Arthur went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, stepping over Wade to reach the coffee maker. As he waited for the coffee, he put some bread in the toaster and grabbed an orange and some jam from the fridge. He had finished his breakfast and had the last bite of orange in his mouth when his phone beeped.

He stepped over his dog again, almost tripping over him, and picked up his phone. Apparently the battery had run down during the night. He plugged the phone in, checking the time. 8am.

Looking around, he knew the only real chores he had to do today was to tidy up the house, wash his clothes, and look at getting a bookshelf. He had not unpacked much of his things since he moved in years ago. Sure, most of his clothes were unpacked and some other essentials like his beloved coffee maker and telly, but he started at his job just after moving in. His life seemed almost entirely made up of his work, then returning home only to recover from the fatigue that his job gave him.

He took his time in the shower, humming along to a song he remembered from childhood. His eyes opened in shock as he remembered a quiet voice whispering to him, but he was unable to place the exact words. All he could tell was that it felt important.

His mind turned to Emrys again, remembering he hadn't checked his text messages since the night before. Arthur stepped out of the shower and changed into some comfortable slacks and a sweater for his outing later. He picked up clothes around the flat as he made his way to the living area where his phone was charging. He put all the clothes in a basket by the washer, taking a look at the fairly clean floor that had been underneath all the clothes.

Satisfied, he started his load of laundry and decided to text Emrys.

Good morning. -Sent

You're up early. -Emrys

It's 9am, that's not very early. Are you not a morning person? -Sent

Wouldn't say that, I just didn't peg *you* as a morning person. -Emrys

I'm not, but it gives me more time during the day if I wake up at the same time consistently. -Sent

Do you wanna do something today? -Emrys

Arthur was taken aback, he had figured that the boy was only tolerating him at this point.

"Guess not," Arthur muttered to himself.

Yeah, sure. What did you have in mind? - Sent

A few minutes passed, long enough time for Arthur to grow uncomfortable. Eventually, he sought out his dog to play fetch with him from his spot on the couch. After a few tosses he got a notification, and he patted the couch for the dog to sit with him. Wade jumped up and flopped across his lap, Arthur laughed as he pried his arms from under the dog's heavy body.

Did you have anything you had to do today? -Emrys

Not really, just go to the shops, see about maybe getting a bookshelf. Why? -Sent

How about I go with you? -Emrys

It would probably be boring. -Sent

What's your address? I can head over now. I'm walking about, anyway. -Emrys

Arthur sent the address, a little nervous about sending his home address to a relative stranger but swallowed his suspicions as unfolded his clothes drying racks for when his clothes finished washing. He wanted to put the racks outside, but the cold westher forbade it. It wasn't until after he got halfway through an episode of Twin Peaks, hanging his clothes as he watched, that he heard a knock at the door.

He answered the door to see Emrys with a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck and a thick leather jacket on that seemed a few sizes too large. Arthur stepped aside to invite him in, as Emrys unwrapped his scarf and looked around, his expression became confused. Arthur closed the door behind Emrys as he stepped in, eyeing his dog out of the corner of his eye.

"Did you just move in?" He asked, noticing the dog glancing around the corner at him with a wary expression.

Wade eyed the two suspiciously, his tail wagging slowly as he moved quietly towards the two.

"No, a couple years ago, why?"

"This whole place seems... empty, I guess. You barely have any furniture. Before you defend yourself, a telly stand is not furniture, couches are."

Arthur shrugged, he had considered defending himself with that exact excuse.

"I have a couch though," he complained under his breath. "Anyway, I never felt the need to. I work, I come home, it cycles again and again- I rarely miss the things that are still in my boxes."

"We need to fix this." Emrys insisted, reaching out and petting the dog. Wade leaned against Emrys's touch excitedly, panting. "Let's do this today."

"Really?" Arthur asked skeptically, "This is how you want to get to know me?"

"Best way to get to know you, Arthur. Where should we start?" Emrys asked, looking around and eventually settling on a box labelled CDs. "This is as good a place as any."

Emrys took a seat by the box in the corner, inviting himself to opening the box and pulling out the packing wrap. He took a moment to pull all the disc cases out in handfuls before really taking a look at them. Arthur watched with interest, idly picking up a few stray bottles strewn on the floor by the couch.

"Let's see..." Emrys began, putting them in stacks alphabetically. "The Monkees, always a good choice-"

"Piss off," Arthur laughed, tossing his rubbish in the bin.

"That wasn't sarcasm," Emrys defended, focused on the task at hand. "Honestly. I also like Syd Matters too and... Wait, is this a Metallica album? Indeed, it is. You have quite the spectrum here, Arthur."

He turned the cds over, looking at them with deep interest. Arthur (having been distancing himself since Emrys walked in) now felt comfortable enough to sit near him, but not beside him. He watched him and after a while caught sight of Wade flopping beside Emrys, begging for attention. Which seemed odd to Arthur, Wade was not keen to be near strangers, yet here he was throwing himself at Emrys.

"My dog seems to like you," Arthur commented, starting to sort some of the cds as well; although he reminisced more than he contributed to the task.

"Most animals take a liking to me," Emrys uttered, absently petting the dog as he read the back of a cd by an indie-released band he never heard of before. "I'm like a magnet sometimes. I take care of a lot of stray cats near my flat for that reason, even though I have several of my own."

"How many?" Arthur asked, musing over an old Queen album he held fond memories for.

"Seven," Emrys muttered, "Most are strays I rescued, I can't fit any more in the flat without someone complaining or I'd take them all in."

"How do you clean up after them all?" Arthur asked, shocked enough to turn his full attention to Emrys.

"They go out when they need to." Emrys answered, turning his nose up to some nu-metal band he dispised. "So it looks like your taste isn't completely flawless."

"That's subjective," Arthur elbowed Emrys, causing the taller boy to wince, making him chuckle.

"You're such a prat." Emrys laughed quietly to himself.

"So... Emrys. Why are we hanging out right now, really?"

He went quiet for a moment, petting the dog before responding to Arthur. "You said you'd met me before, know me somehow, without ever meeting me before. Maybe... I feel something like that too. Maybe, I want to believe that's true. I've been alone a long time, Arthur. It's stupid, but if I grasp at this... Maybe I can have a friend, for the first time in years."

"You're not exactly boorish," Arthur joked, "why no friends?"

"I... keep to myself. I work from home, after all. I don't get out much. It's mostly just me, my books, the tv, and the cats."

"You seemed pretty at home at the pub."

"I go there sometimes to get something to eat that doesn't come out of a box. I go certain days a week, the owner saves the booth for me days he knows I'm coming. He brings me one of the three dishes I eat there and doesn't rush me out the door. He's nice."

Looking at the distant look in Emrys's eyes, it made him feel a sense of pity. "Well, if you want I can have dinner with you there on days you're there when I'm on the way home from work. It's a pain to cook every day."

"I'd like that." Emrys whispered quietly, a sad smile tugging the corners of his mouth.

A.N.
Fair warning, I am bad about name/band-dropping as you can see above. Anyway, you have been warned.