Chapter Text
The discord call, with almost all the regular SMO hide and seek streamers, ends but leaves Fir with a bad taste in his mouth. Twitch Con is less than a month away and the original plan was to get everyone to come out so they could meet in person and do a funny hide and seek video. The thing was Smallant kept acting weird every time someone brought up the Con. Originally, the taller man was all for meeting up, but once he found out it was in California, he started saying that he might be busy that weekend. Now he never seems to give a straight answer of whether he’s coming or not.
Fir has tried talking to him about it privately, but the older boy always manages to dodge his questions. The entire situation has gotten pretty frustrating for everyone. For Fir especially since a lot of people keep messaging him asking him, ‘Hey, do you know what’s up with Smant?’ AND HE DOESN’T KNOW. It’s driving him nuts.
The frustrated blond notices that CJs icon on discord has turned green, giving him an idea. CJ hasn’t really been in the calls involving Twitch because he’s been busy setting up some stuff. But he lives in the area, so he said he’d 100% be there and to just keep him updated.
Fir starts typing out a message to CJ, describing Smallants behavior whenever Twitch Con is brought up. Satisfied with the short, yet to the point message he hits enter and hopes CJ sees it and responds quickly.
The blond leans back in his chair, letting out a sigh as he rubs at his eyes. The thing bothering him the most in this entire situation is that everyone seems to assume that he knows what’s going on with Smant. Its not like he’s known him the longest, that goes towards Crafty and CJ, but everyone still seems to think he knows what’s going through Smallants mind even though he really has no clue.
The discord notification sound goes off, causing Fir to jump slightly. CJ wrote back. “Thank God!” He says aloud, opening up the private chat, hopping the other man can shed some light on the situation.
The message is a single word, but it brings a small bit of hope. ‘Call?’
Fir grabs his headphones and immediately clicks on the call button. It takes a few rings before CJ picks up.
“Heeeey,” CJ grumbles out. It sounds like he just woke up. “Wasn’t really expecting you to call immediately.”
Fir lets out a chuckle, “Well all you wrote was ‘Call?’ so I figured I could call you right away.”
There’s a moment of silence before CJ sighs, “Ya, that makes sense. Its just too early for me.”
“Just woke up?”
“Ya,” yawns the other man.
“We can set up a time for a call later?” Fir asks, although he really wants to get to the bottom of this situation as soon as possible.
“No,” CJ shakes his head, not that the other man can see it. “If it’s what I think it is, then its better to let you know now.” Fir straightens in his chair, if he could he’d grab CJ by the shoulders and start shaking him. “You wrote that he’s been acting weird every time you mention Twitch Con and visiting California?”
“Ya, he gets all quiet and whenever we ask him questions about if he’s coming or not he never gives a straight answer. Like he doesn’t know if he wants to come. We’ve all met in person before so I don’t think its that, but I have no clue what else it could be! Its just worrying.” The entire spiel comes out kind of suddenly and a lot of the emotions from the past few weeks seem to bubble up. “Sorry,” Fir sighs rubbing his face with the palm of his hand. “It’s just everyone keeps asking me and I really don’t know.”
“I’m guessing you’ve already tried talking to Tanner one on one?” CJ asks, a feeling of sadness slowly sinking in.
“Ya, but he just avoids the questions or comes up with an excuse to end the call.”
“Alright,” CJ lets out a long sigh, “I think I know what’s going on.”
“You do!?” Fir practically shouts, excitement running through him, finally the mystery can be solved!
“Ya, but this isn’t a simple situation, and I don’t even know if we can help Tanner.”
“Oh,” the blond gets quiet. All of his excitement disappearing immediately.
“You know of PointCrow?”
“Ya.”
“They used to be friends.” CJ says, stopping to gather his thoughts. “They had this rivalry online, that some of their fans took too seriously. PointCrow would get a lot of hate from some of Smallants fans, and this led to a big miscommunication between the two.” Another pause as CJ mulls over his thoughts, “I’m not sure on all the details as this happened about a year ago, but since then Tanner avoids PointCrow at all costs.”
There’s silence on the call, Fir hoping that CJ can give him anything else, but quickly realizes that’s it. “I’m guessing PointCrow lives in California and has a high chance of being at Twitch Con?”
