends or something? I’m not the only guy around.’’ He thinks for a moment. ‘’Oh right, and a ‘’girlfriend’’ too.’’ He chuckles to himself, remembering something about him and Dex’s ‘’girlfriend’’.

Dex sighs. He’s basically folded in on himself, hiding his fists in his big lab coat pockets. ‘’Not really.’’ He kicks a rock. ‘’She’s kinda been avoiding me, lately.’’

Sid raises an eyebrow, genuinely confused. ‘’Why? You’re a sweet guy. Bit of a wet blanket but you have your moments. What could you’ve fucked up so badly?’’

Dex lets out a miserable laugh. A tear rolls down his face. He wipes his chin with his glove. ‘’She asked me if I wanted to have sex. And I did, but…’’ He looks off to the side, like the memory is standing right there. ‘’I just couldn’t. I don’t know. I…’’ He looks puzzled. ‘’I didn’t. It didn’t work.’’

Sid’s head leans to the side. ‘’Fuck do you mean, it didn’t work? Did your dick not work?’’

Dex’s eyebrows shoot up as he looks up at him, his cheeks turning rosy. It’s hard to tell if it’s from the crying or from Sid’s insistence on knowing the details. He stammers. ‘’No!’’ He sounds offended. ‘’Look, Sid, I don’t know why. Whatever it is, it doesn’t look like she wants to see me anymore. I fucked up. That’s all.’’ He turns his gaze away again.

‘’Wow. That fucking sucks.’’ Sid really thought Dex had more of a group of friends than he did. Or even a girlfriend that didn’t throw him under the bus. He’d wish him that, at least.

Silence settles in, now full of uncertainty.
Sid hesitates, before he goes to pat Dex on the shoulder. Dex tenses up, anticipating he’s going for something harsher. Sid puts his hand away, shoving it into his pants pocket faster than the eye has time to catch, pretending like nothing happened.

Dex clears his throat, unsure if what he’s going to say makes any sense. ‘’Well, what about you, Sid? Any friends?’’

Sid takes an air of superiority. ‘’Yeah, ‘f course I do. Tons. You shoulda seen me on that tour, people were throwing themselves at me. There’s some real ass punks to talk music with. Unlike this shithole.’’

Sid continues, enthusiastic. ‘’Oh! And you wouldn’t believe how much pussy you get when you’re a-’’

‘’Right, Sid! I get the idea.’’ Dex cuts him off as he feels his face burn. ‘’I can… imagine.’’ He really doesn’t want to imagine.
Sid’s always been the more handsome of the two, it wouldn’t be a surprise. At least the girls they’ve met seem to think so. Dex seems to think so, too.

Dex hurries his brain along to focus on his reasoning. ‘’So then, Sid, why’d you come back? If all of your friends are people you’ve met on tour, then why did you come back here? This ‘’shithole’’?’’

Sid blinks. ‘’What? It’s ‘cause all my stuff is here, mate.’’

Dex laughs sharply. ‘’All your stuff? So, your band equipment? Which is already in your truck? What other stuff is there?’’

Sid frowns. Where the hell is he going? ‘’Man, look. I was low on cash, I just need to get some back and I’ll be out of here in no time.’’

Dex presses him, again. ‘’But, Sid, why didn’t you ask all of your friends to help you?’’ His voice is full of venom. ‘’Why didn’t all of your good, good friends help you? I’m sure they would’ve given you some money, if they’re your friends, like you said.’’

Dex doesn’t even give Sid the time to find an excuse. He raises his chin up, gaining confidence. ‘’If you’ve got tons of friends and adoring fans, then what did you come back to me for?’’

There it is.

Dex continues to think out loud. ‘’You came to me the day you got back from your tour, even though you clearly should’ve taken a rest for a couple days, minimum.’’ He sounds more and more in disbelief at what he’s unraveling. ‘’You showed up, to check up on me! You insist on spending time with me, you come with me on this thing you have no interest in!’’ He gestures wildly to the rest of the junkyard.

‘’If you care so little about me, Sid, or this shithole town, then why are you here? It doesn’t make sense. If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have even bothered to show up to my door. You would’ve just… left again.’’ Dex finally stops, breathing heavily. He frantically searches Sid’s face for any kind of reaction.

