Chapter Text
“What’s a stuck in the mud like you doing in a place like this?”
Argus squinted up through the coloured lights that illuminated the pier, gaze catching the sight of a worn duster jacket, and the scruffy guy wearing it. He recognised him from school, but they’d never shared words before. The infamous one man disaster- Rufus.
“...Am I not allowed to be here?”
He shrugged, kicking at the ground, “Just seems weird yaknow? Being at a carnival, but hanging back here in the dark, brooding .”
“I am not brooding.”
Rufus lent against the fence, crossing his arms and hunching his shoulders in obvious imitation.
“ I’m not brooding.”
Argus sighed and rolled his eyes, looking out to the crowds and catching a brief glimpse of the group that brought him out.
“I was dragged along. I don’t find this kind of place fun.”
“Yeesh, what they say about you is true then.”
He glared hard enough for Rufus to recoil.
“And what do they say?”
“Thaaaaat you’re a no-nonsense, no fun, stick up his arse kinda guy?”
He could have punched him, he even stood up straighter to try to get some intimidation points (they were both unfortunately, rather short), but he withheld since it wasn’t worth it. Gossip was gossip, and it was probably a lot better than what he’d heard about Rufus.
“Hrm.”
He slouched again, staring hard at the ground. Rufus, apparently taking the lack of physical harm as an invitation, hoisted himself to sit atop the fence, looking out over the crowds. Music buzzed in the mild evening air, and occasionally screams rang out as the coaster dropped from its peak.
“...Hey, how about I show you how to properly have a good time here?”
Argus glanced up from the corner of his eye.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
A grin spread across Rufus’ face, “I bet that if you hang out with me, you’ll have the most fun you’ve ever had.”
The longer he stood quiet, the more that grin grew, clear confidence in his challenge shining through. Argus twisted to properly look at him.
“Don’t bets usually have two sides to the bargain?”
“Er, well- I mean I don't think they have too-”
“If I have a worse time than ‘brooding’ here,” He jammed a finger into his arm, “Then I get to throw you off this pier.”
“ What?! Oh come on, you don’t even know if I can swim!”
Argus stepped away from the fence and turned, holding out a hand. Rufus looked at it, then out at the blackening water, then back at him. His confidence faltered momentarily, but he quickly covered it over with smug bravado.
“Heh, very well then.”
He jumped off the fence, stumbling on the dismount as his toes caught on the bottom rail. He hopped forward and managed to right himself just before crashing into Argus.
“You uh, you got a deal.”
He grasped his hand, but rather than shake it, he began to drag him off into the carnival.
“As long as you're paying of course!”
He did pay, because why not?
Rufus’ interpretation of ‘fun at the carnival’ was the utter disregard for rules and safety standards should they get in the way of winning, leaving Argus wondering how he wasn’t banned for life already.
Dodgem cars became ‘pretend you’re in a high speed chase with the cops’, heckling and crashes included. GeeWizzer was ‘fight gravity or be crushed by the other person’. The rollercoaster was a game to knock someone's hat off at the bottom of the drop where the track and path got much too close for proper regulations.
Side show games were rigged, but distracting the attendant to peg a rock at the stack of cans was much more effective, though getting a hand stuck in the mouth of a rotating clown was less so.
And then there was the food. Wrapping a corndog in cotton candy and eating it along with a mouthful of deep-fried ice cream should never have been considered by a human being, but here they were, spilling half of it all over the place. When Rufus began laughing at the attempt, Argus shoved the remainder in his face to shut him up.
They were at it for a few hours, before Rufus pulled him away from the lights and off to a darker corner of the pier.
“Don’t worry, I saved the best for last-!”
He pulled aside some pallets and tarps, revealing a small hole hidden away. Argus gave him a dubious look, but that over eager grin convinced him to crouch down and squeeze through, shuffling until he could feel the space give way into a room, where he dared to stand. Behind, he could hear the pallets being dragged back into place, before the room suddenly lit up.
