TW: RPF

Resting his elbows against the wooden table, Chris placed his head in his hands as he rubbed his fingers against his temples in the attempt to soothe the suddenly forming headache. It had been a tough couple of days for the brunette, in the space of 48 hours, he had managed to lose his job, lose his flat and lose the love of his parents. Everyone had turned their back on him and now he didn't know what to do. He had nowhere to live, nowhere to go home to anymore. He had been sofa surfing for the last two nights but he had no idea who he plead to for this evening. Usually in these circumstances he would have sought help from his mother and father. But he couldn't anymore. Not since he had revealed to them the preferences of his sexuality, that he was into men rather than women. It was safe to say they had not taken it well, they had screamed and shouted at the grown man and abandoned him there and then simply because it didn't fit their traditional views. And now, Chris was left sitting in a coffee shop because it was warmer than being outside with a bag full of the few possessions he needed vitally beside his feet as he struggled to blink away the tears forming in his eyes.

He gave up trying, letting the tears fall over his eyelashes and onto his cheeks before carelessly wiping them away with the sleeve of his hoodie. He didn't know what he was going to do or where he was going to go. There were no good friends in his life that would let him crash with them permanently, no siblings or relatives to turn to, it felt like his life was crumbling around him. How had he gone from everything being great to crap in just two days? He had no idea but he knew he was going to need a miracle to turn it around now. He lifted the paper coffee cup that sat next to him, bringing it to his mouth as he expected to feel the burning sensation of hot water hitting his lips. But it never did because as he glanced into the cup, he noticed the distinct lack of brown coloured liquid, that he had previously finished his drink without even realising. Bringing out his wallet, he thumbed through the contents for a moment before realising that he had no more coins to spare on something as trivial as a coffee when he needed to save every penny possible. He sighed miserably, feeling the tears return to his eyes.

"You want another mate?" An unfamiliar voice asked curiously, causing Chris to turn his head sharply to meet the sky-blue eyes of a redheaded stranger. The beauty of the other man almost left Chris speechless as his attention was diverted to the chiselled jawbone, the long eyelashes and the smile that rested on his cheeks that lit up almost the whole room.

"Nah it's alright, can't afford another." Chris answered embarrassedly, not wanting to admit to his money problems to a complete stranger but unfortunately had no choice.

The stranger pulled out his own wallet and replied, "Not a problem, I'll buy you one if you let me sit with you while you drink it." He stepped forwards to till and ordered two coffees where a few minutes later he returned with two steaming drinks, one in each hand. He set one down in front of Chris who nodded graciously in response before sliding into the seat opposite him,

"I'm Alex by the way but you can call me Smith." The redhead said, offering Chris his hand in greeting. Chris clasped it between his own, shaking it in return as he answered,

"Thanks for the coffee Smith, I'm Chris."

"Right Chris, now the names are out of the way, I want to know why you're seconds away from crying and I know it's not because you ran out of coffee."

Chris paused for a second, thinking about how much he should let on to or whether he should simply try and hide it all with a lie. Deciding lying was too much effort for his tired brain, he chose to answer with,

"Everything. Life's a bit shit right now you know?"

Alex nodded sympathetically as if he had been in a similar situation previously, "Anything I can do to make it better?"

"Well you already have with the coffee but unless you can turn back time to when I still had a job, a house and my parent's still love me then there's nothing more you can do."

"You lost your house?"

"Flat but yeah."

"Where are you living then?"

"Just crashing on mate's sofas at the moment, nowhere I can really go."

"It must be your lucky day because it just so happens that I have a spare room at my place that I'm looking to rent out if you're interested?"

Chris's eyes widened in surprise, the words that escaped from Alex's mouth were exactly the ones he had been needing and he couldn't believe that something this could happen when everything else seemed to be going so badly. He didn't exactly know a lot about the redheaded stranger other than that his name was Alex although he went by Smith but from what he could tell, he was pretty decent bloke and there could be no harm in having a roof over his head, could there? Except he didn't have the money to rent it... The smile fell from his face as he explained,

"I wish I could take you up on that offer but I haven't got the money to rent it from you and I don't know when I'll have a job again..."

"It's fine mate, don't worry about it. As soon as you get yourself back on your feet, you can pay and until then you don't need to worry about."

"Really? Are you sure?"

Alex nodded and Chris stood from the table, launching himself at the other man as he wrapped his arms around the other man's shoulders in a hug to say thank you for the offer. In the process, he almost knocked the redhead off the chair he was sitting on but they managed to stay upright long enough for Chris to return back to his seat where he brought his lower lip between his set of teeth, chewing on the skin slightly,

"I do have to tell you something though..." He trailed off worriedly. Needing a deep breath before he continued, "I am gay, I don't know if it bothers you or not but it's the reason my parents decided they hate me."

A slow smile spread over the redhead's cheeks, a reaction Chris was usually never met with, "It's not a problem in the slightest because I'm the same. Gay I mean."

Chris was surprised at the words of the redhead, he would never have assumed the other man to be into men but he couldn't complain. In fact, he was quite pleased because maybe, just maybe there might be something to develop from this new friendship. They stayed in the same coffee shop, at the same table for a few of hours more where they simply talked about the vast quantities of things they found they had in common with each other, the love of video games being the main one. In just three hours, they knew almost everything about each other from their childhood to where they were now. And Chris knew that taking Alex up on his offer was definitely the right thing to do. He couldn't believe that the world had answered when he requested a miracle to remove him from this dreadful situation he had been thrown into. But there was one, a miracle in the shape of a redheaded stranger who sat before him. The man had in the space of three hours changed his life for the better, he had provided him with a room in a house that had central heating and running hot water and he had offered him a new friendship that would hopefully be built on upon in the next few months. Sometimes, when life knocks you down, all it takes is a redheaded stranger to pick up the pieces. In this case, it was redhead with the name of Alex...

