Work Text:
All Ross wanted was to pass through the night without any trouble. As he laid on the couch in the Grump Space, eyes glued to the ceiling above, he soon came to realize that it wouldn’t happen. His wife wasn’t there. She was at home, cozy and happy, while he was stuck playing babysitter to a grown-ass man. What a load of bullshit.
A firefly came into sight. Speak of the devil. He sat up and turned his head, easily finding the rest of the swarm and their magnet.
Dan stared at him, eyes shining. Two rings of yellow with black holes in the center, cutting through the dark, concentrated directly on Ross. Dan claimed to be blind, but he always seemed to know where everyone was.
Creepy.
“What do you want?” Ross asked. It came out harsher than intended, but whatever. He kind of had a good reason to be miffed.
“I can’t sleep.”
A scathing remark almost rolled off his tongue, but Ross bit it back. “Why?” he asked instead, hoping to speed their interaction along.
“The souls are too loud,” Dan answered, and the mournful tone of his voice almost had Ross feeling bad.
“Tell them to shut up, then.” He gave the fireflies a pointed look, a challenge for one of them to do anything.
“That’s kinda harsh.” Dan cupped his hands together, letting several of the fireflies rest there. “They can’t really help it.”
Ross huffed. “Well, you’re lucky I can’t sleep either. You might as well keep me company while I work on something.”
While Dan made his way over, nearly knocking everything down along the way, Ross grabbed a pen and some paper. Thankfully the soft glow of the fireflies provided enough light for him to see with. The couch dipped with Dan’s weight sitting next to him.
It didn’t take long for the fireflies to meander from Dan and start interfering with Ross’s doodling. One even landed right on his sketch of Holly. He refused to take that for any greater meaning and simply shooed it with a quiet hiss. At least they weren’t as annoying as they could be.
“Hey, so you can hear those things, right?” he asked. Some conversation would help his muse. “What do they sound like?”
“I dunno,” Dan answered quickly, jumping on the chance to say something. “It’s a bit too complex to describe.”
“Try me.”
Dan thought for a moment. “Okay, so imagine you’re in a forest. There’s nothing, just the wind blowing through the trees.” He looked straight up, eyes vacant. “Then you hear it. Someone calling for help. Just saying ‘please’ over and over again. But it’s barely there, a whisper, you know?”
Ross nodded. It took him a moment to realize his blunder. “Uh, yeah.”
“Then that one whisper turns into two,” Dan continued without skipping a beat. “Then ten. Then fifty, a hundred. And it kinda sounds like when you flip the wrong channel on an old school TV.”
All Ross could say was, “Oh. Must suck.”
Dan let out a soft laugh. “Yeah. But they’re just lonely, you know? They need help.”
“I guess.” Ross’s muse found life again, and he started a new doodle. This one would have lots of curls and smooth lines. If he had a highlighter he could’ve made it more realistic.
Several moments passed. The silence between them wasn’t comfortable, but it wasn’t tense either. Just a bit tingly.
“What’re you drawing?”
“Hm? Oh, uh…” He quickly looked through his doodles and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Holly. You know. My wife.”
“Oh,” Dan said. His interested tone put Ross on edge. “I don’t think I’ve met her.”
Ross swallowed thickly. “Yeah, well, she doesn’t stop by the office that much.”
“You’re always calling her to ask if she can pick you up,” Dan said, voice lowering just a bit. It was clear that he didn’t want this to turn into an argument.
“So what?” Ross spat. “You don’t need to meet her.”
“Arin let me meet Suzy.” Dan drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Several fireflies landed on his head and pushed themselves against his face. “And Brian let me meet Rachel and Audrey. Why won’t you bring Holly around?”
“It’s my business.” His body tensed on its own, bracing for something that he knows won’t hit him. “So lay off it.”
“…You’re scared.”
Ross dropped his art pad onto the coffee table and let out a frustrated groan. “What if I am, huh?” he asked throwing his hands into the air. “It’s perfectly normal, okay? You’re my friend, sure, but you’re still a goddamn messenger of death or whatever. I don’t want you to do something to Holly.”
Dan was taken aback. “You know I wouldn’t-”
“Not on purpose,” Ross cut him off, “but maybe there’s something you can’t control. Like them.” He pointed to the fireflies. They had the decency to hide themselves away.
“Okay,” Dan breathed out. He looked hurt. “I know where you’re coming from. But they can’t do anything. I can’t do anything. Not on purpose.”
A debate went on in Ross’s head. On one hand, he realized he was being an asshole. From the beginning Dan had been upfront about who and what he was. By nature, he was drawn to places where death was abundant. Maybe because he acted as a guide for lost souls. But even he didn’t know the whole deal himself.
“Look,” he finally said. His mind was a bit more clear. “I just don’t want you two to meet, then suddenly see the love of my life become… You know. Nothing more than a little ball of light hanging around some random guy’s head.”
Ross stole a look at Dan’s face. Oh no. He curled even more in on himself, hiding away his face so it couldn’t be read.
“Fucking…” Ross muttered. Guilt sucked. Why couldn’t he just let it be? “You know what, fine. I’ll…” He took a deep breath, tossed his head back, and tried to rub away the ache building up behind his eyes. “I’ll see if she’s awake.”
Dan lit up. Well, even more than usual. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Ross said. He quickly pulled out his phone and called Holly before he could come to his senses.
“Ross?” Holly’s groggy voice came through after several rings. “What’re you doing? It’s midnight, for goodness sake!”
“Sorry, I just, uh… Really miss you. Think you can stop by?”
“…Isn’t Dan there?”
A sharp inhale came from Ross’s left. It was a bit funny knowing that Dan was nervous.
“Yeah. He wants to meet you, if that’s cool?”