It was like a self contained living room. A worn and patched couch on one wall, milk crates as tables, and a wonky TV opposite, with some old generation console beneath it. An elbow went into his side as Rufus pushed past.
“My humble abode, heh. Pretty cool dontcha think?”
“What, do you live here?”
Rufus flung himself onto the couch, fishing out a half eaten bag of chips from between the cushions. Argus was more cautious as he took a seat, but he still tipped dramatically backward, the supports long gone from underneath the fabric.
“Ahh well, I have an actual home, I just… prefer hanging out here. It’s my space, I can do what I want!”
He reached behind the couch, fishing out a dart which he tossed across the small space, failing to hit the painted dart board, meaning it plinked sporadically around the room. Argus barely pulled his arm out of the way when it struck the couch.
“Oops. Uh.” Rufus leant forward and collected a controller, “Up for a game?”
Argus took the offered controller, but his eyes were following the trail of cables behind the TV, out a hole in the wall.
“No one’s noticed you’re stealing power? I don’t know if you’ve got the devil's luck, or if it’s just balancing out all your bad luck.”
“I am perfectly lucky! Just watch, you’re about to have your butt handed to you!”
It was 3-11 when Rufus tossed the game aside.
“Bah. I let you have that last one.”
“I’m sure you did.”
His put off pout didn’t last long, returning to that devilish smirk as he crossed his arms behind his head.
“Well, I think I’ve blown that bet out of the water.”
“Oh? What makes you say that?”
He leant in close, poking a finger into his cheek.
“I clearly saw you smiling several times!”
“Well you’re wrong. It was probably a trick of the light, or the G-forces.”
“If you’re denying it then it's super true! You totally had fun!”
“You’re wrong…” He crossed his arms and tapped his finger, “...but I won’t throw you in the water. It was certainly more entertaining than whatever that group that originally dragged me along was going to do.”
Rufus laughed, putting his hands and chin on Argus’ shoulder, weighing him down.
“Well if you ever want more entertainment, you’re welcome back anytime! Just, don’t eat my food.”
“Like this?” He held up a chocolate bar he found, “You know it expired two years ago.”
“It’s a good vintage! Give it!”
Rufus had to clamber over him to reach for it, teased as it was wormed from his grasp at the last moment. Argus would never admit it, but he certainly felt a smile pull at his cheeks.
A night of entertainment with a human firecracker changed… very little in Argus’ life.
He still went to school, hung out with the same group (they barely questioned where he’d disappeared to that night), did the same old routine-
Their social circles were just too far apart for them to cross paths very often. But that didn’t mean it was forgotten. If they saw each other they waved, or shared a hello, and he’d even gone and visited the hideout a few times when Rufus suddenly demanded a rematch (and subsequent new games to find something he could beat him at).
He’d made a friend, somehow.
Which was the only reason he lingered at the window when he caught a glimpse of that scruffy hair. He’d heard the fire alarm earlier, though with how quick the school was to respond now, there was no evacuation, and it was easily assumed who the culprit was.
But he didn’t recognise the man holding him by the back of his collar, marching him down to the road and into a waiting car. He was shoved quite forcefully into the back, but undeterred, he clearly tried to escape out the other side. Only to find it locked. If child locks were in place, he clearly was known for this escape plan.
The unknown man got in and drove away.
And he didn’t see Rufus for the next month.
Which was enough time for Argus to reconsider the impact Rufus had on his life. Straining your ears for fire alarms or loitering in the empty shack probably weren't acts that fitted to his old routine. So he did what anyone with too much time on their hands did;
Dug into his new friends' family via social media and newspaper archives.
And from what he could scrape together and presume from his own experiences, it was nothing good. They were probably more alike than he could have guessed.
He was lying on the couch, reading through the odd collection of comics in the shack when Rufus crawled his way in, frowning.
