Work Text:
Dan stared blankly at the tv in front of him. the emergency broadcast blaring its alarm on all channels. It was taking him a moment to register the words that were flashed before him.
A meteor warning. A large Asteroid, slightly larger than the moon large, was heading for the earth. About 7 hours until it enters the atmosphere. Dan compleatly shut down in shock, he could hear people yelling in the distance, probably his neighbors reacting to the announcement, but he couldn't register anything.
Dan read the words on the screen over and over again, as if the words would change, as if this would end up to actually be a joke. He is only woken out of this trance when his phone begins buzzing. It was a call from his parents.
"Hello? Mom?" Dan's voice is uncertain, as if he was a kid calling out for his parents when they'd get lost in a grocery store.
"hey baby, have you seen the tv!? I don't know whats going on but your father and I are going to try and get a plane ticket to see yo-" then a monotone beep sounded. there must be some kind of problem with the phone lines. Dan shoved his face into his hands. In this moment he felt like the loneliest man on the soon to be destroyed earth.
His roommate Barry was at the office. He wondered if he even knew yet. Dan had only been awake for an hour. He wondered how long this alert had been put out. It must have not been before Barry left for work because Barry probably would have woken him.
Dan rubbed his eyes and made a coffee. He for a few moments pretended all was well. waited for his coffee to be done to check his phone for texts.
Once Dan sat down with the drink he allowed to reality to grip his brain yet again. Anxiety about the oncoming doom gripping his chest as he turned on his phone to see 34 unread texts. Some from family reminding him that they love him and wish they would be with him. Dan felt like shit for not being able to reply, his phone showing 0 bars.
There was about 10 or so from Arin.
'Everyone's at the office. Please, please see this before its too late' was the latest.
a few earlier ones were 'come to the office when u wake up, reply if you get this'
'Barry's safe with me, please reply if u see this'
'Danny please don't ignore me come to the office, reply plz'
'Have u seen the news!? meet me at the office as soon as u can'
Dan wondered just how many people the everyone Arin was talking about was. He went upstairs to get dressed before leaving to the office. He felt panicked because now his hours were limited, but the clothes he picks now will probably be the one he dies in. He tried to push that thought out of his head and put on his Starbomb tee with some jeans.
Dan rushed out the door once he was dressed to get to his car. The street was eerily quiet, aside from some quiet distant shouting, the road was near abandoned. Everyone was indoors, probably with their families. Making Dan feel regret for a moment but he did his best to ignore it and get into his car without another thought.
Dan recklessly drove to Arin's house, there were only a few cars on the road. Dan wondered where they were headed. The way was short but Dan sped anyway, Its not like the police would be sacrificing these last few hours with work.
When Dan arrived he ran inside as if something was chasing him and getting indoors would make him safer somehow.
Immediately everyone in the room turned to look at him.
"Arin I'm sosorryididntrespondtoyourtexts" Dan puked out his words while shoving his car keys back into his pocket. He looked up to see Arin now standing in front of him, his face making it evident he'd been crying.
He opens his mouth and breaths in as if he had something to say but instead goes in for a hug, gripping Dan as if his life depended on it. Dan hugs back though, not quite as hard but he buries his face into Arin's shoulder.
A few seconds pass like this and the two separate, Arin headbutts Dan's chest.
"I was so scared..." Arin sniffs, he's started crying again "that I wasn't going to see you again Dan."
"no, never, I wouldn't leave you big cat." Dan quietly spoke into Arin's hair. His voice starting to break up into a sob.
Dan reached for Arin's hand and led him to the others, This being Ross, his girlfriend Holly, and Barry.
The two sat on the couch and the others looked at them sadly.
"Hey, guys..." Dan whispered at the others. Holly and Ross were holding each other, both looked up and Ross replied with a weak 'hey'
Barry stood up and stretched his arms out, and Dan complied by hugging him back.
The two sat down, each on one side of Arin, who then turned to Dan.
"Why didn't you answer my texts?" He asked.
"My phone isn't working, I think the phone companies or whoever have shut down their work. My mom called me earlier and thats when they stopped working. I'm really sorry." Dan explained, his voice was shaky.
"oh" Arin looked at his phone to see he was getting no signal as well.
The five sat in silence for a while, each looking incredibly panicked. eventually Arin grabbed his laptop and opened it.
"we have 4 hours and 32 minutes..." Arin mumbled reading it off of Yahoo news, as if it were a secret for only his closest friends.
"what?" Dan mouthed, he cleared his throat "b-but, before i got here the broadcast said there was seven!?"
"They've been saying that for a while Dan, and they were an hour off anyway... I mean this one might be off too..." Arin looked at Dan's face, his eyes were wide with fear. He slid his hand forward and grabbed the other man's.
The five sat in silence for a while, Holly and Ross occasionally speaking to each other but no one really listened to them. The aura of the room was suffocating, eventually the couple decided they'd rather be alone.
Ross and Holly stood up and left the room. They didn't say where they were going but neither Dan, Arin or Barry were gonna say anything.
They waited a bit longer. For someone to say something. Someone to rush into the room and yell "it was just a joke" but nothing happened and no one came.
Barry stood up.
"Listen Arin, thanks so much... For everything. But my parents live about half an hour away... I want to be with them when... it happens, so uh, I'm gonna leave. I'm sorry." Barry rubbed the back of his head nervously. Arin gave him the saddest look but understood.