“Yup,” replies CJ. “I should have realized that something like this could happen, but you’re the first one to reach out to me about this.” A yawn interrupts him, but he carries on in a higher pitched tone, “So I thought everything was okay.”
Fir is left speechless. Which really is a rarity for him, but what is he supposed to say? “So Smant doesn’t want to go to the Con, because he might run into PointCrow?”
“Yup,” replies CJ.
“What would happen if they ran into each other?”
“Honestly,” the older man replies taking a moment to think on it. “Probably nothing, but I get the feeling Eric would be pissed at seeing Tanner, and Tanner would probably hide or something.”
“What?”
“Listen Fir, I really don’t know what else to tell you. I never really got involved in the situation between the two. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some stuff about it online that’d be able to tell you more, but that’s the gist of it.”
A flash of annoyance irrationally passes through Fir, but he takes a deep breath, because this is the closest he’s gotten to figuring out what’s happening with Smallant. “Is there anything we could do to help him?”
Another sigh fills the call and CJ says in a sad tone, “Listen Fir, there might not be anything we can do. It’s been over a year and Tanner still avoids Eric like the plague. I don’t know the details, but if that’s the way Tanners acting then it must have been bad. You’re not gonna get him to talk about it online.”
“Then what if I go to him in-person!?” Fir lets out, frustration building once more. “He won’t talk on discord, then maybe it will be different irl.”
“Well if he tries to run you can always catch him,” CJ chuckles. “That or get him drunk. He might talk then.”
“Maybe,” Fir sighs scratching the back of his head. “Thanks for talking with me CJ.”
“Ya man, no problem. Good luck with everything and let me know if you need any help.”
Goodbyes exchanged they both end the call, leaving Fir with too many thoughts in his head. But one definitely stood out. “Am I really going to do this?” He glances at Smallants discord icon and see’s that it’s still green. “Fuck it, I’m out of options.” He gets down to drafting.
[F]: Random question, are you free this or next weekend?
[S]: Both weekends are free. What’s up, you wanna stream something together?
[F]: My family has been driving me crazy recently and I just need to get out of the house for a weekend. You wanna hang out irl?
[S]: Sounds good. Wanna call to talk about the details?
After an hour-long call with Smant, buying last minute plane tickets for Canada, getting less than 4 hours of sleep, hopping on a six-hour flight. Fir had finally landed in Canada. He texted his parents that he’d made it and headed straight to the exit.
“It’s too early in the morning,” Fir grumbles to himself as he walks out into the fresh air, immediately getting hit by an icy wind. He tries to look around the pick-up area, hoping to get out of here, but he doesn’t see Tanner anywhere. “Hope he didn’t forget,” Fir sighs as he pulls out his phone, hiding half of his face in his oversized scarf, trying to warm himself up.
Before he has the chance to check discord a familiar voice shouts, “Fir!”
The blond boy perks up, looking towards the voice. “Smallant!” he says in return, making his way towards his friend. There’s a large smile on his face as he ‘meets’ his online friend for the first time. “Why are you so tall?” Tumbles out of his mouth as he looks up at the older boy, damnit he wasn’t that short!
Smallant sports an amused smile on his face as looks down at his online companion. “It’s nice to see you too buddy,” he laughs before grabbing Firs carry on and popping open the trunk of his old car. “Take a seat, cars open.”
The blond quickly complies, feeling somewhat embarrassed by his actions. Honestly, he just blames the lack of sleep. Smallant’s quick to get in his car and drive away from the airport, all the while trying to keep a straight face. It doesn’t take long for Fir to notice. “You’re tall okay!” He grumbles crossing his arms indignantly, “And I’ve only had like 3 hours of sleep or something.”
“So, your brain decides to focus on my height?” Smallant questions, giving up on keeping a straight face. “Is there something you’re worried about?”
“What?! No!” Fir quickly answers. “Its just my brain always put us at the same height for some reason.”
“We’ve got similar camera angles when we stream,” supplies the older boy while he focuses on driving.
