"Damn that Nakamura, cheap-skate son of a..." I grumbled as I jiggled the loose knob. "Ugh, really!?" I huffed as I gripped it with both hands and rammed into it with my shoulder. The door flew open, taking me and my bag with it.

My landing was less than graceful. "Are you okay?" Nigel asked, visibly holding back a snicker as I dragged myself off the floor. "You could've helped, you know. What's the point of having a giant for a friend if you gotta do everything yourself?" I huffed as I tossed my bag on the crappy little couch just a few feet from the entrance.

"I'm not giant, you're just short." He defended as he walked in and placed his duffle on the worn table in the tiny kitchen. I rolled my eyes. "Me and the only other human alive beg to differ. Since majority rules, it is a stated fact that you are indeed a giant." I told him as I walked over to the CRT Television. I flipped through the channels until I found the number three.

I crouched so I could read the titles of the dusty VHS tapes that were piled in the cabinet beneath the TV. I paid no attention to Nigel who took it upon himself to explore. Once I found the movie I was searching for, I slipped it into the slot and pressed play.

"So there's only one bed but I think it's a Queen. We could share. Or if you're uncomfortable with that I could take the couch." Nigel offered as he came back from his brief exploration. Another flash of lightning illuminated the tiny apartment. The succeeding rumble nearly making the foundation shake.

"Do you think this place has hot water?" He asked, eyeing the restroom from the dining room. "Yeah it does." I affirmed, my eyes trained on the palette of colors that now danced across the screen. "You sound very certain." Nigel commented as he began sifting through his bag for some clean clothes.

"I am. I used to come up here all the time when I was a kid." I admitted while searching through my own bag. "No kidding?" He asked, intrigue present in his tone. "Yeah, my mom would come here every weekend with me and my cousin. She loved to haggle with the old coot.

Usually she'd spend hours browsing through his inventory so we befriended Nakamura's grandson.
We used to come up and play Nintendo 64 all the time. It's how I became a beast at Smash bros." Nigel arched a brow. "A beast, you? Yeah right." He remarked in disbelief. I furrowed my brows. "Thems are fighting words friend. You better sit down before I make you." I warned.
Nigel took it as a challenge. "Okay, fine. Let's have a go then. Winner takes the bed."

"What? How!?" Nigel screamed as the final game screen showed the tally of KOs done by each player. My signature party-hat Pikachu clapped enthusiastically as the winner's wreath hung snuggly around his name. "That's game." I taunted as I stood up from my place on the carpet. "Fifteen out of fifteen and you only managed to deck me three times." I teased as I stretched for a bit

"Yeah right. I've just never played it on this console before so you had an unfair advantage." He protested, setting the 64 remote down on the floor. "Sounds like excuses to me." I teased before flipping off the console and plopping myself down on the couch.

"Whatever. Imma go shower." He grumbled as he grabbed his clothes and a towel from his duffle. "Good idea. You stink of failure something fierce." I called as he made his way into the restroom. "Shut up!" He called back before slamming the door behind him.

Nigel took his time in the shower. I couldn't blame him. Hot water in the apocalypse was a luxury hard to come by. Luckily Nakamura was crafty and had managed to keep his back-up generator running. By the time Nigel vacated the restroom, I was halfway through the Lion King.

"I don't think you really deserve this. I practically gift wrapped those cubs for you and you couldn't even dispose of them. Well you know, it wasn't like they were alone scar. Yeah, what were we supposed to do, kill Mufasa? Precisely." I growled, reciting line after line of the animated script like my life depended on it.

I sang along to the tune of Be Prepared. It had always been my favorite Disney villain song. The animation was so fluid and polished, I couldn't get enough of it. Plus the fact that it was a retelling of Hamlet also added to its appeal. I didn't notice Nigel standing by the doorway, silently watching my monolog with an amused expression on his face as he dried his hair.

"Be prepared!" I sang along, laughing in sync with the hyenas when the song finally ended. I jumped when I heard Nigel clapping. "Very nice, well done Nathan." He chuckled as he hung the wet towel from one of the chairs on the table before making his way over and taking a seat beside me on the couch.

"Oh geezuz fuck you scared me!" I chastised as I took in a couple of deep breaths. "How was your shower?" I asked, turning my sight back to the sketchpad that rested on my lap. "Relaxing. I needed that, now if only we had some wine..." He trailed off, his eyes fixating on the pictures that danced across the screen.

"Do you like Sake?" I asked, lowering my led pencil as I turned to look at him. "I love it." He admitted. "Hold this." I instructed, placing my sketchbook on his lap before getting up and walking towards the kitchen. I had to tip-toe in order to reach the bottle that was stored on the top shelf.

"Check it out." I called as I made my way over with two small porcelain saucers in hand. "I love sake, it packs quite the punch." I enthused as I plopped down beside him on the couch again. Nigel's gaze was focused on the sketchpad, every so often he'd turn the page only to study the drawing I'd done on the next.

I took advantage and poured him a saucer of rice wine. "Did you draw all these?" He asked, eventually looking over and taking the ceramic disk from my hand. "Yeah. I draw alot. Passes the time, yah know? Plus I have this itch where no matter what I do, if I'm holding a pen, marker or pencil, pretty much anything I can draw with, I'll have the urge to doodle and mark things. Been that way since childhood." I admitted, sipping my serving of wine.

I laughed when Nigel grimaced, the taste catching him off gaurd. "Haha, not exactly the same as regular wine huh? But it's my favorite kind. I think I can safely say it's the only wine I drink." I admitted before pouring myself another. "No, it's good! Just not sure what I was expecting. I was sort of distracted." He admitted sheepishly before holding out his saucer.

"Ever tried Absinthe?" I asked before resting the wine bottle on the lamp table beside the arm rest and retaking the sketchbook from Nigel's lap. "No. What is it?" He asked as he scooted a bit closer in an effort to watch me while I drew. "It's this really strong and disgusting tasting spirit that containes wormwood. Makes you trip balls after a single shot. It's proof volume is very high and it's so strong it has to be diluted with sugar water."

Nigel wrinkled his nose. "Yikes. Sounds kinda gross." He admitted. I laughed at his expression. "It is, but worth the buzz. Maybe I'll show you sometime." I offered, my eyes trained on the page as I continued my sketch. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Eventually my eyes got tired, so I set aside my sketchpad in favor of watching the movie. The exhaustion of the day's trek slowly crept up my back and shoulders, making me feel heavy. I yawned boisterously as I rested my head against the back of the couch and watched the famous cloud scene with James Earl Jones.

"The king, has a returned." I repeated Rafiki's famous phrase that had made it into the load screen of the Lion King console game. "You sure like reciting the lines. Do you do it everytime you watch this movie?" He asked curiously. "Mhm..." I replied sleepily, struggling to keep my eyes open.

"I do it with very select Disney movies. It's like an instinct...I can't help it..." I mumbled, my eyelids finally giving out. "What other movies do you do it with?" Nigel asked, turning to look at me when I failed to answer. An endeared smile tugged at his lips when he noticed I was drifting off. "Wanna lay down?" He asked to which I replied with another yawn.. "No, I wanna finish the movie..."

Nigel didn't argue and instead shifted a bit in his spot, getting comfortable beneath the fluffy blanket he'd brought along with him. He blinked a few times when I slumped to the side, my head landing on his shoulder as I lost full consciousness. Instead of pushing me away, Nigel draped the extra bit of blanket over me before turning his attention back to the television to finish the movie.