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 Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:09 pm
For the most part, Kam lead a pretty uneventful life. He lived out of travel bags and slept on his friend's couch. His room was an open space without any privacy - but also without rent. Every came and went as he slept, but he was a light sleeper.
Really, life could have been worse.
On the flip side he was a super hero and had saved up a substantial amount of money since he'd started his job with Penny. Apart from food and booze he really hadn't had to buy a damn thing. Just one of the pros of having the most awesome roommate ever. Plus Bo cooked.
These were the fine pleasures in Kam's life that he was enjoying on a lazy Sunday morning, half curled in his blankets with one leg hanging off the edge of the couch. He had a slice of cold pizza in one hand and a mug full of soda in the other - mostly because he had been too lazy to wash a glass, but it gave him a little class (or so he thought).
Some awful, Sunday morning cartoon was flashing on the screen but even that didn't interrupt Kam's relaxation. It was good to be lazy. It was good to not have a care in the world, for once.
It was just damn good to be Kam.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:25 pm
Kamboja should have known by now to expect interruptions whenever he was relaxing. In fact, he should expect interruptions no matter what state he was in or what he was doing. This time Delphine had forgotten to even send Kamboja a warning text. She was at his place, and she was on a mission. Her mind was too busy laying out the details of her plan to be distracted by sending Kam a text to say she was coming over. The pale teen didn't even bother to knock. It was Kam, for ******** sake, she really doubted he cared if someone came barging into the apartment he was freeloading in.
She said '******** it' to knocking, she said '******** it' to announcing herself at the doorway, and instead made a quick walk into the living room, suddenly blocking Kamboja's view of the television. What the hell was he watching anyways... cartoons? Delphine had more important things to bring to his attention than a goddamned cartoon show, so she was also convinced that he would not mind. "Dude, hey. Kam." Delphine was pretty sure he was already aware that she was standing in front of him, but it never hurt to make sure that she really got her attention.
"Look. We really need to talk about your living conditions, and how they can be improved. Because this is sad. You're living on a couch. I don't think I've seen you anywhere else in this apartment but on the couch." She was getting somewhere with this, but it was going to have to wait a little bit. Delphine was trying to give a shock to his mental system... she figured it would make it easier for her to pitch her idea and for him to accept it.
Delphine probably could get away with being straight up with him, but she was nervous. Delphine couldn't do this on her own, and this was something that she just had to do.
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:57 pm
Kam didn't even glance up as the front door opened and someone walked in. That happened from time to time. It was either Bo strutting in with food, or about to make food, or that other guy who.. yeah, Kam really didn't know what he did. He only bothered to look up when his view was suddenly blocked for more than a few seconds and there was a frown before he even saw who it was.
"Hey, c'mon, I'm watching that!" He waved his pizza-holding hand at the TV in an attempt to make her move, as if his motion might force-push her to the side. Cartoons were really, really important, okay?
It was only as she started to babble at him that he realized she had come here on some kind of mission. So he sighed and stopped trying to peek around her at the television screen, staring up at her face instead and giving her most of his attention. Chances were that he was still half asleep, though. Nothing seemed to get through for a few moments until she kept harping about the couch.
"Dude, what's wrong with my couch?" He was in full on frowning mode now as he swung his legs over the couch and actually bothered to sit up. His mug of soda was deposited on a nearby table, already covered in water rings that suggested he used it too frequently and had never heard of a coaster. The pizza, however, remained in hand - and sometimes in mouth as he took a bite.
"C'mon," he mumbled around an overly large bite of pizza, "it's not really that bad. What's gotten you all concerned for my well being suddenly?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:46 pm
Delphine had never been good at exercising patience, and even those few seconds it took for Kamboja to sit up straight was irritating her. Maybe it was because she was genuinely nervous. She imagined this was what most people felt like when they were going out on a first date with someone. Her situation was kind of similar, except that she would never be so delusional as to date Kamboja, and he wasn't so delusional to date her. "Come on, its cartoons. They replay every ******** day, man. This s**t is important right now."
She released an exasperated sigh, and responded to his inquiry about his living conditions on a couch with, "Everything." Okay, she was sounding melodramatic even to herself now. Obviously, being dramatic wasn't getting her far. Sure, he was listening to her, but not so intently that he was going to drop his pizza. When that slice of pizza was put down, then Delphine would know that she had his full attention. He was probably wondering if his pepperoni was tasting off, or some stupid s**t like that.
"Okay, look. I need to get out of my house, and you need to get a respectable place that isn't a couch. My parents are so ******** happy with the idea that they'll help me pay for rent, but it's not going to be enough to cover a decent apartment, plus other necessities so..." Delphine definitely was feeling like she was making some sort of marriage proposal, except without the commitments and 'to death do us part' thing. "I just can't keep living at home, and not just because me and my parents don't get along. I don't feel comfortable there, and staying at home with rules and regulations is going to seriously interfere with my plans to save the ******** world." By now she was rambling, and by now she didn't really give a s**t. This needed to be said.
"I'm thinking we could get a nice apartment together, and sort of make it like a base of operations, or at least a place where you have your own room and I have the freedom to do what I want."
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 8:37 pm
Put the pizza down? Fat ******** chance.
As he listened to the speech she was laying out for him, he continued to stuff his face, until he ended by simply shoving the whole garlic-cheese-stuffed crust into his mouth all in one go. For a moment he looked particularly chipmunk-cheeked as he watched her, chewing without an ounce of grace or manners.