“Ya, that could be it.” Fir says, hoping that’s the end of that. “Anyway, thanks for letting me come again so last minute. My family was really starting to drive me crazy and most of my friends were out of town.”
“Hey man no problem,” the brunet replies, “Although, warning you’ll probably meet my mom this weekend. She just wants to say hi, probably force us to eat dinner at her house or something. Don’t worry I’ll try to keep it short.”
A laugh seems to bubble up from Fir as he looks at the other, “She knows we’re not a couple, right?”
“Yup,” the brunet says popping the p. “She’s just excited to meet you cause you’re my first online friend that’s ever come to visit.”
“CJs never visited you?”
“Nah, dude I live in the middle of nowhere Canada there really isn’t anything to do here. It’d probably be more interesting if I lived in Toronto or something.”
“Hmmm,” Fir draws out the syllable forcing his tired brain to think, “I guess that makes sense.”
They fall into a comfortable silence as Smallant drives, whistling along to songs on the radio and Fir stares out the window. They have a lot more trees here than in Cincinnati. Firs thoughts drift and it doesn’t take long for the young man to fall asleep. Smallant hears the light snoring and does his best to steer clear of potholes.
Fir starts awake, bolting up in his chair, confusion on his face as he notices that he’s in an unfamiliar car. He hears the trunk close and suddenly remembers why he’s not in his room, unbuckling his seatbelt he quickly gets out of Smallants’ car.
“Morning,” Smallant says a large smile on his face. “Sleep well?”
“Actually, not too bad.”
“Figured you could use the extra sleep before we went to do stuff.”
“Stuff?” Fir asks, following Smallant into an average-looking house.
“You’ll see,” the older man smiles unlocking his front door and stepping aside to let his guest in first. “Welcome to my place!” Fir walks into a small entry way and Smallant follows after, putting down Firs bag. The blond follows after the older boy taking off his shoes and hanging his jacket on a coat rack by the door.
“Do you want something to drink?” The brunet asks as he walks towards the kitchen, opening the fridge and pulling out a water bottle.
“Could I get some water?”
“Sure,” Smallant tosses the unopened bottle in Firs direction, who fumbles a little but manages to catch it without dropping the bottle. The taller man receives a glare for the sudden throw, but he just chuckles before grabbing himself another water. “So, I have stuff planed for today, but is there anything specific that you want to do while here?”
“Hmmm,” the blond thinks for a moment, rocking back and forth on his heels. In all honesty he hadn’t even looked up what they could do here. He doesn’t have a clue what touristy things they have. “Not really,” he finally says. “I’m fine with doing whatever you have planned.” A small part of him feels a bit guilty, having come here with only one thing on his mind.
“Cool,” Smallant straightens from where he was leaning against the countertop. “Ugh, do you want me to give you a house tour? Or do you want to shower? Or you wanna just get out of here?”
“Shower?” Fir asks confused, “Why would I shower its like,” he glances quickly at his phone, “barely 10?”
The taller man shrugs his shoulders, “Egh, maybe you feel gross after being on a plane and want to wash off all the germs.”
“I think I’m okay for now. I’m fine with just heading out.”
“Alright cool,” Smallant nods, brain seemingly already churning. “I’m just gonna head to the bathroom real quick.” He doesn’t wait for Fir to respond, as he bounds up the stairs and disappears.
Fir takes this moment to look around. The ground floor is pretty open, with a connected kitchen and living room. The only thing separating the two rooms is a long countertop connecting to the wall. The living room has a pair of sliding doors that show off the overgrown back yard. There are some lawn chairs and a table with a fire pit, but he’s guessing it hasn’t been used in a while since the grass is so long.
The downstairs area is pretty plain, with white walls and a beige carpet in the living room. A beat up, but comfy looking couch, sitting across from a large tv and a coffee table in the middle. It’s pretty neat all things considered. Fir almost expected it to be a bit messy with the way Smallant describes his stream room, instead it’s baren. Lacking any of Smallants’ personal touches, he’d almost think it was a rental, but he knows it’s not.
Fir hears his friend coming down the stairs and he glances in that direction just to be sure, since his footsteps are so quiet, before asking, “Do you even use your downstairs area?”
