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Nico woke up because he was thirsty.
That was the only reason.
They all went to bed late, after hours of rehearsal, followed by pizza, beer, and a completely unnecessary argument between Pascal and Kevin about which of them would survive longer in a zombie apocalypse.
Pascal claimed he would.
Kevin pointed out that Pascal would probably stop to complain about the zombies' fashion choices.
The drummer eventually told them both to shut up.
After that, everyone went to sleep.
They were all staying at Dan's place because the band's rehearsal room was nearby, and they had another long rehearsal in the morning. Nico shared the spare room with the drummer.
He had fallen asleep almost immediately.
Until his throat woke him up.
Nico sat up, grabbed his phone, and checked the time. 2:20 am.
He sighed.
He needed water.
The house was completely quiet when he opened the bedroom door.
He walked downstairs, trying not to make too much noise.
The kitchen was dark.
He found a glass, filled it, and drank half of it immediately.
Then he heard something. A quiet sound from the living room.
Nico stopped.
He looked toward the doorway.
There was a faint glow from the TV.
Someone was awake.
Probably Kevin. He thought.
Nico walked over.
He looked inside and stopped.
Dan was asleep on the couch.
Daniel was asleep with him.
Nico blinked.
Daniel lay curled against Dan's chest, his head tucked beneath Dan's chin. One of Dan's arms rested around his waist, holding him close even in sleep.
The TV played some old movie neither of them was watching anymore.
Nico stood completely still.
Of course he knew. Everyone already told him.
Dan and Daniel were together.
But knowing something and seeing it were two different things.
This was different from the little things Nico noticed.
This was intimate. Not in a dramatic way. There was nothing scandalous about it.
They simply looked comfortable. Like this was where they were supposed to be.
Nico quietly stepped backward.
He knew he should leave.
Instead, his foot caught the edge of the carpet.
He stumbled.
The floor creaked.
Dan moved.
Nico froze.
Dan opened his eyes.
For a second, he looked confused.
Then he saw Nico standing there.
“Oh.”
Nico raised both hands.
“Sorry.”
Dan blinked sleepily.
“What are you doing?”
Nico pointed at the glass in his hand.
“Water.”
“Got it.”
Neither moved.
Daniel shifted against Dan without waking.
Dan immediately looked down at him.
His expression softened.
Nico noticed.
He suddenly felt like he walked into something private.
“I'll go back upstairs.”
Dan nodded.
Nico went upstairs.
The next morning, Nico woke up to the smell of coffee.
He went downstairs and found Pascal sitting at the kitchen table.
Kevin stood by the counter.
The drummer leaned against the fridge.
Dan was making coffee.
Daniel was nowhere to be seen.
Nico stopped in the doorway.
Pascal looked at him.
Then at Dan.
Then back at Nico.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Pascal narrowed his eyes.
Nico sat down.
Kevin handed him a mug.
“You look tired.”
“I woke up during the night.”
“Couldn't sleep?”
“Needed water.”
Pascal's eyes lit up.
“Oh?”
Nico took a sip.
He immediately regretted it.
“What?”
“You went downstairs?”
“Yes.”
“At night?”
“Yes.”
Pascal leaned forward.
“Did you see anything?”
Nico looked at him.
“How would you know?”
Pascal grinned.
“Because you look like someone who saw something.”
Kevin started laughing.
The drummer quietly said. “He saw them.”
Nico stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“You're not subtle.”
“I wasn't even doing anything!”
“You've been staring at Dan for thirty seconds.”
Nico looked toward Dan.
Dan stood with his back to them, apparently pretending not to listen.
“You're all impossible.”
Pascal leaned back.
“So. What did you see?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar.”
“Pascal.”
“What?”
Nico lowered his voice.
“I saw them asleep on the couch.”
Pascal's grin became enormous.
“Cute, wasn't it?”
Nico sighed.
“Yes.”
Kevin nodded.
“They do that.”
“They do that often?”
“All the time.”
Nico looked at Dan.
Dan finally turned around.
“I can hear you.”
Pascal smiled innocently.
“We were complimenting your sleeping arrangements.”
“You were interrogating Nico.”
“Details.”
Dan shook his head.
A few minutes later, Daniel finally appeared.
His hair was messy. He wore a T-shirt that Nico recognized. It was Dan's.
Nico looked at it.
Then at Dan.
Dan looked at the shirt.
Daniel looked down.
“Oh.”
Pascal immediately started laughing.
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Dan said.
Daniel looked at Nico.
Nico tried not to smile.
Daniel sighed and dropped into the chair beside Dan.
Dan put a coffee in front of him without asking.
Daniel took it.
“Thanks.”
They looked at each other for a moment.
It was such a small thing.
But Nico understood now.
They had done this for so long that they didn't need to think about it.
Dan knew how Daniel liked his coffee.
They knew where the other one was without looking.
Nico found himself smiling.
Daniel noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're smiling.”
“I think it's cute.”
Daniel chuckled.
Dan sighed.
“Don't encourage him.”
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
Pascal pointed at them.
“See? Married couple.”
Dan threw a napkin at him.
Daniel laughed.
Nico watched the chaos unfold around the kitchen.
He was worried about joining a new band.
He expected awkwardness. He expected having to figure everyone out.
He didn't expected this.
He didn't expected to find himself in a house where two of his bandmates were secretly dating but somehow behaved like an old married couple in front of everyone.
And strangely, he didn't mind.
It felt warm.
Like he was allowed into something that already existed long before he arrived.
Later that morning, they started packing their equipment.
Nico carried his bag toward the door.
Dan stopped him.
“You've got your charger?”
Nico checked his pocket.
“Yes.”
“Phone?”
“Yes.”
Daniel walked past them.
“Did you eat?”
Nico looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Properly?”
“Yes.”
Daniel nodded.
“Good.”
Nico stared at him.
Then he looked at Dan.
“You two do this with everyone?”
Dan frowned.
“Do what?”
“Take care of them.”
Dan shrugged.
“Someone has to.”
Nico smiled.
“Right.”
He finally understood.
Dan and Daniel weren't just a couple.
They were a quiet, inseparable little thing that formed over years of music, travel, rehearsals, arguments, shows, bad food, long nights, and ordinary mornings.