Chapter Text
“You’ve got two days to get me the money.”
The words bounced off Brian as he huddled against his desk. He didn’t need to ask twice about what would happen if he couldn’t get Geoff the money. The pocketknife in his hand told that story clearly enough.
He shuddered, thinking back to last month when he managed to catch a few extra hours and had just enough money to scrape together for his and Geoff’s rent. Apparently, he’d still made Geoff nervous and almost wound up in the hospital. Maybe it would have been best if that had happened.
He knew he had to get out of here, but he was having trouble finding anywhere else that he could afford. As he ran a hand down the scar on his arm, he hoped that he could just make it to tomorrow without anything happening.
****
Brian eyed the crumbling garden wall, double checking the scrap of paper in his hand. The address was correct, but it wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. Then again, he couldn’t be too picky, especially for the low price. The place wasn’t ugly. He just had trouble seeing how it could fit four humans or how it could look so run down outside with so many people living there.
Pushing away his thoughts, he knocked and waited for what felt like an eternity for someone to answer. A shorter man with the bluest eyes Brian had ever seen finally opened the door.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“Yeah, uh, I’m Brian.”
The blonde man continued to stare at him.
“I called the other night about the room?” Brian added, holding up the crumpled flyer.
“Ohhhh!” the other man exclaimed. “Right mate, sorry about that! Come in,” he added, forcing the door open slightly more to let the lanky man in.
The entrance could only be described as organized chaos. Half of the place was meticulously tidy while another corner of the small hallway was piled high with various clothes and shoes.
“So, you want the room?” the man asked, leaning casually against the doorframe as Brian slipped off his shoes.
“Yeah, I mean, that would be the plan,” Brian replied. He heard a voice calling out from the end of the hall, as the blonde rolled his eyes.
“Well, we’re in the market for a tenant. I’m Roger by the way.”
Roger led him through the house, which consisted of a tiny kitchen, a surprisingly roomy living room and another, smaller hallway with the bedrooms. When they reached the one on the end, Roger pushed open the door to reveal a small bedroom that was entirely furnished.
“Er…” Brian mumbled. “Is there another tenant living in here?”
“Nah,” Roger replied, kicking a pile of dirty clothes out of the way. “There was before but he probably won’t be back.”
Brian was curious about the ‘probably’ part, but he decided to keep quiet.
“He left most of his stuff. If that’s a problem, we can clear it out for you. Fred and I meant to do that before you came by actually-”
“That’s no problem,” Brian interjected. “It’s great.” It wasn’t like he had much choice. He had exactly ten days to find a new place that he could afford and to move in before things got risky.
“Great!” Roger exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “I’ll talk it over with Fred and John and we’ll let you know.”
“I can give you first and last month,” Brian added. He meant it too, the place was attractively cheap.
“Great. If you’ll just leave your phone number, we’ll call you when we decide anything.”
Brian was starting to get nervous as Roger led him back to the entrance. Did he say something wrong? He couldn’t bear to go back to his place without having some sort of hope for this place. “And references. Whatever you need, I can give you.”
Roger paused, glancing towards the kitchen then looking over at Brian. “Look, I’m sure you’re great and all, but we’ve got to talk things over before agreeing to anything. We’re like family you see. And technically, we’re not allowed to sublet the room but…” Roger trailed off, looking guilty for having revealed so much.
“Well, nobody will hear about it from me,” Brian reassured him. “Are you at the university?”
Roger’s face lit up. “Yeah, we’re all students.”
“I’m in the-” Brian began before being pushed against the hallway wall as the front door swung open. He didn’t quite know what to make of the man who had just walked in, clad in a full fur coat and white boots.
“Ah, Roger darling, lovely to see you. Would you mind fetching the groceries, there are ever so many bags and I have to run to make a call.” The man noticed Brian awkwardly scrunched in the corner and his face lit up. “You must be Brian!”
“Yeah,” Brian replied, smoothing out his shirt and reaching out to shake the man’s hand. The man took it and pulled Brian into a dramatic embrace.
“Wonderful. We talked the other night, I’m Freddie. I take it Roger has shown you the place?”
“I didn’t bring him in to stare at the hallway, Fred,” Roger muttered.
“And?” Fred asked him, staring expectantly.
“It’s quite nice, I’d like to move in as soon as I can,” Brian replied, desperately hoping to get some confirmation from this man. He clearly held some sort of authority in the household.
“Well, I don’t see an issue with it, so long as you have the money, darling.”
Roger started to interrupt as another man appeared at the end of the hall, half-hidden by the shadows. Fred strode over and tugged him into the hall.
“This is John. Do you have an issue with Brian here moving in to replace Paul?”
John snorted as he shook his head. Roger still looked uneasy, but this fur-clad man was clearly reassuring to him. Brian had spoken to him the other night, but hearing Freddie’s voice over the phone could not have prepared him for the man in front of him. He wasn’t even sure that Freddie was his real name. But he had an inexplicable motherly energy. Not a leader exactly, but a mediator.
The three men were clearly close, and he understood that he would be an outsider in their little group. But Brian was fine with that. In fact, he was used to being the outsider. But anything was better than going back to his old place. A shudder ran down his back as he tugged at his sleeve. He hardly knew these people and he knew that he should be wary of them but he couldn’t help but feel reassured around them. Something told him that this would be a much different experience than his last rental.
****
Brian knew he looked exhausted as he hauled the final box into the house. He had refused any help moving because he feared it would trigger Geoff. He didn’t need his new roommates knowing his entire history, not when he carefully provided his research supervisor and past manger as references. No. This business with Geoff would end here.
John eyed him from the kitchen as he set the box down with a groan. “You need a hand?”
Brian glanced up, surprised to hear the man speak. He had hardly exchanged two words with him. “No, it’s alright, thanks. Is uh, Fred home?”
“He’ll be back a bit later. Help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge.”
Brian stood in the junction between the kitchen and the bedrooms, unsure of what to do with himself. His new roommates seemed oddly relaxed with things and nobody had batted an eye when he asked to move in the same day that he got a call confirming his tenancy. Then again, they were all busy with school, like he was.
“You cook?” John asked.
“I… manage?” Brian replied, watching John’s face fall slightly.
“That’s alright,” he said. “I usually end up doing a lot of it. Since Roger would live off crisps and undercooked pork chops. And Fred means well but I don’t think he knows that cramming every spice known to man in a dish doesn’t fix a burned casserole.”
“So, you all eat together?” Brian asked.
“Well, we try. Our schedules get in the way.” John pushed away his mug. “This must be strange to you. Three men living together as if we’re family. But we’re really quite close.”
“No, I think it’s nice,” Brian added. “You support one another.”
“Exactly.”
“I understand that it’s awkward to have some stranger move in.”
John glanced at Brian. The intensity in his eyes, for such a quiet man, was startling. “It’s not too bad if the right person moves in.”
Brian nodded, a bit uneasy at the man’s tone. He reached for an apple and hoisted the box towards his bedroom. Of course, it didn’t feel like his bedroom since everything from the previous tenant still remained. Paul. That as his name. Brian wasn’t one to assume, but he couldn’t picture a nice scenario where someone left behind all of their things. He made a mental note to bring it up when the others got back to help clear out the room.