A/N: I don't own Gorillaz.

The last notes of the song they had been practising fell away, melting slowly into silence, and Murdoc took off his bass and hung it on the rack thankfully. Never had he looked forward to a drink so much after a rehearsal; it wasn't that the practice had gone bad, per se, because they were Gorillaz and Gorillaz was the best band in the universe so nothing they did was bad, but something had been… off. Not right. Out of kilter.

Murdoc glanced at 2D, who had one hand resting on the microphone and was staring at some undefinable point on the floor, and Murdoc decided that something was definitely wrong with his singer. He had been withdrawn and distracted all day, and whilst the band had come to expect the moody sullenness from Noodle when she was upset over something, it was a new personality trait from 2D.

Murdoc's gaze flickered over to Russel, who shook his head and glanced over at Noodle.

"C'mon Noods, let's see what we can make for dinner," Russel said, herding the younger girl out of the room. Murdoc could faintly hear her protesting all the way down the corridor that she wanted to talk to 2D, but Murdoc ignored her, instead crossing the room and closing the door before rather forcibly pushing 2D into the sofa by the wall.

"Alright Faceache, what's got your knickers in a twist?" Murdoc asked, pulling out two cigarettes and lighting them both, passing one to 2D. 2D took it on autopilot, not seeming to notice or care that they were, in fact, originally his. Murdoc threw himself on to the other end of the sofa, taking a deep drag, and waited for 2D to speak.

"My dad died," 2D said suddenly, still staring at the floor, and Murdoc nearly choked, because of all the things he was expecting to hear, that was not on the list. "He… my mum rang this morning… he just… just went in his sleep." 2D took a deep, shaky, breath, tangling the fingers of his free hand in his hair.

"Oh," was all Murdoc said, because that was all he could say. Murdoc had never had a good relationship with his father, had in fact hated him, and he was never that good at comfort anyway. "You need to go back to Crawley," Murdoc said eventually, after a moment of the two of them contemplating the silence.

"What about the album?"

"We'll be able to cope without you for a week or two. Don't go around thinking that you're that essential to the creative process. 'Sides, if you stay here to mope it'll sound shit anyway."

2D huffed, but didn't push the point. "D'you think there'll be trains now?" he asked instead, staring at the floor contemplatively.

"Probably not, it'll be too late. But we can drive you, if you want. Save you from having to get the train tomorrow."

"No, it's okay. I'll go in the morning. It'll give me time to… to think." Murdoc bit back the retort that was dancing on the tip of his tongue about 2D and thinking, instead storing it at the back of his mind to use at a later, less emotional date. Fuck, but he was getting too sentimental for all of this.

"Alright then. You go and pack a bag. We'll take you to the station, at least." 2D nodded, stubbing out the cigarette he hadn't really smoked into the ashtray and stood up, heading to the door and disappearing. Murdoc sighed, running a hand through his hair, before heading to the kitchen.

OOO

"2D's going home for a bit," announced Murdoc the moment he stepped foot into the kitchen, causing Noodle and Russel to look up from their cooking.

"Why?" asked Noodle, dusting her hands on the large blue apron that Russel had wrapped around her before they had started their pasta sauce cooking adventure.

"His dad passed away," replied Murdoc, settling down at the table.

"Oh shit," breathed Russel, turning down the heat for the pasta before turning his attention fully to Murdoc. "That's what's been bothering him?"

"Yeah. Thanks pet," he added, popping open the can that Noodle had fetched for him from the fridge. Noodle flashed him a quick smile, opening her own can of fanta and sitting down opposite him, pasta sauce forgotten.

"Does he need us to drive him?" asked Russel, stealing a sip of Noodle's drink. Noodle glared at him, and he ruffled her hair.

"No, he wants to go by train. Says it'll give him time to think," sneered Murdoc, unable to resist the implied jibe at 2D.

"Don't even think about it Muds," warned Russel, pointing a wooden spoon at Murdoc. "Not now, leave the poor boy alone."