The brunet stops at the bottom of his stairs, before glancing around, a sheepish smile on his face as he replies. “Not really,” he rubs the back of his head before standing next to Fir in the kitchen. “In all honesty, I really only use my bedroom or stream room. Whenever I hang out with friends its usually at someone else’s house.”
“So, the only reason you bought your own place is to not have a roommate?”
“Pretty much,” Smallant shrugs his shoulders, looking around his living room. “I should probably try to personalize this a little bit, but I’m always busy or tired. The upstairs looks a lot more lived in.”
“Good to know you’re not a serial killer,” Fir smiles and suddenly jumps to the side to keep Smallants hand from touching his head. “Don’t ruin my hair!”
The other man has a sheepish look on his face, when he realizes what he was about to do. He quickly puts his hand down, “Sorry! I don’t know why, but I had the intense need to mess up your hair.”
“Ya, no.” Fir glares at him, keeping himself a Smallant arm length away from the other, “I put too much effort into my hair, for you to mess it up.”
The other man laughs, putting his hands up in surrender before turning around and heading towards the door. “Sorry, won’t do it again! Anyway, wanna head out?”
“Yup, lets go!” Fir heads after Smallant, pulling on his shoes and jacket, once more getting into the car. “Where are you taking me Mr. Serial Killer?”
“I’m not a serial killer!”
“You are, until your living room looks less depressing.”
“Fair,” the older man rolls his eyes. “It’s a surprise, you’re just gonna have to wait and see.”
They end up having a chill car ride, chatting about some video ideas they want to do or potential streams. They bounce ideas off of each other, even offering suggestions when they see room for improvement. When they start nearing the city, Smallant asks “You want some coffee?”
“Yes!” Fir answers with maybe a little too much enthusiasm, but he really could use the caffein.
“Great,” the brunet smiles, before turning into a business and finding a parking spot. “Usually, I go through the drive through, but I feel like you deserve the full experience.”
Fir has a perplexed expression on his face as he gets out of the car, which quickly clears up when he sees the name of the building. “Oh man,” he says with fake enthusiasm. “Are you taking me to THE Tim Hortons? The best Canadian coffee place?”
“The one and only,” Smallant says, leading the way and holding the door open for Fir.
“Thanks,” the blond whispers as he walks in to the Canadian, coffee and donut place. It sort of reminds him of Dunkin Donuts, but a lot cleaner and easier on the eyes. It’s a bit busy, so they get in line. He peruses the menu and decides on a Canadian Maple donut with a vanilla late.
Soon enough Smallant is ordering, before he turns to Fir. “What do you want?”
“Ugh, no it’s okay. I can pay for myself!”
Smallant pouts, “Come on man, let me pay for you.”
Fir looks at the tired worker standing at the register and stiffens when he hears someone cough politely behind him and quickly says his order. Smallant seems to light up, paying with his card before they head to the pickup counter.
“I could have paid for myself,” Fir says looking a bit put out. “I should be paying for you, since you’re letting me stay at your place!”
The brunet rolls his eyes with a smile, his hand moving to pat Firs head. The shorter man glares at him, while getting out of hand range, opening his mouth with a rebuke on his tongue. He never gets to say it as one of the workers announces that their order is ready for pick up.
Smallant takes the distraction and grabs their food, handing Fir his coffee and donut. “Fir,” he says as they walk back to his car. “Let me treat you, okay?”
“But it feels wrong!” Fir complains as they get back in the car. “Let me at least pay for dinner as a thank you or something!” He grumbles, taking a sip of his coffee. That’s actually pretty good and not too sweet, he thinks.
“You can’t pay for dinner, cause my mom won’t let you.”
“What?” Fir’s confused for a moment, before he remembers that they’re getting dinner with Smallants mom. He thunks his head against the car’s dashboard, grumbling to himself.
“What’s that buddy?” Smallant chuckles to himself as he pulls out of the Tim Hortons parking lot and heads to their next destination.
The younger mans grumbling doesn’t last for long as he sits up and bites into his donut, all the while glaring at his too cheery friend. “You have to visit me in Cincinnati now.” He states, while enjoying the taste of his Canadian donut.
“Oh,” replies the older man, glancing at his friend. “Are you inviting me to stay at your house?”