Chapter 2

Sipping the last few dregs of coffee in each of their cups, the two men rose from where they were sitting at the table and headed out of the door. With his bag slung across one of his shoulders, Chris walked a couple of paces behind Alex, following the redhead as he led him to the location of his house. Chris felt nervous, butterflies flapping their wings within his stomach and it took all of his concentration to ensure his legs continued to walk, one in front of the other. What would his house be like? Did he really not mind sharing his house with an almost complete stranger? Would there be enough room for the two of them? He asked these questions to himself, pondering over the answers during the short journey. It didn't take long, a ten minute walk or so before Alex turned into one of the side roads, stopping in front of an apartment block,

"Did I mention I lived in a block of flats? I hope it's not a problem?"

Chris quickly shook his head, he wasn't in the position to be fussy even if he wanted to be, "It's absolutely fine, I'm happy anywhere."

Alex nodded, entering a code into the pin pad beside the front door that with a quiet buzzing noise clicked and opened, allowing them to enter. Together, they scaled the stairs to floor four where Alex led Chris to a door numbered 27, where he pushed a key into the hole and pushed it open. He stood back and allowed Chris to enter first,

"I know it's not much but it's home." Alex quickly justified himself as he glanced around the room as Chris would, spotting the piles of unwashed cutlery by the side of the sink in the open living room/kitchen, the collection of washing on the floor beside one of the closed doors and the general untidiness of the place.

"It's perfect." Chris answered, allowing himself to take in the set of rooms he was standing in. The front door opened into a living room and kitchen that had a table with two seats pushed underneath. It also had three doors that led off it, one being a bathroom while the other door housed a double bed each, one that would soon become his. He opened the door Alex directed him to and unpacked the small contents of his bag, making himself comfortable in the unfamiliar settings.

But it didn't stay unfamiliar for long. The same day of moving in, Alex took Chris into the nearest neighbourhood and created a set of keys for him to keep possession of and provided him the necessary combination of numbers to enter the apartment building. He then showed the brunette where everything was kept before ordering a take-away meal for the two of them to share. They managed to settle themselves into a familiar and regular routine pretty quickly, dividing the washing and cleaning between the two of them, choosing who would cook dinner the night before although often when it was Alex's turn, a takeaway would be chosen before retiring to the television that sat in the middle of the lounge to spend hours into the early morning playing various video games. To Chris, the flat had now become his home, not just because it was the place he slept in but rather because he enjoyed being there, returning there each evening after working at his newly found job, enjoyed spending time in the company of his new friend. It was better than his last house and for once, he was actually glad about what happened in his life because even though it was the lowest point, it brought him to the highest.

His friendship with Alex had continued to develop, the two of them growing closer and closer to the point they were almost inseparable when neither were at work. They spent the majority of their spare time together, playing games or drinking and having fun. It was perfect, getting to spend every day with his friend because he woke and slept under the same roof as him. But one evening, it got even more perfect...

The two of them were seated on the blue settee in the living room, empty beer bottles littering the carpeted flooring around them, the liquid that previously occupied them now coursing through the two men's veins. Although it was only just after 10 in the evening, the alcohol running through them had begun to affect them, leaving their minds clouded and their speech slurred but nevertheless, they still enjoyed the evening. Having long ago lost temperature, there was a half-eaten pizza lying on the floor clearly forgotten as the two men were immersed in the current game of COD. They had begun the evening playing GTA V, moving onto at some point Minecraft before settling on a shooting match of COD. However, having had plenty of previous experience with a gun in both real life and in game, Smith clearly had the upper hand, thrashing Chris to the point Chris felt as though he should surrender, placing his controller down on the coffee table,

"That's no fair, you knew I was crap at shooter games..." He whined, sticking his lower lip out into a pout as he complained to Alex.

The redhead shrugged, "Sucks to be you then. I won fair and square!" He announced proudly.

"Did not, I forfeited so you didn't win!"

"Then I win by default."

"Did not..."

Alex placed his controller beside Chris', before turning to the brunette who in the change of angle was now illuminated by the soft glow of the television screen, his eyes sparkling slightly in the lighting. Alex found himself transfixed on the other man and the way his lips were turned into a pout of fake annoyance, the way his hair fell messily over his forehead, the strands of his fringe landing in his eyes and he found himself unable to look away. Instead, he wanted to be even nearer. And so, he shuffled himself slightly closer to the other man, bringing his hand up to carefully brush the hair from Chris' eyes, leaving it once his action was completed against the smooth cheek of the brunette where his thumb gently stroked the skin in movements of circles. Chris, surprised by the action, turned his head slightly until it was aligned with Alex's where he relished in the touch of the man he had been admiring since the first day in the coffee shop. His head moved further, this time forwards as it closed the small distance between himself and Alex, placing his lips against the rougher ones of the other man, combining them in the first kiss between them. It was clumsy, the alcohol making each movement more difficult but it was nice, something that both men had been secretly hoping for since the day they met. Chris pulled away first, resting his head against Alex's, their noses almost touching with the lack of room between them,

"I don't think I ever thanked you enough for having me stay here..." He whispered, his warm breath felt against Alex's skin. And Chris was right, the gratitude he felt for what the other man had done to him was impossible to turn into words, the action was a lifeline, something to solve the problems in his life. By having a house he could live in, he was able to find a new job and although he was yet to resolve things with his parents, he had someone knew in his life, someone who he could turn to when things were wrong. And he had never been happier...

Sometimes when life knocks you down, all it takes is a redheaded stranger to pick up the pieces...

Credit to Daisyith on Ao3