Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Mmm hello" 
Francis mumbled, tiredly dropping his ID and entry request down the hatch. He looked just as exhausted as any other day, holding onto two small baskets with milk bottles inside. Even when returning to his apartment building he still had to do a bit more work before he could step inside his room, his neighbours still needed their dairy.

The doorman nodded as a greeting and took their time carefully inspecting the documents, their eyes shifting from the ID to Francis and back to the ID. They read the entry request twice, maybe thrice, and then looked at the documents on the milkman from the office folders. As much as Francis hated being looked at so much and having to stand in a room that had a few blood splatters around, he couldn't have the process rushed. Not with the doppelgangers slowly getting better at pretending to be actual people. It took a bit until the doorman passed the ID back and opened the door.

Francis obviously knew he was himself, but there were still times where he thought there would be something wrong with his ID or appearance. He might not show it, but it brings chills down his spine that his life could end within seconds just because his hair might not look the same as the day before.

He gave the doorman a weak smile, which was quite forced, and trudged through the open doors and made his way to the Stilnsky's.

Once he got to the door, he put one basket down and rang the knocked on the door. Not very loudly, but enough for anyone near to hear. He heard a few footsteps and the sound of keys jingling before the door opened, revealing Lois Stilnsky.

"Hello dearie, you're here a bit late. That's not good business" She said, taking a few coins from the little purse she was holding onto.

"Mmm, sorry. Got slowed down today" Francis sighed and passed a milk bottle, getting the few coins in return.

"Oh I'm only messing with you." She giggled.

"Who's that at the door, sweetheart?" Roman's voice was heard from further inside the house.

"Just the milkman, dear" She replied before looking back at him. "Thank you dearie, stay safe out there"

Francis made a 'mmhm', picking the other basket up and walking to the next door. Same thing as the other, his knocks got Albertsky to open the door.

"Good afternoon. Just a second, let me get the money"

Francis nodded and stood by for a moment. It didn't take long until Albertsky came back and handed the milkman the money and taking a bottle. They both gave small nods as goodbyes, both of them weren't much of talkers. Only once the door was closed was when Francis' face dropped as much as it could. He knew what was next. He got the baskets and pulled himself to the third door of the floor. It took him a moment of staring and mentally preparing himself to even knock at the door, it was difficult in some weird way. He didn't hate Angus, but Francis has way less energy and definitely doesn't feel like talking much after work.

The preparation for knocking wasn't need though, apparently, as Angus opened the door before Francis actually did anything. The sound of the door quickly opening made Francis jump slightly. 

"Good afternoon, Fran! What's this standing around behind my door? Is your lack of sleep making you too tired to knock?" Angus chuckled and raised an eyebrow at the other.

".. Mm" Was all Francis could let out. Even when he was speaking to others before, Angus just made him not able to say an actual word sometimes. It was something neither of them could explain.

He held out the bottle, waiting for Angus to take it so he could leave quickly, but by looking at his expression, it was clear that the milkman wouldn't leave so quick. 

"Now what's the rush? I have so much to share from my meeting today! Remember? That one very important meeting at my work that no-one was allowed to miss out on that I have mentioned a few days ago?" Angus had a weird smile on. It usually either meant something went really well or he was about to go on an angry rant.

Francis took a deep breath and nodded. "Mmm..hm."

"Well, turns out, the boss was sick! And he couldn't just not turn up, so what did he do? Cough and sneeze and blow his nose and groan all throughout! It was a little humourous at first, I admit it, but he just kept getting interrupted by his own sickness and the meeting just felt hopeless by no more than ten minutes in!" the words just kept coming out, and Angus didn't seem to want to stop.

Francis was beginning to zone out, nothing new when talking, more like listening, to Angus. It just so happened that when he was zoning out, his eyes were directly pointed at the business man's face. He didn't realise it until he heard Angus' speech stop and his face turning into a smirk.

"My friend, am I that handsome or what? You're staring a lot at me right now. I'm flattered, of course" Angus chuckled and folded his arms.

That made Francis look away quickly and shake his head. "Mm, no." He wanted to say more, but no more words came out as he looked back over at Angus.

"No.. What? Are you saying I'm not handsome?" He made a dramatic gasp, though his amused smile was still clearly there.

