𝓌𝑒 𝒻𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝒾𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝑜𝒸𝓉𝑜𝒷𝑒𝓇 ; 𝓈𝒶𝓅𝓃𝑜𝒷𝓁𝒶𝒹𝑒

[i.] ;; 𝒿𝒶𝓃𝓊𝒶𝓇𝓎

in january, nick meets dave in person for the first time. they've obviously known each other longer (three years, longer), but nick is moving out and dave just happens to have a spare room in his flat. they've planned a few outings, just to get to know each other more - not their online personas, mind you, their actual personalities, to see if they're compatible enough to live together for an unspecified amount of time (read: as long as dave wants nick to stay with him). the drive from texas to california takes him two days, cutting the almost twenty-four hour trip in half. he spends most of the drive enjoying the beautiful scenery in both new mexico and arizona and although he doesn't stop to take in any tourist sites, he makes a mental note to visit longer someday.

he ends up getting a hotel when he arrives in oakland, since it's dark, too dark for dave to still be awake, collapsing on the somewhat disgustingly powdered scented bed in his shitty hotel room, carding a hand through greasy locks and kicking off his shoes. he's too pent up to fall asleep; it's only midnight in oakland - it would already be around two am in houston, and he's more than used to staying awake all hours of the night to play minecraft with george and clay. instead of trying to force himself to sleep, he turns on his phone, sends a quick message to dave, telling him he'll meet up with him in the morning, then grabs his headphones and puts on his streams playlist, lays back in the bed and exhales deeply.

he's halfway through listening to the first song when his phone vibrates against his chest, and he squints, wincing momentarily at the bright light that flashes in his eyes when he turns his phone on. it doesn't take long for his eyes to adjust, and then he works on reading the message.

technothepig
oh, you're already here?
i guess i'll see you in the morning.
if you'd like, i can show you around sometime in the afternoon, unless you'd rather just stay home.
it gets kinda cold in winter here.

the use of the word 'home' makes something sit heavy in nick's chest. he doesn't know why - it isn't a bad feeling, quite the opposite, but it's laced with nervousness. and, yeah, nick knows he's got nothing to be nervous about, but moving into an apartment with someone you've never met in real life before is terrifying - in the best way. he works on responding to dave's messages, however, cmten and glitch gum's never met blasting through his headphones.

sippycup
at a hotel right now, but yeah, i'm in oakland.
from what i saw driving in, it's really pretty, so i'm not going to pass up being shown around.
you can be my personal tour guide.
and i'm not that sensitive to cold, i can handle it.

nick eats his words the next day. it rains overnight, yet it's a mix of snow and rain. it's pretty, and even though it's something the texan has never experienced before, a hoodie and sweatpants aren't really clothing fit for the current weather. dave is wrapped cozily in a fur-laced jacket, however, grinning at nick as he shivers. "we should probably get you an actual coat." he murmurs, voice monotone and yet music to nick's ears, and he nods fervently in agreement.

they didn't agree to meet at the apartment, since nick is too damn hungry and dave is somehow out of food (except for saltines and bread, and he isn't sure how anyone could make a meal out of saltines and bread), instead rendezvousing at a small café. even in the café, he's freezing cold, and dave makes a mental note to lend one of his coats to nick. he's taller than nick is, but the shorter seems to like oversized clothing - as shown by the hoodie he's wearing that would probably fit dave - so he'll give him one. it's no big deal.

they finish eating, dave pays for the food and they leave. as they walk outside, nick almost doubles back and walks back into the café, whining about how cold it is outside and dave hums quietly, unzipping his jacket and sliding his arms out. he gently drapes it over nick's body, zips it up, admires the way it looks on him, though he looks away the moment after, face flustered. he's lucky it's cold outside - he can simply blame his flushed cheeks on the cold wind blowing harshly in his face.

"thanks, dave, but you didn't hafta do that, y'know," nick murmurs, nuzzling deeper into the coat, and the action makes dave smile softly. he looks comfortable, warm and cozy inside the large winter coat, and dave smiles, though the expression quickly slips off his face.

he waves a hand as he responds, "no, it's fine. i wanted to. keep it, it's yours." the royal red of his - now nick's - coat looks nice on him, contrasts beautifully against his skin, the white fur lacing the hood is strikingly pretty against his hair, and dave loves the way it looks on nick. it suits him, better than it ever did dave. it's a strange thought, though he doesn't mind it, he just wishes he knew where it came from. "i don't need it anyway, i'm used to the cold here and i have more of my own at home."

"let's just- hurry up and get back to the house, yeah?" nick says, teeth chattering, and dave complies wordlessly, stuffing his hands in his pockets and leading nick to his flat. he unlocks the door and holds it open for him, closing and locking it after nick is settled down on the couch, still bundled up inside the coat for warmth. dave turns the heat on, watches as nick eventually stops shivering, and decides they'll stay inside for the rest of the day. he'll have plenty of opportunities to show nick around oakland, he doesn't have to rush. he steps into his kitchen to brew some tea, keen ears listening for the distinct sound of footsteps, and when he doesn't hear any, turns back to what he's doing, trying not to let the oolong burn (yes, it's possible to burn tea - oolong is a sensitive type of tea and will taste charred and bitter if left on the stove for too long).

dave isn't that good of a cook, but he can make good tea, so it evens out, hopefully. once the oolong is done, he distributes it evenly into two cups, sips quietly on one and brings the other one out to nick, who takes it gratefully, blows gently on it and then takes a sip. "thanks," nick says, and dave shrugs it off, sitting down next to him, brushing his hair out of his face and leaning against the shorter subtly.

it's the perfect start to the beginning of the year, nick thinks to himself, a small smile on his face.

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final word count; 1.2k