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It was storming.
That wasn’t unusual for the time of year. A little rain never hurt anyways.
CRACK!
Thought it would have been really nice if the storm hadn’t come with lightning and thunder and also took out the power. Techno had been looking forward to a nice evening of reading in his library nook, the book he’d just gotten from the library having tempted him all day as he’d made his way through a seemingly endless chore list.
But it had been quite important that he fix the shutters and mend the fence, and clean the drainage. He’d been planning to stop by and check on the neighbors, but decided to move the pile of blankets and pillows he’d prepared into the living room ahead of the storm. And that was very much proven when the first drops of rain came down.
Good thing his basement was stocked full of everything he could need. Not that he could do a lot without electricity but he wouldn’t die of hunger, considering this was no weather to be leaving the house in. He had cocoa and water and bread to last for long enough the storm would pass.
Then again, it was supposed to become a blizzard later so maybe not. He hoped his potatoes would be okay.
He sipped at his lukewarm cocoa. There was no fire in the fireplace, but he had ample blankets and his dog Steve to keep him warm. And he had a camping lantern he’d pulled out of the closet to offer some light, though he wasn’t sure why he’d even bothered considering it was just him and the dog in the moderately cold house.
At least Steve was an excellent heat source. The giant thing was flopped over Techno and snoring, and Techno doubted he’d be able to get up even if he’d wanted to. Like an oversized heater that had ben deposited into his lap.
The house was a little cold. And empty. And Techno hadn’t really talked to anyone recently, which was probably not ideal for his social health but hey, he had the dog. That was enough, right?
He took another sip of cocoa. His lantern flickered briefly as the winds howled outside. He wondered how cold it would be when he inevitably had to leave his blanket nest.
He’d find out soon, because someone was knocking at the door.
Techno really hoped it wasn’t some crazy delivery guy who was just immune to this kind of weather. But no, it wasn’t, as it turned out.
Honestly though, he wasn’t sure if seeing his neighbor Squid at the door with nothing but a thin jacket and a lantern in his hand was any better.
Squid stumbled into Techno’s house and almost immediately collapsed on the floor as Techno swiftly closed the odor behind him.
“Bruh,” Techno deadpanned as Squid shivered. “Seriously?”
“I-In my d-d-defense, I d-didn’t know it w-was g-g-going to g-get this b-b-bad t-this f-f-f-fast,” Squid protested through clattering teeth. Steve wandered over to sniff at him. “H-hey, bud…Oh, you’re….you’re warm.”
“Yes, large dogs usually are,” Techno agreed.
Somehow, Techno managed to get Squid out of his rain-soaked coat and into the living room. Just because they were feuding over potatoes did not mean he was totally heartless. He couldn’t exactly have a potato war if his competitor was down with pneumonia now, could he?
Squid’s lantern, looking well-worn but still glowing brightly, joined Techno’s on the floor. Next to each other, it didn’t look quite as lonely, though Techno figured they’d probably need to turn one off to save battery once Squid finished nibbling at the dry bread he’d been offered.
But before he could even say anything, the doorbell rang. Several times. Squid made a questioning noise as Techno stood up. He’d barely gotten to sit down, who even–
“Hey, Techno. Sorry to intrude.”
The hell?
“Scott. What are you doing out in this weather?” Techno asked as the local historian trooped in, then watched as another person followed after. “Why is Grian in town?” The architect literally lived in the city, a solid five hour drive away. He only ever came down when Scott called him up to even out the weekly community football game, or for festivals. In fact, Techno only knew him because Scott once rang him up to fill in for someone during an event.
“Hello!” Grian chirped, and offered up a camping lantern similar to Techno’s. “I was doing some hiking in the area for inspiration, and asked Scott to pick me up. Except, well.”
“We didn’t make it back to Rivendell,” Scott said in reference to his homestead. “You were the nearest person. Hope you don’t mind.”
Well it wasn’t like Techno was going to say no. Even though it was a little weird they’d apparently taken the long way, when Scott lived much closer to the nearest hiking trails. But he said nothing, and both Scott and Grian had already peeled off their outer layers and kicked off their boots, wandering over to join Squid and Steve on the living room floor. A third lantern was placed next to Techno and Squids’ . Introduction were quickly made, and Steve enjoyed the attention the newcomers gae him.
It was a good thing Techno didn’t sit down, or he would’ve missed the frantic knocking just a minute later. He opened the door with a sigh and forlornly said goodbye to keeping the last of the heat inside the house as Ranboo and Niki stumbled inside, thunder cracking ominously behind them.. Ranboo shrugged at Techno, and added the lantern in his hands to the growing cluster, while Niki smiled sheepishly.
