You, Me and DK
a/n: I like writing Chris and Darren as best friends. :) Enjoy!
It never fails to amuse Chris that Darren still has an ancient Nintendo 64.
"It's a memento of my childhood!" Darren loudly proclaims every time he's asked. "Throwing it away would be sacrilege!"
"You could always give it to a museum," Chris responds with his dry humor – and even though the line's still done to the death, Darren laughs anyway. "I bet they'd pay a fortune for that."
And during one of these witty banters about the pros and cons of old gaming systems, Darren discovers that Chris has never played Nintendo 64. Somehow, this is even more sacrilegious than the thought of throwing the ancient gaming system away, and Darren proposes to rectify the glaring problem immediately.
And that was how Chris found himself on Darren's couch, watching the older man scramble around for wires and plug outlets and looking so much like an excited puppy that Chris couldn't help but chuckle.
"You really don't have to do this," Chris offers as Darren hooks up the 64 and connects two controllers, red and blue. "Honestly. It's not the end of the world, I survived childhood just fine without the wonders of a Nintendo 64."
"Shut your mouth." Darren points an accusatory finger at him. "You are not a true child of the nineties if you haven't played on a 64. We need to baptize you properly!"
Oh god. Chris has to bite on his knuckles to stop from laughing at the cheesiness of Darren's words. But after a few seconds, he realizes that it really doesn't matter, and laughs anyway. Darren grins at him, messy curls spilling into his eyes.
"Let's go, Colfer. And be warned – I'm not gonna go easy on you just because you're a newbie. I am the king of Mario Kart, and I'm gonna own your ass."
"Bring it on, Criss," Chris shoots back as he grabs the red controller and settles down so that his back is against the couch. "Racing games are my specialty. And Mario and I are good pals." Darren's triangular eyebrows rise in surprise.
"Is that so? Well, you know that connections count for nothing in this game. But just for that, you're totally not allowed to be Mario or Luigi."
Chris smirks and ends up picking Wario instead. Darren makes a face at him, eyebrows scrunched together over his nose, and it's just so ridiculous and endearing and Darren that Chris is compelled to lean over and ruffle his hair.
And instead of complaining like someone normally would, Darren wiggles his butt to imitate the wagging of a tail. And Chris just cannot take it anymore.
"What planet are you from?" he asks, only half-joking. And Darren can tell – instantly, because he's always been so astute at reading people's emotions. His hazel eyes dim slightly, and he leans over and squeezes Chris's hand reassuringly.
"The same one you're from," he replies in a light tone, but there's an undercurrent of worry. Chris smiles and shakes his head.
"You're crazy," he says affectionately. Darren winks at him, pressing the A button on his controller and selecting DK as his player.
"I'm just crazy when I'm with you. You have that effect on me!"
They start playing, and Darren quickly discovers just how good Chris is at racing games. He'd been generous in selecting one of the easier courses, but Chris maneuvers his player skillfully and has soon left Darren's DK in the dust. Darren grits his teeth and leans over to prod Chris's side. When that does nothing, Darren makes an impatient sound and covers the top of Chris's controller with one hand, pushing down forcefully.
Chris drops the controller, and Darren lets out a triumphant whoop as DK surges ahead of the stationary Wario. Chris stares at the curly-haired man, utterly speechless.
"Did you just… attempt to tickle me and then knock my controller out of my hand?"
"I won!" Darren exclaims, throwing down his controller and getting up to dance around the room. "Hah! I am still the king!"
"You cheated," Chris protests, but he's too busy grinning widely to put much force behind his accusation. "You really are crazy," he laughs, watching Darren fondly. The other man pauses, and hazel eyes meet blue.
"Only for you."