The milkman groaned. He really didn't know what to say to that. 'Yes, I think you're ugly'. 'No, I do think you're handsome'. 'No, I wasn't staring at you'. He shook his head.

"Mmm.. I was zoned out, I wasn't... Purposefully staring" He finally managed to get an actual sentence out. That seemed good. Nothing that'll hopefully offend the dramatic guy.

".. Zoned out? So you weren't listening to me? I'll just tell you again then!" Angus smiled and patted Francis' shoulder. "Really, this is what such little sleep does to you! You don't even hear your great friend's amazing stories!"

A small part of Francis died inside.

After a few more minutes of constant chatter from Angus, Francis finally found a good moment to end the conversation and take his leave. Since Angus didn't look anywhere near finishing his story, he'll probably go to his apartment later. Oh well, Francis just wanted some peace for a small while.

As the milkman walked towards the last door on the first floor, he couldn't help but think back to what was said. "Are you saying I'm not handsome?" Francis never actually thought about his looks and what his opinions on them were. His mind started to imagine Angus up close. His short brown hair, his pointy mustache, his toothy grin, his thin eyebrows.. Maybe he wasn't so bad looking. Francis paused and stopped thinking for a second, realising just how weird he sounded. No, he was thinking too deep into this. He doesn't need to have an opinion of his friend's looks. He sighed and knocked at the twins' door. He felt not only tired from his work, but tired with himself. 

Chapter Text

After about twenty minutes, Francis finally got to go back to his own place, leaving the baskets with money inside near the front door once inside. He took off his hat and groaned as he straightened his back, making a few worryingly loud pops. As his apartment was quite small, it only took a few steps until he was in his room. He wasn't bothered to change out of his work clothes, he had gotten used to hanging around his apartment with them on. Francis only left his hat on his bed and took a small book from his plain shelf which stood by itself on the wall. It looked almost out of place.

Francis moved to his living room and sat down on the low couch, grunting softly from pure exhaustion. He ran a hand through his hair and sat still for a moment, unsure if he should actually try to go to sleep or read. His insomnia was hard to deal with and maybe he should try resting more.

He ended up opening the book after about five minutes of sitting in pure silence. Francis knew well enough that he wouldn't sleep anyways, and besides, he's been trying to get into a sort of hobby since he wastes so much time laying in bed and not getting any rest from it.

The book was a little made up story, sort of like a fantasy novel. Francis was never into that kind of stuff but, might aswell give it a try. He was six pages into reading before he heard a few knocks at his door. Those knocks had a sort of rhythm to them, which immediately told Francis who stood behind the door. He contemplated whether or not to get up and see what his neighbour wanted, but Angus already knew he was in the apartment. It would be pretty shitty to just ignore him, even if he wants some alone time.

Francis sighed as more similar knocks followed - a little louder this time - and pulled himself up from the couch. He rubbed his tired eyes as he trudged over to his door and fumbled with the keys for a moment, unlocking the door a moment later.

Angus stood there with perfect posture and his usual large, and slightly creepy, smile. What Francis didn't expect to see were two mugs in his hands, both steaming hot and filled with what look like to be coffee. 

"Bonjour bonjour, friend! Since you looked so fatigued today, I thought I'd take the conversation here and bring you this! Here, don't worry, it has no sugar. Just how you like it" Angus spoke with his cheery voice, passing one of the mugs to Francis.

Well, he could never say no to coffee. Francis gently took the mug and stepped aside to let his neighbour in, who joyfully walked right in and went straight to the living room. Francis shortly followed after him.

"Oh I guess it was rude of me not to ask you about your day, friend. How have you been? Is work treating you just as badly as always?" Angus plopped himself onto the couch and smiled brightly at the milkman.

"Mmm... it's been.. Alright? No doppelgangers tried to kill me today" Francis shrugged and sat about a metre away. He took one long sip of the beverage, seemingly not phased by the high temperature of it.

"I never imagined it would get this bad that I'm saying this, but you're one lucky fellow, Fran. Especially with all that walking you do. Have you thought of getting a more.. Safe job? I'm just worried you'll get terribly hurt or.. worse" The business man slightly frowned his eyebrows and spoke with a bit of genuine concern. It made Francis feel weird in the stomach, he couldn't quite explain it.