“Apartment,” Fir quickly corrects, “but essentially yes. I can’t let this stand.”
“Fir, I want to pay for you. You’re my guest! You don’t have to feel obligated to do the same for me.”
“No Smallant, I want to pay. Let. Me. Pay.”
“Not while you’re my guest,” Smallant responds.
Fir grumbles again, glaring at his much too happy friend. “I’m inviting you to visit me so that you’re forced to sleep on my couch.”
“You’d make me sleep on your couch!” Smallant says in a mock hurt voice, “And I thought we were friends Fir.”
“I’ve only got one bed,” Fir replies dryly.
“Then we can share for one night,” the brunet quips.
Firs glare continues, as he tries to hold back a smile, “If you have cold feet, I’m kicking you out.”
“Don’t worry I just like to cuddle in my sleep.”
“Oh perfect, then you can sleep on the floor!” Fir says with glee while Smant makes an outraged noise.
“So cruel Fir! Making your friend sleep on the floor!”
The blond rolls his eyes at his friends’ antics. He feels more dramatic in person. “Alright Smant, I’ll invest in a blow-up bed just for you.”
“Thanks man,” Smant cheerfully replies, before asking. “So did you enjoy the donut?”
“Ya actually,” Fir looks down to see that he’d eaten the whole thing during their exchange. “I think I prefer it over Dunkin. Its not as sweet.”
“Ya, Tim’s is great.” He says, while he pulls into another parking lot. “Alright, we’re at the next place. Hope you don’t mind, but I need to pick up an order from here.”
They pull up to a short strip mall, that has less than a dozen businesses with a parking lot in the middle. Fir takes note of the stores they parked next to and easily concludes that they’re going into ‘SideQuest.’ Smallant confirms this when they start heading right in the direction of that storefront.
“We won’t be here for long,” says Smallant as he opens the door, “I just need to pick up my order.”
“No prob,” Fir replies with an easy smile as he follows his taller friend inside.
The place seems to be a bit busy, as there are people seated at the tables the store has in the middle of its floor. It looks like they’re setting up for some kind of card tournament, but Fir doesn’t focus on it for too long as he gets distracted by the items lining the walls of the shop. There’s a lot of merchandise for different rpgs, card games and even board games.
They stop at a glass countertop with built in shelves showing off rare cards that could be bought, everything from Magic to Pokémon to even Yu-Gi-Oh? ‘I was unaware they still made cards for that series.’
A jolly voice breaks through the murmur of the crowd as a middle-aged man with an impressive beard greets them, “Hey Tanner! You here for the tournament today?”
Besides Fir, Smallant smiles as he greets the man with an equally happy tone. “Hey Al, nope not today. I’ve got some plans. Just here to pick up an order.”
“Alright, but that’s too bad. Today’s winner gets a prize!” The jolly man turns to Fir, “You’ll definitely want to take part in the tournament today. Its looking to be a good one.” He smiles one last time at Fir, before turning to Smallant once more. “What’s the order number Tanner?”
While Smallant and Al finish their transaction, Fir walks over to the group setting up for the competition. Everyone there is pulling out ‘Magic: The Gathering’ decks, some even seem to be deciding which of their decks to play. It’s a lively, yet small crowd of people and the game itself seems to pique some of Firs interest.
“Alright, we’re good to go,” says Smallant as he comes up behind Fir holding a small box. He notices his friend taking in the other players and asks, “You interested?” A teasing smile on his face.
“I’ve never played,” Fir replies honestly, turning to Smallant.
“Have you ever played any strategy card game?”
“No,” the blond shakes his head, “But I play a lot of Warhammer Kill team, not sure if that helps in this case.”
“If you’re interested, we can play a round or two of commander at my house. I’ve got a few different builds to choose from. Plus, the rules aren’t too complicated.”
Fir eyes his taller friend warily, “Why do I feel like you just want to thoroughly trump me in a game?”
Smallant fights to keep the smile from his face as he answers his friend, 100% honestly. “No, not at all. I just want more people to play with.” He finishes the statement with a wink, which really helps him sell his statement.