“Waking me up in the middle of the night is never cool,” Holly said in good humor. “But sure. I’ll be over as quick as I can. You don’t think I need to change out of my PJs, do you?”
“Nah,” Ross said, shooting Dan a glance. “He can’t really make fun of your fashion choices.”
“Oh, right. Anyway, see you in a bit. Love you!”
“Love you too,” Ross said warmly. There was no way he could be in a bad mood with Holly around. When the line went dead, he tucked his phone away and said to Dan, “Happy now?”
“No, if you’re gonna keep giving me attitude.” Despite the sass, he had a smile on his face.
Ross rolled his eyes. “Hey, you did it first, with all that sulking.”
Dan stuck his tongue out at him, then grabbed a nearby pillow and swung. He only hit air.
“Don’t start with me,” Ross warned with a grin. “I won’t go easy on you just because you’re blind.”
The pillow swung again and actually hit its mark. Once Ross recovered, he got his hands on a pillow of his own and attacked without mercy. But Dan was one slippery snake.
They ran about the Grump Space- Dan colliding into walls and counters more often than not- trying to give each other a concussion. Not only did Ross have the advantage of his eyes, but he also had speed brought on by sliding his socks along the smooth floor.
Just as he was about to strike, he slid past a newly arrived Holly. She seemed amused, and a little bit worried.
He grinned and greeted her, “Hey, Holl- oof!”
The floor decided it was a good time to make acquaintance with his ass. Great. That would hurt later.
“You okay?” Holly asked with a poorly hidden laugh and a hand extended out to him.
“Yeah,” Ross grumbled, pulling himself up. “Think I’ve got some bruises, though.” He pouted at her and batted his lashes. “Kiss it better?”
“I’m not putting my mouth near there.” A warm kiss was pressed against his cheek. “So that’s all you’re getting.”
Ross smiled dreamily. “I’m fine with that.”
For a second Holly looked like she was going to say something, but her attention was drawn away by Dan, who was feeling his way over to them. Her eyes lit up with wonder. “Hi, there. How’s it going?”
Dan stopped, turning his head so that he looked more directly at Holly. “Um, pretty good. How ‘bout you?”
Unexpectedly, Holly squealed and launched herself at Dan, pulling him into a bear hug. “I’m awesome, thanks! It’s so nice to finally meet you! Ross says so much about you at home!”
“Uh…” Dan stiffened and held his arms awkwardly in the air. His eyes widened and almost blinding Ross with how bright they became.
Ross snickered to himself. If he’d known Dan was going to be this uncomfortable, he’d have this meeting a lot sooner.
“Oh sorry,” Holly said, pulling away. “Am I not supposed to touch you? Is it a death harbinger thing?”
When Dan didn’t respond, she turned to Ross and gave him a look that screamedhelp me.
“Don’t worry, Holl,” Ross said casually. He had a smirk on his face that Dan surely wouldn’t have appreciated. “Dan just gets flustered around women.”
Dan snapped out of his revere. “Do not!” he argued, even as his cheeks grew pink. The fireflies even became agitated, zooming around in little circles and bobbing in front of Dan’s face. Were they trying to protect him?
“That’s so cute,” Holly cooed, hands reaching up to cup around a firefly. It shied away at first, then let itself be captured. “Hello, little fella.” she said with her bird-mom voice.
Unease curled in Ross’s gut. He almost swatted the thing out of her hands.
“I think she likes you,” Dan said softly. There was a warm smile on his face. The other fireflies stilled, gently lolling in the air.
“So this one’s a girl?” Holly asked, lifting up the firefly to get a better look at it. “How can you tell?”
“Just can. It’s something I pick up when a lost soul joins me.”
“Oh.” She gently touched a finger to it, then let it go. “Ross doesn’t usually talk about your whole death business a lot.”
Dan raised an eyebrow. “Really? Then what does he talk about?”
A pit formed in Ross’s stomach. This wouldn’t end well.
“Oh, just how you scare the crap out of him sometimes,” Holly said. “And how you’re a really good singer.”
Surprisingly, Dan laughed. “Wow. Didn’t know he listened in on me like that.”
Ross rushed in to defend himself. “I don’t listen in. I just happen to hear you sometimes.”
Holly grinned. “All the time.”
He could feel his ears burning. “Shut up! He sings a lot, okay?”
Both Dan and Holly took turns poking fun at him for a solid minute. When he’d had enough, he stuck his tongue out at them, then grabbed his art pad and took a seat at the counter. They could have the couch, he didn’t care.
That’s when the conversation turned from Ross to other things. General smalltalk. Like hobbies and their lives. As time went on their voices grew softer and softer, until eventually there was only silence.
Ross looked up, glancing over at them only to see that they were asleep. Dan’s position looked uncomfortable: practically sitting up straight with his head hanging over the top of the couch. Holly looked slightly better curled up, head resting on his shoulder.
Under normal circumstances, Ross would feel the white-hot sensation of jealousy deep in his chest. But seeing Dan so vulnerable, and Holly so at ease around him, just made him regretful. Of all the times he’d avoided Dan, all the times he muttered something behind his back. All the times he refused to really let Dan into his personal life because he told himself that something bad would happen.
Nothing ever did. And Dan always took that treatment in stride. Never made a point of lording it over Ross’s head. And Holly always said that things would be okay. That just because he couldn’t understand Dan completely, it didn’t mean he was something to be afraid of.
He looked down at his work so far. There was a sketch of Holly, and a separate one of Dan. But now, he really wanted to see them together.
Quietly, carefully, he moved his supplies over to the coffee table and sat himself down on the floor. From his new position, he had a better vantage point. Dan’s fireflies ambled their way over too, providing more light for him to work by.
“Maybe you’re not so bad after all,” he whispered, letting one of them land on his hand as he began to work. He was in for an even longer night, but at least he had some company.