"It's okay Barry, you should go to them." Arin stood up and hugged Barry again, a ridiculously tight hug, Arin trying to savor the moment, as being the last time he sees the friend hes know for years. Dan joins in, saying goodbye to his roommate.
Barry left them, Dan and Arin stood outside watching the car disappear into the horizon, they look up to see a red object in the distance, it looked as if a star was just a bit bigger and also visible in the daylight.
Arin leaned onto Dan's shoulder, a tear rolled down his face remembering all the people he'd known that he couldn't say goodbye to. From just family to even strangers he'd only spoken to once or twice. All the friendships that were and could have been.
Dan felt heartbroken looking at Arin's face, he hated seeing his friend crying.
"wouldn't it be nice..." Dan looked up at the red dot in the sky. "If it just stopped there, and just became a star." Dan's voice was broken and wet. He leaned his head against Arin's and the two stared for a bit longer.
"May... maybe we should be doing something worthwhile with this last bit of time we have." Arin looked down. "I'm so far, from anyone else... I don't know what to do."
"I think..." Dan closed his eyes. "I think being with you, is just fine."
The two stood outside for a long time, they sat onto the sidewalk and leaned on each other just staring in the direction of where Barry went. Their hands eventually intertwined with each other as they watched the red dot in the sky loom over them like an oppressive tyrant.
Eventually, Arin led Dan back inside.
They sat back onto the couch. Dan was holding onto Arin's arm as they both thought about life. Dan thought back to all the things he's done. He didn't want to die, but he was satisfied with his life for the most part, he'd become a famous musician, just like he always dreamed of becoming.
Arin thought about all the things he could have done differently and all the things he's yet to do but was never able to finish. Everything he'd been working up towards seemed a bit pointless now and it filled him with anxiety. he had so many plans and now they mean nothing. Nothing on this planet ever meant anything, it is about to be wiped out.
These thoughts were interrupted with a strange feeling, Arin lifted his hand observing how it felt off. Dan watched Arin stare at his arm.
"I guess its getting closer huh." Dan muttered "its probably messing with the gravity or something"
"oh god Dan... we're really gonna die" Arin started sobbing again, just lifting his arm and lowering it. This time it was Dan the initiated the hug with Arin gripping his waist and drowning Arin's face with the endless curls of his hair.
"ssssh, it's alright big cat, I'm here, I'm here" Dan rubbed Arin's back.
The two just held each other for a while, eventually holly and Ross left, they said they were going to go home. Arin and Dan followed them out but the couple seemed a bit more closed off then the two men. Holly and Ross hugged and waved goodbye but they were in a rush. the red dot in the sky was significantly bigger, it was now half the size of the moon.
"how much do we have left?" Dan asked quietly, looking over to Arin, who grabbed his computer.
"A little over 2 hours..." Arin closed his computer and placed it on the desk
"should we do something crazy since nothing matters anymore?" Arin wondered out loud. "We could trash this place, or burn all these collectibles or something. I mean it doesn't matter..."
"I don't really want to."
"what should we do Dan, I feel like our last two hours on earth shouldn't be just us sitting and crying."
"I don't think destroying stuff is gonna add any meaning to these last few moments."
The two eventually just decided on not taking any action, they sat in fear.
"Hey, Dan?"
"Yeah Arin?"
"Thanks," Arin paused "Thanks for being my friend for all these years, and for being here. I bet you could have done something else today. Like see a family member or another friend or something... but you stayed here, with me, and it means a lot to me."
"yeah dude, of course I'm here. You're my best friend. I don't think i would want to be with anyone else today."
"I'm so glad that I got to know you Dan." Arin grabbed Dan's hands and looked into his eyes.
"I am too Big cat." Dan smiled at his friend. Probably the first smile since he woke up.
Arin smiled back and the two hugged each other for the third time. the two were smiling like lunatics just happy they could be with each other. Arin grabbed Dan's smiling face and smushed his own against it, making it less a kiss and more of just a contact to the other mans lips. Dan would have refused this any other day, claiming he wasn't gay for his best friend, but it was his last day on earth so why bother trying to hide his feelings.
The two separated a moment and Arin hoped that he didn't make Dan uncomfortable, but Dan placed a hand on the back of Arin's neck and kissed him right back and this one was more of a real kiss.
The two men parted, both smiling and holding each others hands, happy for a moment before their joy was disturbed by a sudden loud crashing noise. The ground began to shake. The two rushed outside, the red rock in the sky was a bit larger than the moon now.
"Dan what do we do!?" Arin panicked gripping his friends hands. Dan held him close
"I'll tell you what Arin, you're gonna stay in my arms and we're gonna stay together and we'll be okay, alright?" Dan spoke straight into Arin's ear so he could hear. The earth quaked around them, it wasn't strong but it was terrifying.
the Meteor approached faster, It was getting larger by the second, it seemed the prediction of how long it would take was off by a few hours. as the asteroid approached the sky got darker and grew a red tint. The ground shook more as Dan and Arin held each other and watched from the driveway of their office.
The end approached them and they could not escape their fate.
"Dan thank you for being with me" Arin yelled as the world crumbled around them, the pavement road cracking under the pressure.
"I would never leave you big cat" Dan screamed, gripping onto Arin like he was keeping him alive.
Arin turned to Dan and Dan to Arin as the meteor came near like a book being slammed down on a few unsuspecting mosquitoes.
Arin and Dan both shed a tear and shared a deep last kiss as the world turned to nothingness and all life was wiped out in that very moment.
The asteroid smashed into the planet and destroyed the surface completely, the planets rotation ceased and nothing survived.