“... What did I say about eating my snacks?”
Argus pulled a chip from the packet on his chest.
“They were expired. Plus, I deserved a reward for keeping the rats out of this place.”
Rufus snatched the bag, shoving chips in his face as he used a foot to nudge Argus, taking what space he could on the couch. They sat in silence for a moment, before he tossed the comic aside.
“I guess Mr white beard was your Dad?”
“...yeah.”
From the way his shoulders hunched he clearly didn't want to talk about it, but the action also shifted the sleeves of his coat, which caught Argus' eye.
He took his hand by the fingers and lifted it, his sleeve dropping away to reveal scabs and healed skin. It was like something had been wrapped around his wrist and arm that had rubbed and chaffed the skin.
When it clicked to Rufus what he was staring at, he yanked his arm away and pulled his sleeve back down, glaring. Argus pulled back to give him some space.
“I think I get why you prefer hanging out here.”
“Hmf.”
He'd stopped eating, now idly rustling the packet.
“If you wanted, you could stay with me.”
That got his attention, eyes now wide towards him.
"... You… have a house?"
"Apartment, but yeah. My Guardian never really liked me being in his house, so he rented this place so I wouldn't have to be around the rest of his family. His daughter goes to our school though, so it only kind of worked."
Rufus blinked quite owlishly, surprised by the sudden glimpse into his life.
"Oh." was all he could muster.
"It's big for one person, I’d be cool with sharing the space."
“Well, that's pretty… cool! Would beat hanging out here, ‘sepcially when it's wet and cold. But uh… Can I ask why?”
“Why what?”
“Why you’re offering? Seems kinda weird to be honest.”
“Because I like you? We’re friends?”
“L-like?! Er, friends? Haha pfff.”
Rufus petered out when Argus didn’t laugh along. The joke wasn’t there, and he felt himself go warm, avoiding Argus’ eyes.
“Ha..ah ha… ahem.”
“Is it that hard to believe?”
“Wellll…. yeah. You have your reputation, and I’ve got mine. Kinda on opposite ends.”
“They say opposites attract.”
Rufus suddenly leapt up, strutting around the small space and looking anywhere but back at the couch.
“Ha! That they do! That they- Well, if you’re offering, I’d probably be some kind of idiot not to agree!”
Argus stood.
“Want to come over now then?”
“Yreh- Now now?!”
When Rufus turned around he almost missed him, already halfway out the entrance.
The place was in fact, a simple one bedroom apartment, basically furnished with almost no personal decorations. It looked like it could be straight out of an advertisement.
Rufus did his best confident walk to show he wasn’t feeling completely out of place in such a fancy looking home, but he couldn’t help but pause when a wave of warm air rolled over him. When the heat pump swivelled away, he scanned around and immediately spotted the immaculate bed, like it was straight from the showroom floor. He readied himself for a running start, getting only two steps before Argus gripped the back of his jacket.
“If you’re going to do that, please take a shower first.”
“Awww what? I’m clean… enough.”
He suddenly felt himself being guided towards another door, walked directly into the bathroom and up to the shower.
“Do I have to? Really? Seriously?’
“Yes.”
“I’d like to reconsider your offer-”
Argus closed the door on him.
“Hrfm, rude. This isn't how you treat guests. Where's my complimentary snacks? Hot towels? Tiny bottles of shampoo?”
The bathroom was just as bland; blue toothbrush, blue-grey towels and a lone bottle of all-in-one body wash.
“Maybe if I just soak my head he’ll be fooled…”
He jumped at the thump on the door.
“Dump your clothes on the floor, they’ll need a wash too.”
“Seriously? Neat freak much!”
Reluctantly he stripped, tossing them wherever before stepping around the glass divider and turning the water on. And then he just stood there, watching the water sprinkle his toes.
‘ Getting wet is the worst. ’
“Please don’t tell me you don’t know how to clean yourself.”