Sid stands, ironclad. He pushes in on Dex, forcing a finger unto his chest.‘’Fuck off, Dex. I showed up ‘cause you were worrying like a little bitch about me! ‘Cause, I thought, if you saw me, still kickin’, holding my own, I thought you would let me go and stop being so fucking clingy.’’ He grabs Dex’s shirt collar, clinging to a sense of control. ‘’I don’t fucking care. I can throw you away any time I want.’’

Dex feels Sid’s hand twist his shirt, pushing his face in more and more, practically spitting words in his face. He swallows, thinking he might die if he says another word. However, in the moment, he pushes past the fear. ‘’But you didn’t. You didn’t throw me away, Sid. You wanted to throw me away for a whole month, but you came back. You couldn’t-’’

Sid pushes Dex violently to the ground, away from him. ‘’If you’re so fucking smart, then you’ll start handling shit on your own. Mind your fucking business. I don’t need you, and you don’t need me either. Get that through your thick skull, jackass.’’

‘’No, Sid-’’ Dex gets up on his elbows, wanting to explain himself some more. This can all be resolved, right here, right now, he can feel it. He’s connecting the dots.

Sid kicks dust in Dex’s face, as he turns tail and storms off. Dex coughs. Goddammit.

He lets Sid go. Fine, let him sulk. Maybe if he lets him think he’ll understand? It feels like Dex’s heart is beating out of his chest and ringing into his ears. It’s driving him mad. He needs to calm down. He needs to distract himself. Continue to look for components. Anything. Look for anything. Get up.
Dex lays flat on the ground, letting his elbows go. He throws his gloves away, his hands fall onto his stomach. Breathe. Something pinpricks at the corner of his eyes.

The dam already burst. There’s no resistance anymore. It’s just tears, rolling down pathetically onto his face.

Sid tears through the junkyard’s made up corridors, looking for the abandoned warehouse.
Can you believe this guy? The gall. No, he doesn’t care. He doesn’t. Dex doesn’t know what he’s talking about. They’ve known each other since childhood, so what? You have to let go at some point, right? Dex’s the smart guy he should know this.

The warehouse seemed so far away from where he was wandering from earlier, but it’s crazy how far anger can take you. With curled up fists and gritted teeth, Sid steps into it through its big hangar door entrance. The rust seemed to have held off on this place.
It is indeed shelves upon shelves of stuff. Perfect to throw in a crazed frenzy.

Sid flies through the shelves and snaps a cardboard box off of one of them. He throws it against a nearby wall, its contents spilling out from it like guts. VHS tapes. Sid continues on his rampage, kicking things over, throwing tools that litter the floor. Hitting any furniture not already ravaged by weather.
He loses steam fairly quickly, his hangover catching up to him again. His legs cut out from under him, causing him to fall on the concrete floor. He laughs, to nobody. He curses out, to nobody.

Silence creeps again. He’s utterly alone now, just like he was in his apartment. A shaky sigh escapes him. His nails dig into his hands, which then fall onto his forehead. A fly on the wall hears him sniffle.

Halfway between a sob and a laugh, Sid whispers;

‘’Fuck.’’

Chapter Text

The late afternoon sun makes its way towards the horizon line, slowly but surely. Hours of endless searching have gone by, and Dex’s backpack is now heavy with spare parts. His shirt clings to his chest uncomfortably, his skin covered with a thin layer of sand and dust. His muscles ache. He’s beyond tired.
This whole thing was meant to be a chance to reconnect, or at least to catch up before the inevitable disconnect. It all went so wrong. Dex has gone over the argument a thousand times already in his own mind. Why did he have to lash out? If he played along and pretended like Sid, everything would’ve been okay, just one last time. But no, he had to go and see if his hypothesis was correct, if his suspicions had any real weight. Being right is a lot more important, isn’t it?

Dex trudges through the neverending halls of metal and plastic, making his way towards the warehouse. Part of him is thinking of simply leaving, like Sid must have already. But then again, why not stay? There’s so much to keep busy with. His hands twitch, longing for the comfort of work. Sinking his teeth into piles of projects to keep his prying thoughts at bay, for a moment. It’s soothing.
He fiddles nervously with the cuffs of his lab coat. The low droning of his thoughts linger and taunt him at the back of his mind. Leave. Let go. Give it up.

The warehouse comes into view. A colossal structure, deformed and dotted with holes. Another carcass. Dex wanders inside, feeling on his last thread. Just get the electrical components and go, he tells himself.

