Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Chris was lounging on the sofa of his living room, many bags of chips & snacks lying around him as his eyes are lazily trained on the corny reality TV show blaring from his dingy TV. There was a slight chill in the room, Chris shivers slightly but doesn't do anything to warm himself. He tries to reach for a stray chip that's on his chest using his mouth. Chris's neck strains too much for his liking & he decides it's too much energy, plopping his head back to its previous position. It was a Sunday, the only day that Chris could laze around without any worries...or so he thought.

Dan slams the front door wide open & stomps in, letting the room fill with a cold breeze. His usual words of anger & revenge are ignored by Chris as he paces in front of the TV. Chris had been slightly startled by the initial sound but still didn't make any moves to get up, growing increasingly annoyed when Dan would repeatedly block the screen. He was about to open his mouth to say something when Dan got in his face "Hey ! Are you even listening to me ?!" Dan yells accusingly, hunched over Chris's laying form, his eyes narrowed as he examines Chris's messy surroundings.

Chris glowers at him, & with a groan of exhaustion he moves his weary body. Today was the only day he gets any rest & he clearly remembers reminding Dan of that. "Dan !! Why are you here ? I told you not to come over today multiple times !" he whines as he sits up a little too quickly, causing the various snacks to scatter onto his lap and the floor. In turn, this makes Dan step backwards, his expression a face of disgust. "Ugh ! I can see why, you big slob !" Chris's eyebrows furrow in annoyance but he stops himself from yelling at his best friend.

"Dan ! Don't you remember me telling you not to come over ? We talked about this..." Chris mumbles with tiredness at Dan's typical behavior, he rubs at his face, the chip crumbs leaving grease behind on his palm. He felt horrible and he really didn't want to deal with Dan's antics right now. Dan scratches his chin and shrugs "I can't recall." He mutters without a care at all as he continues to pace. "Anyways this is more important ! I have a lousy new neighbor I need to get rid of and I need you to buy me everything on this list by tonight." He says quickly, shoving a crumpled piece of paper in Chris’s lap. He trudges away, mumbling obscenities toward his neighbor under his breath, leaving just as quickly as he came. Chris hears Dan shout "Don't be late, lummox !!" before seeing Dan’s red car screeching off his lawn and back towards his apartment.

Chris watches Dan leave through his window with resignation & lets out a sigh as he glances down at the paper. He smiles, surprising even himself, as he sees Dan's familiar scribbles and misspelled words. Chris found it endearing & he couldn't figure out for the life of him why. A sudden gust of winter wind sweeps its way inside the already chilly house making Chris’s arm hair stand on end. He shakes his head to snap out of it & clears his throat before glancing around, as if half-expecting someone saw him...even though he was in the privacy of his own living room. Good thing he lived alone, he shrugged at the thought and got up. The remaining snacks toppled down to join the mess on his floor.

Chris closes the front door with a slam, almost equivalent to the one Dan did mere moments ago. Maybe it was his way of getting back at Dan…even though it doesn't really affect him. He was annoyed at Dan’s intrusion into his lazy Sunday but it wasn't like him to decline his friend when he needed his help. Chris decides that before he does anything for Dan, he should take care of himself first.

He cleans up his living room, vacuuming the floor & picking up trash. Then he showers to wash away the feeling of only eating junk food the whole day. He dresses quickly, knowing he would have to face Dan’s wrath if he was late. Chris grabs Dan's list of specific items, his wallet and keys before leaving his house. It seems to have started to snow since Dan left. He stands outside his doorway for a moment, his hand held out in front of him as the snowflakes slowly twirl downwards. He hurries back inside to grab a jacket. Better to be safe than sorry he presumes.

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The snow was falling more harder now, blocking Chris's view as he drives towards Dan's apartment complex. The windshield wipers screech against the frosted window and Chris squints as he tries to make out what was 5 feet ahead of him. This wasn't safe, & it'd be better for him to stop driving for now. Chris sighs with resignation as he decides to pull over & walk the rest of the way to Dan's place. It probably wasn't too far from where he was anyways. He pulls up his jacket slightly to cover his nose as he steps out into the merciless snowfall.

He opens the back door of his car as picks up the cage of mice Dan had wanted. At first Chris had hesitated when he saw them on the list but he was used to doing Dan's bidding even despite the harm it causes other humans or animals. He could tell what exactly Dan was planning, it was quite obvious- infesting his neighbor's apartment with mice. Chris eyes the small rodents warily hoping none of them would escape or worse, bite him. He shivers at the thought of that and also from the cold seeping through his layers. He grabs a bag filled with various materials Dan needed for his plan and makes his way down the street quickly.