He jumped again, hoisting up his arms and a leg in defence against the sudden intrusion. Argus gave him a raised brow, but seemed wholly unfazed by the nudity, dropping a neatly folded pile on the sink counter.
Rufus jutted out his chin in defiance, “Or what? You gonna come in and scrub me?”
“If needed.”
His bravado quickly dropped.
“Uhhhhh never mind, I'll do it.”
He put himself under the water as Argus kicked his clothes out the door, leaving him be. He helped himself to the body-wash and towels once he was done, shaking out as much water from his hair as he could. He’d been left a long sleeve shirt and boxers, light for the weather, but comfortable as he stepped back into the temperature controlled space. Seeing the door still open, he made his sprint and took a flying leap, crashing onto the double bed. Pillows went flying, and he fell slack almost instantly at the plush comforter and working springs. It was worlds away from the ratty old couch, or his ‘bed’ at home.
“Do you want dinner, or are you going right to sleep?”
The voice pulled him from his dozing, “I’ll eat!”
He wiggled off and made his way to the kitchen, finding Argus on his phone.
“Preference for take-away?”
“No home cooking?”
He gave him a flat look, “Are you hungry for scrambled eggs?”
“That’s all you got hu? Yikes, uh, I’ll let you pick. I’ll eat anything, so long as it’s more than eggs.”
“Egg fried rice, hold the rice, got it.”
“Hey no! Not what I said. I changed my mind gimmie that.”
Chinese ended up as the choice anyway, and variety dumped onto the coffee table and picked at while the TV droned in the background. Between mouthful Rufus told tales of his greatest explosions, though most cases he’d been aiming for his greatest inventions.
Once the food was gone, Rufus immediately made another sprint and leap for the bed, happily rolling about before sinking into the plush. After a bit, he felt the bed dip beside him. He peered up just enough to see Argus reclining back, absently scrolling on his phone.
He hadn’t made any complaints about him being on the bed. Infact, he’d basically given permission so long as he was clean. So with that reassurance, he snuggled down further, content to doze until he was kicked out.
Ten minutes later, the snoring began, and Argus finally looked over at him. Drool was beginning to form on the corner of his mouth, and he wasn’t even under the covers, but he couldn’t bring himself to wake him to get him to move.
There was a hand holding the edge of his shirt in a death grip.
When the morning light finally made it into the room, Rufus woke feeling the most warm and cosy he’d ever felt. It was like he was lying on a cloud, hugging a sun that warmed his face and chest. He stretched his arms out, then fell slack with a content sigh, burying his face back into the warm.
Then he felt the movement beside him.
Cracking his eyes open, his personal heater was shifting, rhythmically moving back and forth. There was also a weight resting on his head. He racked his memory for how he got to this point.
‘Grounded time ended, went to the hideout, stopped Argus from eating my food… got asked to come over… forced to get wet… ate food… fell… asleep…’
“Oh.”
“Hm?”
Rufus froze, feeling Argus shift his arm a little higher. He was basically wrapped around the top of his head, so it was no wonder he was so warm.
“... Geeze, and I thought I was clingy in my sleep! Poor Jerry has the torn seams as proof.”
“Mmh, If you think about it, a person is just an oversized hot-water bottle.”
“Morning wisdom, or is that existential horror?”
Argus made a noise, which could have been a laugh, before falling quiet. As they laid there, Rufus was becoming more and more aware of the sound of their beating hearts.
“Hu, guess you weren’t kidding when you said you like me.”
“I don’t joke about much, you should know that by now.”
“...but is it a like like thing?”
“A what thing?”
“You know... like like like.”
He heard Argus scratch his head, “Uh… maybe? I’m still not sure what you mean.”
“Does this mean we’re like… a thing now?”
He was still, then shrugged.
“I don’t know… do you want us to be a thing ?”
“Hmm.” Rufus wriggled closer, “...I don’t know. I guess… I just want to keep doing this for now.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”