Then, as he enters, he notices a mass on the ground. A scattering of VHS tapes surrounds it, spilling out of a moldy cardboard box. Broken glass, a half destroyed chair and scuffed tools are littered around, thrown carelessly. Stepping closer, the mass takes form. Its knuckles are bloodied. Its breathing, uneven. A rabid dog, licking its wounds. Sid. Asleep.

Dex takes in the sight, his gut twisting again. He feels his whole body pull towards Sid. His hand reaches out, before he stops himself. Let him rest, he needs it.

But he can’t just leave him like this.

Dex scans the shelves, hoping to find anything to help. He spots a pink blob, looking like it’s trying to escape from its box. It looks kind of scruffy. A blanket! Dex jogs over, pulling it from its hiding place. As he unfurls it, the dust inside it scatters, along with a few spiderwebs. Not great, but it’ll do.

He jogs his way back and kneels down over Sid. Before he drapes the blanket on him, he allows his eyes to wander. He can finally take in his face up close, without all the arguing. There’s a slight cut above his eyebrow, near the temple. His nose is slightly crooked, damaged by a well placed punch. Some darker stubble is starting to show, on his cheeks and above his cracked lip.
If it wasn’t for his snoring you’d think he was dead. That sound isn’t as loud as Dex would’ve thought, though. It reminds him of a small motor he made to replace the one in his multi-tool. Dex lets himself sit with it longer than he reasonably should. His breathing syncs up to his. It’s impossible not to, it’s the only sort of noise in the room.
This is soothing, too, he realizes.

With trembling hands, Dex lets the blanket fall on Sid’s frame. Tucking him in would be a little too much, he thinks to lighten his mood up. Sid shuffles a little and sighs. His eyebrows furrow. His hands grip tight around nothing. Must be dreaming.

Dex should really get something to do, his hands are getting impatient. At least he brought his little side project with him.
As he starts setting his things on the warehouse floor, he makes sure he can still have his eyes on Sid. You know, just in case.

Finally, with great effort, Sid's eyes open.

The sun has finally hit the horizon, bleeding deep oranges and light pinks into the clouds. The sky follows it, not far behind, its deep blues and purples encroaching on the landscape. Crickets and toads sing familiar tunes, somehow in harmony with each other.

A faded pink blanket scratches at his sides. How did that get there?

He squints from the sunlight. Through the blur, illuminated in silhouette, is Dex bent over his work. He’s taken off his lab coat, his hands deep into electronics. The floor around him is unrecognizable, covered in the guts of his beloved VCR. He is laser focused. So much so he doesn’t realize Sid has already woken up and has been staring at him. Some might even say, fondly.

Sid debates with himself on whether or not he should let this happen for a few more minutes. Dex still hasn’t noticed yet, but then again Sid has made no efforts to make himself known. He still needs some time to wake up. Whatever he has going on cannot be fixed with just one quick power nap on a concrete warehouse floor. So… might as well.
Sid continues watching intently. This is like a little treat, something to be enjoyed in secret. It’s too good to pass up.

Dex’s fingers operate with streamlined efficiency, seemingly working of their own accord. It’s like watching a performance, in a weird way. These fingers could work wonders on his guitar, Sid thinks.
Well they have, technically, he upgraded it for him. But Dex has never wanted to try his hand at singing or making music. Sid has always wanted to see him try. He could even help him. He also thinks he’d be quite good, even though he’d never admit it out loud.

Sid’s eyes, half-lidded and gentle, continue to follow Dex. This is a nice blanket, actually. Comfort washes over Sid, pacifying him.

Relaxed now, he lets a sentence slip through.

‘’So, what’re you working on now, huh?’’ It’s barely audible, Sid’s face still smushed against the dirty warehouse floor.

Dex is pulled out of his state of concentration. He gasps in surprise, then whimpers, as his index finger gets caught on a particularly sharp piece of metal. It stings. A red bead starts forming around the cut. How annoying that the one thing he forgot to bring with him was bandaids. He lets out a sigh of defeat. You can’t account for everything, unfortunately.

He swallows, his mouth dry. He’s completely forgotten himself while working on this thing. He starts talking, unsure. ‘’...Well, Sid, it’s just my VCR. It broke recently so, I thought y’know, since I had the time…’’

Sid’s attention snaps towards Dex’s finger. Something overwhelms him. In an instant, his mind compels his body to will itself forward. He gets up from his hiding place and moves in Dex’s direction, barely registering the why of it.
Dex slowly turns towards Sid, eyes wide. He hesitates to start explaining. He’s still kneeling by his VCR, his lonely finger held up by his other hand. There’s a hint of fear, there, but also resignation. Whatever this ends up being can’t be worse than the fight they had earlier. He falls silent, jaw clenched.

