Charlie borrows a few bucks from Alan before hitting the town, and Alan's repeated demands to be paid back immediately irritate Charlie. The argument escalates to the point where Charlie kicks Alan out of the house, and Alan temporarily moves in with Judith.
Tropes
- Double Standard: Alan gets upset that Charlie is willing to shell out a hundred dollar bill to Berta to pay her back for a pizza and garlic balls that she bought, but won't do the same for the $38 he owes Alan. Justified, as Charlie is completely dependent on Berta to do the shopping and household chores and it's in his best interests to make sure she's happy.
- Grey-and-Gray Morality: On the one hand, Charlie did tell Alan he would pay him back the next day after borrowing the money, Alan genuinely needed the money for lunch (which is something Charlie should be sympathetic to), and Alan being obnoxious about asking to be paid back does not give Charlie the right to decide to not pay him back. Also, if you really want to dig deep into it, Charlie is the reason why Alan is so poor, as his actions before the alimony agreement caused Alan to have such a ridiculously large monthly payment to Judith. However, Alan has been getting free room and board from Charlie for over half a decade and should be far more lenient about lending him a little money here and there, and siphoning gasoline from Charlie's car to recoup the money is a great example of two wrongs not making a right. Plus, after seeing how said siphoning greatly inconvenienced Charlie and that Charlie was going to just let it go despite that, Alan really should have just cut his losses instead of making a fuss over the remaining balance.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: Charlie kicks Alan out of his house because he's a "cheap, gas-sucking, flammable irk". Alan protests that he's not cheap.
- Never Lend to a Friend: Charlie borrows 38 dollars from Alan, and Alan's repeated hounding of Charlie to pay him back starts a fight between the two that ends with Alan being kicked out after stealing the gas out of Charlie's car. Charlie could easily pay Alan back many times over, but the fight stems from Charlie simply not having that amount on him at that particular moment and Alan being obnoxious about it.
- The Nose Knows: Charlie is genuinely mystified over the quarter-tank of gas that disappeared from his car overnight, until he smells gas on Alan's breath and realizes that he siphoned his tank.
- Once a Season: The more-or-less annual occurrence of Charlie and Alan fighting to the point where Alan has to find somewhere else to live for a short period of time, but is back by the end of the episode.