Staring at Smants cocky expression an idea pops into Firs head, “Well, we could just stay for the tournament, and I could beat you here.” The blond straightens, challenge laid out before his competitive friend.
“Oh,” Smant grins, staring down his friend, before turning his friend and yelling. “Al,” the older man jolts staring wide eyed at Smallant. “Mark down two more for the tournament.”
The older gentleman pumps his fist in the air, giving a little excited shout, “We start in 20 minutes!”
“I’ve got a couple decks in my car, be back in a sec. Grab a table, please?” Smallant says before rushing out to his car.
“What did I just get myself into?” Fir says to himself as he sits down at a table, nodding to the other competitors while he pulls up a quick start guide to play Magic the gathering commander.
Smallant returns a couple of minutes later with three decks in hand. “Alright, listen up and ask as many questions as you need. Cause we’ve got less than 20 minutes to get you up to snuff.” Fir nods not wanting to interrupt, fully focusing on everything Smant says.
The next 20 minutes are an intense crash course on the basics of Commander and everything Fir had to know about the game and most importantly how to win. He chooses one of the pre-made decks Smant had to offer after hearing how they were played. And that was all the time they had before Al split everyone up into pairs.
If Fir managed it, he wouldn’t have to fight Smant until the semi-finals, but first he had to get there. ‘Alright, lets win this.” Fir thinks to himself as he sits in front of his first opponent. The first match is really close, Fir makes a few blunders, but his opponent ends up being unlucky a couple of times, letting Fir get the win. The second match, Fir comes in with more confidence and ends up getting good pulls, letting him set up lands for mana and pulling his commander, eventually finishing off his opponent. Meaning the newb, Fir, made it to the semi-finals.
The blond sits across from his friend, a cocky smirk on his face. “Hey Smant,” he says while shuffling his cards. “You were right this game is pretty simple.”
A chuckle escapes the older man’s lips, “Glad you’re having fun Fir.” Here the brunets’ eyes narrow, “Don’t think this will be that easy for you.”
Chit chat over, they fall into a rhythm as they pull cards and set up their field in order to attack the opponent. Unsurprisingly, this ends up being Firs toughest match. Smallant knows what he’s doing and uses everything to his advantage, but Fir’s giving his best and making Smant sweat where he can. It ends up being a close match with Fir losing in the end.
“Good game Fir,” the brunet smiles. “I didn’t expect to struggle that hard with you. I might have to let you keep that deck.”
“It’s a good build.” Replies Fir with a grin, “But ya, good game. I was so close too!”
“You were,” Smant chuckles. “If I hadn’t killed you that turn, you could have killed me during yours.”
Surprisingly, Smallant ends up losing the final match. The opponents build ends up giving them a few advantages over Smants, winning them the match, but generally the tournament was pretty exciting overall.
The duo walks back to the car, comfortable, relaxed, before Smant jolts. “Oh shit!” He pulls out his phone, eyes widening as he looks up at Fir. “We’re suppose to meet my mom for lunch in 20 minutes!”
Firs tries not to panic, keeping his voice steady as he replies. “Ok, does she live far?”
“It’s about a 45-minute drive,” Smant winces.
They rush to the car, buckling up and speeding off. “You should call her, tell her we’ll be late.”
“Ya, I know,” Smant pulls his phone out from his pant pocket, handing it over to Fir. “Can you dial her on speaker phone?”
“You need to unlock it,” before Fir even finishes the statement, Smant interrupts him giving out his phone code. Firs eyes widen a bit at the blatant show of trust but doesn’t dwell on it as he quickly dials Smants mom.
After two rings she picks up, “Hey Tanner,” a bubbly voice answer. “I’m almost done with the food. Are you heading over?”
“Hey Mom,” Smants sheepish voice replies. “We’re gonna be like 15 minutes late sorry! We got a little distracted.”
“Oh, that’s no problem, dear. Just focusing on driving safely! See you soon!”
“Bye Mom!” Smant shouts, nodding his head to let Fir know he can hang up.
Fir pockets the mans phone, deciding to return it to him once he’s done driving. “This is gonna sound kinda dumb,” Fir says scratching the side of his face with a sheepish expression, “But I was so confused for a second when you responded to Tanner.”
