With the doorknob in his hand and loungewear on his body, Aiden opened his front door after the knocking hadn’t stopped for at least four minutes. He stood there with an embarrassed look on his face as he confronted the hot stranger. His eyes scanned the much taller man’s body, he had to be well over six feet tall. He was wearing black sweatpants and an oversized white t-shirt, the eye masks had been removed but the kitten headband stayed in place. One of the ears had flopped over.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” Aiden replied. “Sorry for… me—” he gestured at himself— “I’m really awkward.”

“All good, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Damien.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me.” Aiden chuckled and took his outstretched hand. “I’m Aiden.”

“A pleasure. I just moved in, obviously, and I’m bloody jet-lagged to all hell and back so I’m a little out of it but I wanted to properly introduce myself. Wouldn’t want to be a rude neighbor.”

“You say to the guy who slammed the door in your face.”

“Well…”

They both laughed.

Aiden looked back at his somewhat messy apartment for a second. “Do you need anything?”

“Oh, no…”

“N-no, I meant, like can I get you anything? I figured you’re probably not unpacked so I thought I’d offer. I was making dinner… sort of, it’s ramen.”

“Oh, well, if you have a way to heat up water I’d love to borrow a some for a tea.”

“Yeah, I have an electric kettle but I mostly use it for noodles. Uh, don’t mind the mess, I’ve been busy with my project for my finals. I think I have a mug somewhere you can borrow.”

“Let me grab my tea tin, thank you.”

Aiden nodded and watched as Damien went back into unit 5-6 and hurriedly walked over to his kitchenette to try and load some of his dirty dishes into the washer so he didn’t look like a complete animal. The ramen container on the counter steamed as the noodles softened, and he quickly shoved a few plates and utensils into the rack before setting a mug under his kettle to let it fill.

Damien knocked and walked back in, holding a box of tea in his hand that said English Breakfast in cursive lettering. Somehow Aiden felt like it probably wasn’t overly English, judging by the box’s design it looked like it was made in America and was only pretending to be fancy.

“Thanks, mate, I appreciate it. Long flight,” Damien said.

“I bet,” Aiden replied nervously as he shoved another plate into the rack.

“You’ve really made this place home, huh?”

“Yeah, I’ve been here since the end of my freshman year so I’ve had time to make it my own. I don’t really have plans to leave once I graduate, either. Too much work and the rent is decent, so I figured I’d make it a home for as long as I’m able. My job downstairs isn’t flattering but it works with my schedule so it’s a decent setup.”

“Are you an artist? A streamer?”

“Uh…” Aiden turned to look at his desk and nodded. “Yes. I’m an animation major, and I make webcomics.” Why was he telling him this? He never told people about his comics!

“Neat. It’s giving me ideas for what to do with my new home. You have great vibes.”

Aiden’s cheeks flushed again. He handed the filled mug to Damien who took it with a thanks and popped a tea bag inside. The new neighbor walked forward to look at the framed art on the wall that surrounded the desk. Aiden’s setup looked similar to a streamer’s, a lot of RGB lights and several monitors, with a neon-soaked cyberpunk energy to it all—at least, that’s how it looked when it was powered on. The rest of the studio apartment was filled with plants, a few modern looking shelves full of manga and video game cases tucked up against the far wall. His bed was placed against the opposite wall—across from his desk—with a TV hung beside the patio door that lead out onto the small balcony. It wasn’t a big space but he’d done a lot with it to make it comfortable.

“Hey, this is your tattoo,” Damien said as he pointed to the framed piece on the wall.

“Oh, y-yeah, my friend Margo did that for my twenty-first birthday. I’d wanted a custom sleeve for a while and we’ve been besties since kindergarten so it was nice to have an original piece done by them. They do landscapes, too,” Aiden replied as he closed his dishwasher.

Damien smiled. Aiden swore he saw a fang poke out over his pierced lip again before he turned back to admire the artwork.

“What’s this one?” Damien asked. “Neon Promenade?”

Aiden’s heart sunk. “Oh, that’s my… comic,” he mumbled.

“Shut up, really?” Damien’s liquor-colored eyes widened. “This is you? You did this?”

“Yes, I needed a cover for the series page and I was really proud of it so I blew it up and got it framed. That’s actually a remastered version of it I did last year, the original is underneath it. That’s weird, isn’t it?”

Damien blinked a few times. “What, showing off your own art?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Not at all. You should be proud of it. Maybe I’ll give it a read before bed tonight, looks interesting. The demon has… so many abs.”

Aiden’s cheeks grew even redder. He coughed nervously as Damien chuckled. The taller man approached, bouncing the tea bag string to help it steep. He looked down at Aiden with a smile, it was warm and genuine. Aiden studied the intricate tattoos that covered Damien’s arms as they flexed while he continued to mess with the tea bag. They were clusters of red spider lilies and chains, a lock in the shape of a bleeding cartoon heart on the left inner bicep and a dangling key wrapped up in red and pink vines on the right forearm. Every detail was painstakingly rendered, and Aiden couldn’t help but stare until Damien leaned down to his eye-level and snapped him from his thoughts. His new neighbor’s shaggy pink and black hair fell over his eyes as his head tilted.

“Thank you for the tea,” Damien said coolly.

“N-no problem. Anytime.”

“Are you free tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Classes? Work?”

“No?”

“Great, then you can how me around town. Thanks, mate!”

It took Aiden much too long to realize what Damien had said, and before he could offer a response his new neighbor had already stepped outside. But! But! His perfectly crafted schedule! His art! What would he even show him? Where would they go? How long would it take?

As he finally turned to address the comment, he found himself standing alone in his apartment with his ramen starting to cool and his mind twisted into knots.