"Mmm. Thanks, but I have no experience for other jobs. Or degrees and.. Whatever. Mmm, this is all I can do" Francis averted his eyes and shrugged, drinking from his mug again.

Angus sadly nodded. "I understand, Fran. It's a tough world we live in. If you'd like, I could make coffee for you each morning, if that'll help? You won't walk into streetlights then" He softly laughed, referencing what had happened a few days prior.

Francis rolled his eyes and couldn't help but smile a little. "Mmhm. That was just a bad day, it couldn't be helped"

"Of course, of course. But you do take the offer? We both go to work at similar times anyways"

"Mmmhm." Was all Francis hummed out. It was enough of an answer for the other man. They both sat in a comfortable silence for a while, drinking coffee and looking at whatever wasn't a bland white in the room. Francis noticed that Angus did seem to be a little closer to him than when he first sat down, but he didn't think much of it. He preferred to dismiss things than pointing them out, it just didn't seem necessary.

After more silence and a short work story from the business man, Angus left Francis' apartment to let him get some much needed rest. Although they both knew Francis needed sleep, he ended up reading until shortly after midnight. That certainly wasn't a good idea. 

Chapter Text

Francis groaned as he awoke from his two hour sleep, feeling a throbbing headache slowly settling in. He didn't even change from his work clothes from the day before, and didn't actually get into bed. He tried getting a good night's rest on the couch, and since it wasn't very comfortable nor large, his back ached along with his head. He sat up, glancing at the wall-mounted clock on the opposite side of the room. It was just about five minutes before he would start getting ready for work, much to Francis' annoyance.

Francis got off of the couch and dragged himself to the kitchen, preparing a quick breakfast of just plain bread and a glass of water. He didn't sit down, instead, he was leaning onto a counter and eating, imagining the routes he'll take to deliver milk and staring at whatever was in front of him, which happened to be a wall. He was finished with eating minutes later, and moved to his almost claustrophobic bathroom. Francis stared at his reflection in the mirror, debating whether or not he should shower. His mind was saying yes, but his body felt too tired. He hadn't changed in over a day, pretty disgusting to think about. Just for that, he pushed his tired thoughts away and decided to shower. (Time skip, no shower scene)

After a quick rinse, Francis got out of the shower and dried himself off. He wrapped the towel around himself, took his clothes and exited the bathroom, only to jump and almost get a heart attack when he saw Angus sitting on his couch. The business chuckled at that.

"Ah, my apologies, friend! I did not mean to spook you" Angus said with a smile on his face.

It took Francis a small moment to collect himself. "Mmmhow did you get in..?"

"I told you I'd come in the mornings. Oh and, you left your door unlocked. Not a smart idea with these doppelganger roaming around, you know?"

Francis only sighed. "Mhm... I'll go change"

"Into those work clothes? Don't bother. Not only do they belong in a washing machine, but you won't be going to work anyways" Angus shrugged and softly pushed a mug of coffee across the table for Francis.

Those words made him take a sudden stop and he turned his head. "...mm.. What? Why?"

"The doorman isn't in today, caught something really bad, so it's basically prohibited to exit the building. We should really have two doormen with different schedules but I guess the pay isn't that good. The doors can't be opened without anyone operating them anyways. Now, change into something comfortable, it's your day off" Angus smiled widely, clearly happy with this outcome.

".. Mm.. Then why are you in a suit?"

"I like to look fancy. Besides, this isn't one of my work suits, so it's fine"

Francis only hummed to that, walking to his bedroom. He wondered how Angus spent so much money on unnecessary amounts of clothing, it's no wonder that he lives in such a small apartment. Once he put on a decent polo shirt and trousers, he went back to see Angus had not moved anywhere this time.

"So, what do you plan on doing today, Fran? I've no ideas, I had everything set in my mind for work and now I can't do anything" Angus complained, resting his chin on his hand.

Francis thought for a moment. He just wanted to drink coffee and not do much else. Yet he didn't want to bore Angus either, he knew that man could not sit still and do nothing for even a minute. How could they both somewhat enjoy a bit of peace? He finally struck an idea. Although it was something he usually never wished to sit through, he really had no reason not to listen this once.