“Oh, ya?” Smallant chuckles. “It is my name. I’m pretty sure CJ has called me that on stream before.”
“No, he has for sure!” Fir nods, “But in my brain it’s always been like another online tag for you. It never really sunk in that Tanner was your real name until I heard it at the gaming store.” The taller man laughs, once more glancing at his flustered looking friend, before focusing back on the road.
“Well, you can call my Tanner or Smallant.”
“Or Smant,” Fir interrupts with a grin.
“Or that,” Smant grins, “I’m genuinely fine with whatever.”
Fir looks at Smallant focused on driving with a focused expression and just can’t seem to connect the name Tanner with the man sitting next to him. He’s known him as Smallant for so long, was introduced to him like that and has been referring to him that way that it seems weird to call him by any other name.
“Tanner.” Fir says aloud, for no other reason than to just test it out.
“Yup, that’s me!” The other says in an obnoxious over the top voice.
“Ya, that’s gonna take some getting used to.”
“Eh, no worries. As I said I’m fine with whatever.”
They ended up being 20 minutes late to lunch with Smallants Mom, who is super understanding about their tardiness and while waiting decided to bake some cookies for them to take home. What was originally supposed to be a short lunch ended up being more of a 3 hour dinner and hang out session at Smants childhood home. Smom, was super curious about Fir and wanted to hear all about him, while also making sure to embarrass her son when the chance presented itself.
All in all, Fir had a great time and really enjoyed meeting his friend’s mom. She was kind, funny and gave them lots of food to take back to Smants house. The two of them wave goodbye one last time while they get into the car and finally drive off.
“Oookay,” Smant says as he backs out of the drive, “Sorry that took so long. I really wasn’t expecting to stay there for that long.”
“What, no! I loved meeting your mom!” Fir smiles, patting the boxes of leftovers he had on his lap. “Plus, her food is great.”
He receives a glare, “That food is for sharing.”
“That’s what you think,” the blond smirks, hugging the food closer.
“You can’t watch it forever.”
“And you should be watching the road,” Fir smartly replies and receives a light glare for his true observation.
“Anyway,” Smant starts saying only to be interrupted by Firs quick, “Smooth topic change.”
“I think I prefer hanging out with you online,” Smant smirks. “I can’t mute you when you’re annoying in real life.”
“Rude!” Fir says in mock indignation. “Now I’m definitely keeping all of your moms’ cookies.”
“FIR,” other man whines.
“Nope, if you want cookies. You’ve gotta be nice to me.”
“Ugh, fine.” He concedes and the two burst into laughter. They take a moment to calm down, before Smallant brings up what he originally wanted to say again. “Anyway, what do you feel like doing now? We can go visit something in the city or do something chill. We still got a couple more hours of daylight. What are you feeling?”
Fir slumps in the car seat, resting his head against the seatbelt. The exhaustion from the long day, flight and lack of sleep was finally starting to creep in. “Honestly, could we just go back to your house and play video games and chill?”
The brunet nods his head, “Sure buddy, you’ve had a long day. I’m honestly surprised you’ve made it this long.”
Fir glares at his friend, but it ends up looking more like a squint, since there’s no heat behind it. “You drain me of all my energy. You’re exhausting to be around.”
Tanner chuckles, patting Fir on the head who lets out a loud whine. “Grab a quick nap, we got about 30 minutes before we get back.”
The blond seems to fall asleep right when Smallant finishes talking. Letting the long day, exhaustion, and emotions from today lull him into a deep sleep fairly quickly. The other man keeps the radio quiet, but still unconsciously whistles to the songs playing. It’s been a fun day for him, hanging out with his online friend in person. The entire weekend was very sudden and a bit strange, making him a bit apprehensive. No ones ever visited him before. He’s usually the one that went to people, so Fir reaching out to come see him. It was nice.
Eventually Smallant pulls up into the familiar driveway with Fir still fast asleep in the passenger seat. He takes this opportunity to steal the leftovers they’d gotten, before lightly shaking his friends shoulder. “Rise and Shine,” the brunet sing songs as he gets out of the car. He doesn’t receive a response as Fir sleepily rubs his eyes before following after Smallant.