Sid carefully kneels down beside Dex. Like on autopilot, he reaches for Dex’s wrist. Despite every part of his brain telling him to flee, Dex stays and offers his hand up, cautious. Sid catches it, surprisingly gentle.
Warmth. Dex’s hand trembles in his grasp. He gives it a squeeze to stabilize it, but also to ground the both of them. Sid feels Dex’s pulse under his grip, fast.
Dex’s eyes follow Sid’s movements intently. Eyes with the same kind of intensity and focus as when he was fixing his VCR. Sid’s gaze falls onto the blood trickling down Dex’s finger. He slowly brings it up to his mouth, and as he locks eyes with Dex, he licks the blood off of it.
A small gasp escapes Dex’s mouth, reflexively. Blood rushes all over his face. Totally overwhelmed, but not in a bad way. Sid feels the pulse pick up the pace under his thumb. He’s always loved seeing Dex squirm because of him.
Sid smirks as he reaches into his jacket pocket. Thankfully, there’s still a few crumpled up bandaids in there. A necessary addition when getting beat up almost every day. His eyes return to Dex’s finger, wrapping the bandaid around it. Quick but precise, unlike Dex, perfectionist that he is.

As he finishes, Sid turns Dex’s hand over in his palm, cradling it. Dex stays there, in stunned silence. His gears are turning.

He starts with the obvious. ‘’Thanks, Sid.’’ He chuckles, nervous.

Sid chuckles as well and shrugs. He’s not quite sure what happened, either. ‘’Yeah, whatever Dex.’’

They share furtive glances, like two awkward teenagers who’ve never been on a date before.

‘’Look, Sid, I’m sorry for blowing up at you earlier. I was just…’’ Dex leans in, apologetic. ‘’I was worried, okay? I thought you got… well you did get hurt.’’

‘’Well, thanks for fucking noticin’, but it’s not like you haven’t seen me beat up before.’’

‘’It wasn’t just that!’’ Dex retorts. ‘’I was scared you would forget about me, Sid.’’ His hand squeezes his.

Sid’s eyebrows furrow. ‘’What? After a month? I’m not a goddamn fish or something.’’

Dex smirks. ‘’Well, Sid, fish can remember things that have happened months, even years, ago. They’re not forgetful, that’s kind of more of a-’’ Seeing Sid give him the stink eye, Dex clears his throat.
‘’I just thought you’d leave and never look back. That tour seemed to have worked out great for you.’’

‘’Which is good! I’m glad you found something worth your time. I wasn’t trying to be mean about it.’’ Dex then adds immediately.
He takes a deep breath and locks eyes with him. ‘’I care about you, Sid.’’

Sid searches Dex’s face and finds complete and utter sincerity. He stares at him in disbelief, his pupils dilating. ‘’Wait, really?’’

Dex pushes through his speech, his gaze now fixated to the floor. ‘’If you think superstardom is the way you want to go, then, go for it.’’

Something is desperately clawing inside his ribcage. ‘’We’ve been friends for so long, of course I’d want only the best for you. I could even help you, before you go. If you want to, that is.’’

The words are tearing his throat apart, breaking his voice. ‘’I don’t want to keep you here. It’d be kind of weird if I did! Like you said, you know how to handle yourself.’’

His eyes start burning. Not again. ‘’I’ll be fine on my own, don’t worry. I’ll get used to it! I’ll meet new people, just like you did.’’

Dex really thought this would convince himself. But the more he rambles on, the worse it feels. He realizes he can’t do this.

Sid’s hand is practically crushed by Dex. He’s too busy processing what Dex has been saying to even notice. He squeezes back harder.
‘’Stop fucking saying that.’’

Dex hiccups and wipes a tear away with his free hand. He stares at Sid, confused.

None of this sounds right. A sharp pain hits Sid in the chest.
He came back from his tour for a reason. He listened to those voicemails for a reason. He went to Dex right away for a reason. He followed him along on something he had no interest in for a reason. He sought him out when he felt panicked for a reason. He put a bandaid around his finger for a reason. The same reason it's always been.
It’s right there, in front of him.