"..Mmm. What happened when a doppelganger tried to disguise itself as your coworker?" Francis looked over at the other, willing to listen for the first time in ages.

There was a visible sparkle in Angus' eyes despite his surprised expression, which quickly grew into a large smile." Do I have a story for you, Fran! Well, a few weeks ago - I think it was four weeks - I went to my workplace as usual, I walked in and was ready to show my ID when that doorman looked incredibly wasted! Most likely on his second bottle of alcohol, what an unprofessional sight. He let me in without even so much as looking at my ID, and the thought of possible imposters roaming at my job immediately popped up in my mind! I got that man fired the next day, and he tried to save himself by saying someone proposed that alcohol to him, it's such a bad excuse. Anyways, when I went through to have a conversation with someone I've been meaning to talk to, I already saw something wrong! Her hair was completely wrong and her eyes looked like they've been stuck on! Her posture was horrible and movements just weren't the same-"

It was like a book came to life and started spewing every word inside of it to Francis. He sipped the coffee while focusing on the words, actually enjoying the story-telling for once and remembering details he'd usually never process in his head. Maybe the stress of work makes him hate it.

As Angus continued speaking, Francis couldn't help but focus not only on his words, but on him aswell. How his expression kept changing but still had some joy to it, how he talked a lot with his hands and made a lot of gestures with them, how he barely paused to think back on his memories and kept telling the event like it was written on the back of his hand. It sort of amazed Francis on how easy conversating was for the business man and the way he was so casual during it. Even when he spoke with his other chatty neighbours, like Izaack or Lois, none of them quite compared to Angus. Looking at the man right now, just about a couple inches away from him, Francis couldn't help but smile softly. It surprised him that this man was so eager to speak with someone like him, an introverted and lonely guy who speaks mostly in 'mmm'.

Time just felt like it slowed down. While Angus laughed at how bizarrely the doppelganger spoke, Francis was now a lot more fixated on his face, his tired eyes were a bit more open than usual. It only became obvious that he was staring for an awfully long time when Angus looked over at him and stopped his rambling. It was deathly quiet, enough to hear a paperclip drop, and Francis pursed his lips and looked away as if that were to help him. Angus warmly smiled.

"Is my story really that interesting? I've never seen you so immersed, I think I'm getting better at this, no?" Angus laughed and placed a hand on Francis' shoulder. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, Fran. Should I look away when I'm speaking?"

Francis didn't feel like pushing his hand away and slowly looked back. "Mmm it's fine. Just don't stare"

Angus giggled and nodded, his hand patting the shoulder in lay on before going back to gesturing as he continued his story. 

"And she would have never described our boss, or any person, as 'tasty looking'! Who would believe that an actual person would say such a thing? Doppelgangers try to pretend to be people but they can't even get anywhere in a social situation without saying something completely out of the norm! And you would think they'd get better at it over time, but it's like they just can't learn!-"

The atmosphere didn't feel as tense as it normally would have, it felt.. Comfortable. Though being flustered for a moment, Francis felt comfortable overall. The occasional laughter that Angus made just made Francis feel a little softer on the inside. A little happier. He listened to his words again, yet still making a few glances at his face. It really felt like they were good friends for once, some might even say best friends.

It still took Angus a while to be fully finished speaking, sighing and taking a quick drink of coffee to hydrate his by then dry throat once he had no more to say. 

"..mm, that sounded.. Fun" Francis made a short chuckle.

"My life may have potentially been on the line, but it certainly was fun! I don't remember the last time I had such a good laugh at work, who knew the best comedians were a bunch of murderous fakers?"

They both laughed together. Francis was leaning back on the couch, having a nice genuine smile on. Angus wiped a small tear from his eye that formed as he continued to laugh.

"Are you suure you're the real Francis? I don't think I've heard such a genuine laugh, I'm really not sure!" Angus nudged him with his elbow.

"Mhmm, I'm just somewhat giddy for once. Maybe this is what a lot of rest feels like?"

"I'm almost completely positive that you did not rest a lot last night. Your eyes tell me all I need to know"

"Mm.. It's the coffee, then"

Safe to say that the rest of the day was spent telling stories and was overall a nice time.