Aiden was pulled from his concentration when a furious knocking arrived on his door. He spun his chair and stood up. His legs felt like jelly and he groaned as he tried to get feeling back into them, shaking each one a few times as he went. He really needed to stop sitting on his legs while he worked. It was no wonder his hips ached at all hours.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by Damien’s smiling face.

“I got the job!” Damien said proudly.

“Congrats! That’s exciting, when do you start?” Aiden asked.

He wasn’t quite sure he wanted to know what illegal things would be happening behind the scenes to get someone without a real work history… or ID… or online presence… or anything that made a person like Damien feel legitimate enough to give a job, but he was happy for his new friend. He’d need to thank Tommy for helping. Though he was sure Billy would have hired Damien without the push, he was sure it made some difference having someone vouch for him.

Damien was practically glowing with excitement, and Aiden felt better knowing his friend would be getting some cash and have something to do in the future instead of waiting around all day like a puppy for him to get home. After he’d mentioned how much Damien reminded him of a dog with separation anxiety, he couldn’t get that thought out of his head. He may or may not have doodled a chibi Damien with puppy ears and a tail during his last class in his notebook… and then himself with matching cat ears… with hearts. He was being so normal about this.

“They want me to come in tomorrow to help with some inventory and training so I start first thing in the afternoon. I’m really excited,” Damien replied.

“I’m happy for you! Do you want to get some dinner to celebrate? I haven’t moved in like… three hours, I should walk around some,” Aiden said.

“Sure! I’d like that. It’s kind of cold today, don’t know if you’ve been out or not.”

“Is it? I only went down to the convenience store around lunchtime to grab a snack since I wanted to lock in.”

“Yeah, it’s breezy.”

Aiden scanned Damien’s body for a second. “Are you warm enough?”

“I suppose I am a tad chilly.”

Aiden waved him into the apartment and went to his little closet to find one of his thick sweaters. He pulled one of his old oversized ones off the hanger and handed it to Damien.

“Stay warm, we don’t need you sick before you start work,” Aiden said sternly.

“Thanks. It got so cold so fast, it’s a lot warmer where I’m from so winter is a new concept,” Damien replied. He slid the fashionable sweater with oversized buttons on over the henley he’d been wearing. It was a lovely garment, it showed off all of those rippling muscles, but Aiden knew they needed to prioritize warmth right now.

Aiden furrowed his brows at the mention of it. He wanted to question the statement. He was pretty sure England wasn’t all that much warmer than the US at any time of the year, so unless Damien had moved somewhere tropical that didn’t make sense. Maybe he was from Hell… or he’d been a part of a crime family that relocated somewhere else with beaches and easy access to the ocean for transporting illegal goods, and he was on the run from his maniac father. Somehow, the Hell aspect seemed more plausible. Damien did not give off son-of-a-crime-boss energy.

“So you don’t have winter clothes?” Aiden opted to ask instead.

“Not a coat or sweaters, but I have a few hoodies. They’re lightweight. Not like this, this is comfy,” Damien replied with a shimmy and a smile.

Heat flashed along Aiden’s cheeks. Damien looked good in his sweater. Well, Damien looked good in everything, but in his sweater? He was swooning.

“Since it’s cold out should we get something warm for dinner?” Damien asked.

“There’s a sandwich shop near campus I like that has great soup options, but we could also get pizza.”

“Soup sounds awesome. It feels really autumnal out, I want to do something cozy.”

“Cool, soup and sandwiches it is. They have really great Reubens.”

Aiden quickly slipped on his sneakers and grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone—saving his school files as he went since he didn’t quite trust things being safe with random blackouts—before he raced out after Damien into the hallway. They made their way to the apartment lobby and out into the surprisingly chilly evening. Aiden shivered as they started heading off toward the sandwich shop.

“Oh, wow, it did get cold,” Aiden said. “Winter will be here before we know it.”

“So… we’ll get snow?” Damien asked with delight.

“Probably in December, definitely in January from how things historically go.”

“That’s so exciting! We’ll have to go to the park when it does.”

“Sure. My friends think I’m crazy but I prefer the cold so I like brisk winter walks. I’ll be stressing out about my finals by then, too.”

“What are you planning on doing once you graduate?”

“The same thing I’m doing now except with student loans to pay off. I might start taking commissions to help offset the extra costs but I haven’t really made plans. I want to finish Neon Promenade before I take on any animation projects, that way my focus isn’t split like it has been, so I won’t be using my degree for much except webcomic trailers.”

“You won’t move?”

“Do you think I want to move all of those books and that heavy ass desk?”

“Fair point.”

They both laughed.

Aiden shook his head. “I’ll be sticking around for as long as Mr. And Mrs. K will let me, but I don’t think they’ll mind since it’s not necessarily student housing. I’ll keep the job at the shop, too. It’s easy and I owe them, maybe I’ll work free of charge and they’ll take it off my rent.”

“Cool.”

Aiden nudged Damien with his elbow. “I’m not going anywhere, don’t pout.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. Unless something really weird happens or I suddenly get a publishing deal and make it big I’ll be sticking around. This is home. And hey, if they do need to free up a unit for someone you could always move in with me. It’s not like you have a ton of stuff.”

Damien nodded, seemingly happy with that answer. He started rambling about his new job, how excited he was and how he wasn’t sure what he should wear for his first day. Aiden let him talk. He liked listening to Damien talk, liked it when he was happy. He couldn’t wait to hear all about the things he’d do at the record shop when his new neighbor inevitably showed up at his door tomorrow evening. Maybe he’d break out the fancy ramen and make them dinner.

Blush ran over Aiden’s cheeks once again as the thought of such a domestic, quiet evening with his new friend settled in his mind like a curled up cat in the sunlight…