The words finally escape his mouth, a little clumsily.

‘’I’ve fucking missed you, Dex.’’

Sid practically falls onto Dex, pulling him into a hug. Dex claws his hands into his back, leaning into the embrace. Two silhouettes, combined into one against the pinks and purples of the sky. Indistinguishable.

The tour, none of it felt right. He jumped around every night, talking to fans, people he barely knew. Bar fights, one night stands, none of it clicked. There’s only ever been one person he could always come back to. His one long lasting relationship that he felt he hadn’t fucked over. He missed it. He missed the intimacy. He missed whatever the hell this relationship is. He missed Dex.

Dex whispers into Sid’s shoulder. ‘’I just didn’t want to lose this.’’

Sid whispers back into his cheek. ‘’Me neither.’’

They go on for a minute, swaying back and forth. Then, Sid leans into the nape of his neck. He’s never been one for admitting defeat, but… ‘’The tour went like shit.’’

Dex lets out a little ‘’Oh’’ of surprise.

‘’Was exciting, for sure. Even kinda fun. It wasn’t all shit. But, yeah mostly sucked now that I think about it.’’ He pauses for a moment, digging into his brain. ‘’Some drunk guy broke my guitar, I got booed off at one point, my drummer fucking left, my ass really hurts and I’m covered in hickeys.’’

Sid doesn’t even need to look, he feels Dex’s face warm up on his shoulder. Another ‘’Oh’’ of surprise escapes him.
Sid snorts. This dork. He should teach him a thing or two sometime.

Sid finishes his thought. ‘’Yeah, again, fun. Kinda just ended up feeling lonely as hell, though.’’

Dex has never heard him be this vulnerable, ever. It’s different, but welcome. He lets his grasp on his back get softer, and his shoulders slump. ‘’Yeah, I got that too.’’

Sid feels himself chew the inside of his cheek. This ‘’feelings’’ crap is getting embarrassing. He pats Dex twice on the small of his back, telling him to pull away. ‘’Nobody’s hearing about this. Ever. At all. Got me?’’

Dex laughs as he pulls away. He pats Sid twice on the cheek. ‘’No promises.’’

Sid can’t suppress a smile and shoves his hand into Dex’s face, pushing him away. ‘’You wuss, you wouldn’t.’’

Dex picks his tools back up, getting back to his work. ‘’You don’t know what I’m capable of!’’ He gently taps Sid’s arm with his welding tool.

Sid scoffs. ‘’What’re you working on, anyway? I was serious earlier, what’s all this tech junk?’’

‘’Oh, right! The VCR. You asked about that.’’

And as Dex starts explaining, Sid tries his best to follow along. Well, as best as anyone could follow while dehydrated with no sleep. Sid gradually leans more and more into Dex while he’s trying to work. They both kind of give up on the VCR, deciding instead to have a chat, and actually catch up. It’s nice.

Just like old times, isn’t it?

Chapter Text

A pattern of stars draws itself onto the backdrop of a cloudless night. No lights illuminate the junkyard as two souls leave its premises. Now joined as one, they make their way back home. They laugh at their own jokes nobody understands but them. They walk for miles and somehow do not get any more tired. They wipe their tears and lean on each other. They’ve truly found one another. How lucky.

Like a lizard under a heat lamp, Sid lounges on Dex’s couch, drowned in a ridiculous amount of blankets and pillows. Two snake eyes peek out from under their comfortable fortress, watching Dex hook up the VCR to his TV.
He’s changed out of his usual ‘’work’’ clothes into green alien themed pajamas. Having finally taken a shower, his dried hair has become fluffy and ruffled like a kitten. The smell of days spent drinking coffee and working with tech junk has worn off, replaced with a softer pine smell.
Sid wasn’t as lucky, as all his clothes were dirtied on his tour. That didn’t bother him, though, it just meant he could be in boxers without a care in the world. Nothing to be done about that corpse-like smell, however.

‘’Okay, it should be good now, I think.’’ Dex sits up, cracking his knuckles.

He leans over towards a cardboard box, the same they found in the warehouse, its VHS tapes neatly put back. A lucky find from Sid, despite the circumstance he saw it in.
Dex picks the box up and walks over towards him, timid.

‘’Sid, close your eyes for a second.’’ Dex asks, taking a look at the tapes layed out inside.