“What happened?” Techno asked.
“Busted tire. Phil’s out of town.” Niki said. Presumably, so was Puffy and her boys if this was where Niki had ended up.
Techno went to go and make a few more mugs of lukewarm cocoa, grabbing his lantern as he went to the kitchen. Niki replaced it with her flashlight, which she had to turn down to a low setting. Why it was so bright, Techno had no idea.
Probably a spare she kept in the car for emergencies and never had to use before.
When he returned, there was one extra person in the circle and a paper lantern in the light pile.
“Eh?”
“Hi, Techno!”
“Tap. What…is the meaning of your lantern?” Techno asked, and gave the grinning man the mug he’d originally made for himself. “Actually, when did you get here?”
Tapple shrugged. “I thought this was Spifey’s. Did you know you both have the same lock?”
“Tap. Spifey doesn’t even live in this town.”
There was light snickering from around the room. Tap chuckled as well, ruefully rubbing the back of his neck.
“Uh…whoops?”
Techno wondered how his life had come to this.
“Is this where the party’s at?” And there was Techno’s other next-door neighbor Skeppy, who unlike Tapple actually had a key to Techno’s house and didn’t use the one for Spifey’s to get inside. His housemate Bad shut the door behind them, and then squatted down to let their dogs out of his coat.
Skeppy waved at Techno as he added their lantern, handcrafted years ago by Bad, to the pile of other lanterns. He paused. “Who brought the paper lantern? The lunar new year’s not for another week…”
“I was going to hang it at Spifey’s, but the storm happened,” Tapple explained.
“What.”
“He left a plush turkey on my chandelier! What else was I supposed to do?”
“Sounds reasonable,” said Grian, the last person who should be allowed to judge the reasonability of such antics. Squid, who was currently in the middle of a war with his neighbor about who could grow the most potatoes because he was bored, nodded in agreement.
Techno had a feeling he was going to run out of supplies a little earlier than anticipated. Instead of three months, he’d probably last two months with all of these extra people in his house. How dreadful. He went to go and prepare some more lukewarm cocoa.
He returned to a living room full of lively chatter, a large nest of humans, dogs, and blankets having formed around everyones’ light sources of choice. Techno was beckoned over by Skeppy, and he gratefully took a seat against a snoring Steve who’d fallen asleep after receiving enough pets for a lifetime.
He looked around as he sipped his drink. Squid and Grian were conspiring together about something involving the ethics of pigs, with Scott chiming in every so often between his conversations with Ranboo and Niki about the upcoming Snow Festival. Tap, Bad, and Skeppy were trading stories of recent events that Techno sincerely hoped did not include the time he tripped and fell into mud while claiming his balance was perfectly fine. Bad and Skeppys’ dogs were lying next to their owners, tails wagging and lapping up the attention Ranboo was giving them.
The room was bright with so many lanterns, and the house didn’t feel quite as cold as before. Whether that was because there were more bodies in the room, or because he was sitting next to a giant hairy space heater, Techno didn’t know. But he knew that despite having far fewer blankets and pillows surrounding him then before, he was warm.
The storm raged outside, but inside, laughter drowned out the thunder and smiles lit up the darkness.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad to miss an evening of reading after all. Not when he was surrounded by good friends.
.
“Hey Skeppy, why’d you and Bad turn up here?” Tapple finally asked, long after everyone else had fallen asleep, Techno included. “I mean, I came by accident, but…”
Skeppy snickered quietly.
“Well, if you can’t beat ‘em in pranks, might as well do ‘em a favor, right?”
Tap scanned the room. The lanterns had all been turned off, save for Techno’s. It stood out from the others, with its blue paint and pig charm on the handle. Squid’s was well-used and of a similar model, and probably was considering the lengths he and Techno would go towards their little game. Ranboo, Scott and Grian’s, and Skeepy and Bad’s looked much newer, like they’d never been used before. Niki’s flashlight was in the center of the whole thing along with Tap’s lantern, having been so bright that if none of the other lanterns were lit it would have easily lit up the room on its own. Like it was new and–
“Oh-”
“Didn’t expect such a big crowd, but hey, it happens, right? Hopefully no one used up their batteries too much.”
Tap chuckled. “Hopefully. Good night, Skeppy,”
“Good night, Tap,” Skeppy said, and snuggled into the blankets, the sounds of Steve’s sighs lulling him to sleep.