"I didn't say anything!" said Murdoc, holding his hands up defensively.

"No, but you were thinking it. Leave it alone," Russel repeated, before drifting back to the stove.

"How long will he be gone for?" asked Noodle, playing with the ring tab on the top of her can.

"I don't know, love. Probably about a week. It depends on when the funeral is, and whether his mum needs him for anything," replied Murdoc.

"Hmm. I'm going to see if he's okay," Noodle said, slipping out of her chair.

"Noodle…" warned Russel. "I don't think it's a good idea to bother him."

"I'm not going to bother him," Noodle protested, frowning. Russel opened his mouth to speak again, but Murdoc coughed, frowning at him. Russel changed tack, also wanting to avoid the potential of a teenage Noodle outburst.

"You can check on him Noodle, but don't get upset if he doesn't want to talk. If he wants to be alone, let him be, okay?"

Noodle nodded. "Should I take him some pasta?"

"Er… sure. Take some for yourself as well, okay?" Russel pulled two bowls out and scooped some of the pasta into them, passing them to Noodle once they were done, carefully carrying them out of the kitchen, and disappeared down the hallway.

OOO

"Noodle?" whispered Russel, poking his head round 2D's bedroom door. 2D blinked, looking over at Russel, breaking out of the stupor he had fallen into and switching off the dvd player.

"She's here, she's asleep," he replied.

"Oh, okay. D'you want me to take her to her own bed? It's pretty late," Russel offered, slipping completely into the room. 2D shook his head.

"It's fine. I can't really sleep anyway."

"I get it. C'mon, come with me," Russel said, opening the door wider and letting the light spill into the room. 2D considered it, but decided to go with Russel, gently laying Noodle down completely on the bed, tucking her in with his duvet. Noodle shuffled around a little, frowning slightly as her previous source of warmth was removed, but didn't wake up. 2D drifted after Russel, the two of them heading towards the kitchen, and before he was truly aware of where he was Russel had placed a steaming cup of tea in front of him. 2D wrapped his hands around it immediately, fingers looped through the handle and interlacing, and stared into the top for a moment or two before taking a sip over the overly milky tea, just managing to hide a wince. Russel never really had got the hang of how to make a 'proper' cup, but 2D wasn't one to complain about an act of kindness; he wasn't Murdoc. At least Russel had left the teabag in the cup this time, and 2D poked it, watching as the milky drink stained a darker brown.

Russel settled at the table as well, picking through the newspaper that had been discarded from the morning, turning automatically to the puzzles at the back and filling in the gaps in the crossword that Noodle hadn't bothered to complete. It normally took him three times as long to figure out than it did for Noodle, but Russel didn't mind, simply letting his thoughts focus on the puzzle rather than on anything else.

The pair were quiet as they waited for the morning to come, 2D contemplating his tea and Russel scratching out the odd word in order to scribble down something else. Every so often one of them would say something, a passing comment about an errant thought, but it was mostly silent and still, and the tenseness that had built up in 2D's shoulders throughout the course of the day slowly started to bleed out, until it was morning and time for 2D to catch his taxi to the station, having refused point blank to accept a lift. Noodle had come downstairs not long before the taxi was due, still half asleep, and hugging 2D tightly just before he went out.

"You sure you're gonna be alright?" Russel asked, poking his head through the window of the car. 2D looked at him, and then at Noodle who was watching from the top of the path, and could even make out Murdoc peering at him from the dark of the doorway.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll see you in a week," he replied, managing to crack a small smile. Russel nodded, withdrawing from the window and letting the car drive off.

A/N: I forgot where I was going with this chapter. But yeah, in the interview tapes for Demon Days 2D mentioned that his dad died at some point. Also shoutout to a teenage Noodle drinking fanta, because it feels like every teenager I have come across drinks it XD And as for the tea thing, I get picked on all the time by my friends for drinking it super milky. I get it from my mum.

Finally, don't expect another chapter this quickly; I already had most of this written and I am procrastinating hard right now over my EU exam.