Sid grunts and slowly sits up on the couch. ‘’What? Why?’’ He scratches his chest hair absentmindedly.

Dex shakes the box like one would do with a bag of dog treats. ‘’C’mon, Sid. Just close them, trust me.’’ He looks to him pleadingly.

Sid arches his eyebrow. Fine, play along. It seems harmless, he seems to say. He closes his eyes.

‘’Pick one.’’ Dex commands, as he shoves the slightly mildewed box in his face.

‘’Just like, at random?’’ Sid’s eyebrows furrow.

‘’Yeah!’’ Dex exclaims.

Sid’s face scrunches up in a way that would suggest he’s thinking. He then puts his hand in front of his eyes, sneakily opening them underneath.
Now, Dex knows this classic cheat, but he lets Sid do it. He’d like him to think he got away with it.
Peeking down to the box, Sid lets his other hand roam as though he was blind. A particularly bloody title catches his eye. Perfect! An underground horror movie with blood and gore, kept in a cardboard box in the middle of nowhere? This has to be good.

He slides it out of its place, offering it up to Dex. ‘’There you go. Can I look now?’’

Dex picks up the tape and winces as he notices the cover. He sighs. ‘’Yeah you can open them now. I’ll go put it in.’’

Sid closes his eyes before putting his hand away, then opens them again. ‘’Hoped I picked a kickass one.’’ He slides back down under the covers, content with himself.

Dex kneels down to his VCR. He slides the tape out of its cover, putting it on a nearby shelf. ‘’Well, it certainly looks like… an interesting pick.’’ He pops the tape in.

As Dex fiddles with the remote, Sid remembers something he wanted to ask.

‘’When did that thing break, anyway?’’

‘’Oh, a week ago, at least.’’ Dex says while toggling TV settings Sid has never seen.

‘’Why didn’t you fix it up earlier, then?’’ Sid asks. ‘’Out of all the complicated tech junk you have, seems pretty easy to fix up a VCR.’’

Dex stops. With all the big talks they’ve had today, there’s really no reason to be secretive anymore. ‘’Well, I tried watching movies while you were out, because we used to have movie night, remember?’’

Sid nods ‘’Yeah? Couple of times.’’

‘’Yeah, watching movies alone didn’t… feel the same? Or even rewatching shows I liked. Not even ones I watched with you, at all.’’ Dex scratches the back of his neck.

‘’So when it broke I…’’ Dex rubs the remote in his hands, as if it needed to be warmed. ‘’I didn’t really feel like fixing it, because what would be the point? I didn’t enjoy it, it just kind of passed the time.’’

Sid stares up at the ceiling, trying to piece it together in his mind. ‘’So when I…’’

Dex chuckles, nervous. ‘’So when you came back, I thought I’d finally have a perfect excuse to fix it up, y’know?’’

He finally peeks over his shoulder to glance at Sid. ‘’So, we can do movie night again, now! That’s kinda cool.’’ He smiles wide, letting his crooked teeth show.

Sid turns his head back to Dex, baffled. ‘’You fixed up that thing ‘cause of me?’’

Dex shrugged, coy. ‘’Well, putting it like that… I guess I must’ve.’’ He says, lingering on him before turning away.

Sid let out a bark of a laugh, in disbelief. ‘’Huh.’’

Dex finally stands up again, as the movie starts. ‘’Okay, everything seems to be in order.’’ He throws the remote to Sid. ‘’You ready?’’

Sid comes back to his senses just in time to catch it. ‘’Fuck yeah, I’m ready.’’

As Dex walks over to sit, Sid is still laid down comfortably, taking up the entire length of the couch. Dex’s eyes darted around to find a place to sit, to no avail.

Smug, Sid looks up at Dex. ‘’Looking for somethin’?’’ He hums.

Dex chuckles and rolls his eyes. ‘’Come on, Sid.’’ He says, playfully. He gently shakes Sid’s knee, hoping it will spur him to move.

Sid feigns defeat. ‘’Fine.’’ In one swift motion, he lifted up the mountain of covers he was hiding under. He waits for Dex to join him.

Dex was quick to correct himself to keep his mind from wandering. ‘’No, Sid! I didn’t mean… I just meant a place to sit down.’’ His hands are flailing, trying to explain.

‘’Yeah, there’s room!’’ Sid gestures wildly to the space next to him. There’s clearly not enough room. ‘’C’mon, Dex.’’