Once Chris finds the familiar dingy building Dan lives in he rushes up the stairs haphazardly. Desperately wanting to be in a warmer place, Chris raps his hand against the door to Dan's place, right next the faded 8. When Dan doesn't answer, Chris lets out a noise of impatience. "Dan !!" He whines loudly as he faces upwards, his voice carrying in the swirling snowy wind. Chris couldn't wait any longer and turns the doorknob which, not surprisingly, wasn't locked. He walks into Dan's living room and sees Dan on his couch, a grim expression on his face as he stares off at nothing.

Chris frowns at this and walks up to his friend questioningly, "Dan ? What's-" He's cut off when Dan rushes to him making Chris stumble slightly backwards, the cage of mice still in hand. He drops them when Dan hugs him suddenly, the suprise & shock on Chris's expression clear as he glances down at the smaller man. "I'm getting evicted." Dan mutters burying his head against the taller man's chest. The cage, now broken, forgotten as Chris hesitantly closes his arms around Dan's back. The mice run free around the messy apartment. Questions and words of scolding flit through Chris's head but all he says is. "That's okay. You can stay with me for now."

A cold rush of air forced its way into the apartment and around the embracing men. It seems Chris didn't close the front door correctly. He hears the squeaks of the mice and the roaring winter wind and smiles for some odd reason. He liked hugging Dan, even due to the unfortunate circumstances. When Dan doesn't pull away, Chris begrudgingly does but mostly because another gust of wind hits his neck and he has had enough of the cold for now. He shuts the door and turns back towards his unusually quiet friend. "Let me help you pack." he offers as he glances at a sullen Dan. Chris tries to make his way to the bedroom but a mouse climbs his leg and makes him shriek like a little girl. Dan snaps out of his gloom for a moment and lets out a loud laugh at the sight and everything seemed alright.

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The snowfall was lighter after the few hours the two men spent trying to pack up Dans clothes and things that he insisted he needed. Dan's questionable belongings were stuffed into the backseat and trunk of Chris's car. A rugged chainsaw poking out of a trashbag, a large container full of body wipes & expensive toilet paper & Dan's signature clothes stuffed into an old box. Chris would occasionally glance in the rear-view mirror to the array of Dan's stuff in his backseat with slight apprehension. "Dan...Are you sure you need all this stuff ?"

"Of course I do !" Dan insisted, glaring at Chris with displeasure. "How else am I going to be prepared when someone wrongs me ?" He exclaims as he pets Mr. Mumbles, who's snuggled against his lap. Chris sighs at this "No one's going to wrong you while you stay with me...probably." Chris mutters as he tries to focus on the slightly icy road, although he was still distracted by Dan's behavior. Dan was pretty much back to his old self now, muttering curses at his landlord under his breath as he looks out the car window. Although...Chris still wondered why Dan had hugged him, the shorter man rarely shows such emotion & he has moved several times before so Chris found his sudden gloominess odd.

They reach Chris's house and the car pulls into the snowy driveway. Dan open his door once the car stops & begins to walk into Chris's house, Mr Mumbles in tow. "Bring the rest of my stuff, will you?" Dan says expectantly as he stops at the doorstep. Chris lets out a huff of resignation but complies as he grabs the trash bags filled with the likely dangerous assortment that is Dans belongings. He quickly exits the car, his boots crunching in the snow as he rushes to the front door. He places the bags down on the snow laden concrete for a moment before fishing his keys out of his pocket and opening the door quickly for Dan. "Took you long enough." Dan says with annoyance, slightly shivering. Snowflakes twirl downwards towards the two of them, landing on exposed skin as their frosty breaths billow before them. The best friends glare at each other before Dan welcomes himself inside Chris's abode.

Chris follows after, ignoring the way Dan trails his wet shoes onto the wooden floor for the sake of not starting an argument. Chris shakes the residuel snow off his boots before setting the bags down. "Make yourself at home." Chris says as he shimmies off his jacket as well, shutting the front door behind himself. Dan does just that as he plops himself down on the couch, haphazardly pulling his own shoes off with his feet. "It's cold in here," Dan complains "could you make some hot cocoa ? & mind turning up the thermostat?" Chris watches as Dan lets Mr. Mumbles go, the cat strutting away to explore the new surroundings. Dan kicks his feet up, remote in hand as he flicks through the channels in Chris's TV. Chris thinks twice before he says something. It hasn't even been a minute and Dan has definitely made himself at home. Chris just lets out a small incredulous laugh, and utters an suprisingly affectionate "Yeah, sure Dan."