‘’Could you at least sit up?’’ Dex begs. This is a little too fast for his taste.

Sid grunts in actual defeat. He obeys and sits up, scooting over for Dex. ‘’There, princess. Quick, we’re missing the movie.’’

Dex plops down on the mess of blankets and pillows he’s come to know. They’re not in particularly good condition, or even clean, but they get the job done. He’s trying his best to keep his hands clasped and his eyes focused on the movie. The fact that the awful editing and sound mixing is getting on his nerves is not helping. With a title like ‘’Barbaric Blood Bastards’’, he knew this was going to suck.
Sid is in some sort of half-lounge, leaning on the armrest, turned to the side. His legs are bent and leaning off of the couch. He’s very much annoyed. This movie is a lot more boring than he thought it would be. The blood and guts look downright miserable from how poorly made they are. The characters, if you could call them that, have dollar store costumes that are clearly made to look tattered and worn. Not even cool, not even scary, barely any fun. This fucking sucks, he thinks.

Until he catches Dex staring at him.

Dex is entranced. His shoulders, the back of his neck, his jaw, his throat. He moves his gaze from one bruise to another, from neck to ankle. He lingers on a few minor scars on his legs, and a few more across his back. His chest rises up and down gently. The dark hair across his chest and belly, and further down, catches his attention. He’s never seen him this way before.
Should he be seeing him this way? He breaks away, clasping his hands firmly. It’s not because Sid opened up to him that he’ll be open about… this, Dex thinks.

Sid has had enough. They spent the entire walk back sharing furtive glances and brushing knuckles. He spent four whole weeks away trying to find intimacy only to realize he already had it. And now he wants more. He needs more of Dex, and by the looks of it, Dex wants more of him too. If he let him dictate the pace, they’d be barely holding hands by next Halloween. Sid’s fingertips are burning, longing for the briefest of touches. He’s ravenous. He needs this.

Forget the movie.

Taking matters into his own hands, Sid scoots over to Dex, not so subtly. Dex is currently pretending to be interested in a butchering scene that’s unfolding with as much enthusiasm as going to the DMV. Feeling Sid's approach, he perks up, but stays quiet.

Sid settles in next to him. ‘’Didn’t think this would fucking suck this much. That’s my bad.’’

Dex smiles apologetically. ‘’Isn’t more chance’s ‘’bad’’? Since you picked at random? Or are you saying…’’ He can’t stop himself from smiling, even if he’s trying to.

Sid catches himself in his lie. ‘’Nah you’re right, I didn’t pick it knowing what it was gonna be so… randomness’ fault.’’

Dex a laugh escapes him as he sighs, relaxed. ‘’Right.’’

Leaning in slowly would give the both of them enough time to get cold feet. Which is why Sid grabs Dex by his pajama shirt and slams his face into his, instead.
Only vaguely aiming for a proper kiss, it instead lands at the corner of his mouth, clumsily. Their lips eventually slide into place, like puzzle pieces, joined as one.
Dex feels his breath catch in his throat. His eyes turn to panic, but his eyelids slowly flutter and melt.
Sid, initially wanting to be forceful like all the kisses he’s had before, eventually melts too. It’s pure, genuine, love, oozing out of every gesture. It’s alien. It’s home.

Dex pulls away with a gasp. His giddiness illuminates his flushed face. He giggles, free of worry for the first time in forever. ‘’Sid!’’ Is the only thing he can muster up to say before he goes in for another kiss. Sid welcomes it and pulls in Dex for more. Hands wander and bumble around, hungry for warmth. Teeth scrape against each other without a care. Gasps and moans escape their mouths, unintentionally. One leans on top of the other without realizing. They lick their wounds and kiss their troubles away.

Worn out from everything, they eventually cuddle and drift off to sleep. Sid first, Dex second. Both holding on, not letting go, listening to the sound of their breath, joined as one. The movie fizzles out, flailing in its own convoluted plot and lack of compelling characters. The noise subsides. The night goes on, making its way slowly but surely to the other horizon, like a sailing ship, drifting.

They made out and missed a good chunk of the movie, and who cares. Sid will have to make ends meet somehow without having money, and who cares. Dex will have to deal with his shitty dad’s reprimanding eventually, and who cares. Sid and Dex are home. They’re here. They’re holding on to each other. It’s okay. They’ve never been more okay than in this crummy basement in a small town in Wisconsin. This is it. This is the place.