"Fsoo.." he started, attempting to speak around a mouthful of bread that wasn't disappearing quite as fast as he had thought it would. He swallowed, finally dislodging some of it, and managed to talk around what was left. "You want me to move out of my cozy, rent-free deal and start paying rent so you can get out of your house?" He managed to quirk an eyebrow as he continued to munch on his food.
"I dunno, bones." He shook his head and reached out for his mug of soda, washing down the last of his pizza and letting out a pleased sigh. Immediately, he was wondering if he had another piece in the fridge or not. He spared a glance in that direction but chose, instead, to look up at her again.
It wasn't that he didn't have the money, because he most certainly did. He had saved up plenty since he started his job with Penny and he made enough for a decent living besides. The only issue was that Kam was really cheap and giving up a free stay, regardless of the upgrade, was a hard deal to sell.
"What's wrong with this place being our base of operations, eh? No one is ever here. You could crash on the floor or something if you wanted, even." And she would, in his mind, if she hated being home so much. He'd slept in much worse places to get away from his family before.
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 8:48 pm
"I'm thinking about your dignity here, dude. How many times do you bring a girl home and say 'Well, this is my couch, let's do it right ******** here'." She was mildly embarrassed, not from her own words of course, but because he was rejecting the idea. Hell, if she wasn't so damned determined to get him to move in with her so she could get out of her parents' house, then she'd probably be blushing. Instead, she looked pissed that he was refusing to see the pros of the situation instead of the cons. God, she knew Kamboja was cheap... but this cheap, really?
"I'd ask someone else, but I thought you'd like to get a cozy bedroom of your own... and you're the only person that knows about my goals. I'd feel more comfortable with you there instead of some random civilian or some idiotic senshi." Feeling the need to establish the importance of this conversation, she turned around to actually turn off the tv. There was little she could do about him stuffing his mouth full of pizza, but at least this way he would listen to her and not talk over her.
"I'm sorry if some of us have enough dignity to want to sleep on the floor. If I were to ever be tempted to move into a apartment with people I don't know - I'd be taking the couch and you'd be sleeping on the damned floor. Have some goddamn decent gentlemanly manners." Getting pissy at him wasn't helping Delphine's cause in the least. But, honestly, Kamboja was an easy person to get pissy at. He was an absolutely great friend sometimes, don't get her wrong. In situations like these, though, he was ******** frustrating. "I'm sure you have some nice ******** friends living with you, but no, thank you." Her idea of moving into a different apartment was so much better. Didn't Kamboja room with a shitton of boys? Yeah, she was not being the single consistent female presence, no ******** way.
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:08 pm
When she turned around and pointedly turned off the TV, he sighed in frustration and gave her an annoyed glare. He wanted to point out that he was just fine living on the couch, eating his cold pizza and watching his TV. He wanted to point out that it was all pretty ******** great unless a fussy woman busted up in his s**t and made it complicated.
But somewhere, deep down beneath his apathetic exterior, Kam knew that Delphine was right. Not that he would ever say the words, but it was true. He was bumming it and at some point he had to get his s**t together.
"Fine, okay, ********." He pushed himself off of the couch like he might be going to do something productive, but he simply disappeared in the general direction of the kitchen. The fridge opened, closed, and in a second he was back with a brand new slice of cold pizza. He was standing though and that pensive, serious-Kam look was plastered on his face.
"So say I agree to this s**t, and I'm not saying I'm gonna," he pointed at her with the eaten tip of his pizza slice, "I want to look at some ******** places first. We're not gonna jump into this just because you're have a fight with your 'rents, okay?" He took another bite of his pizza, pensive once more as he chewed.
"And I want my own ******** bathroom."
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:19 pm
Did he just... walk away from her? Delphine's first instinct was to drag his a** back into the living room so they could continue their debate, but she decided to exercise the limited resource of patience that she had. Needless to say, she was relieved that Kamboja returned the living room with a slice of cold pizza as his prize. It was better than him walking out the front door, and maybe it also meant that he was actually settling down to have a chat with her.
Delphine knew she had won the moment he said 'So say I agree to this s**t...'. It meant he was considering it, and if he was genuinely considering it that meant 'yes'. There was no way he'd say no to her now. Delphine had no idea which reason had swayed him into agreeing with her, but she liked to think that it was a mixture of all of them that convinced Kamboja to trade in an old couch for a comfortable bed. Delphine nearly smiled triumphantly, before she realized Kamboja would probably get annoyed with her assuming that it was a 'yes' already.
"I didn't fight with them today, give it a rest. I already started looking into roomier apartments, which aren't necessarily the cheapest, but if sir prima donna wants his own bathroom, he can get his own bathroom." Delphine was fully convinced that the moment Kamboja said he wanted his own bathroom that he was the bigger girl. At least she didn't come right out and say it? It was only heavily implied instead.
"Oh, and... uh. We need a place that will allow pets. I have a cat, and can't leave her behind. I'd try, but I'd never hear the end of it."
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Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 10:59 am
"I'm not a prima donna, okay?" He took another bite of pizza and then used it to point at her again as he plopped his a** on the arm of the couch, perching there as he thought this s**t over. "I've shared a bathroom with a woman before and I'm never doing that s**t again, got it?"
He leaned back on the couch arm and crossed one arm over his chest, using it to prop up the elbow of the one holding his cherished junk food. He took another bite and rolled his eyes to the ceiling in a way that implied he was thinking. It wasn't until he'd finished chewing that he glanced back down at her.
"My credit's probably s**t, but I've got enough money saved up that I could pay a few months up front." Then she dropped the bomb and he grimaced. What was it with these senshi and their ******** cats? "Fine, you bring the cat, but I'm not paying the extra fees for the damn thing."
A pause as her words really sunk in and he caught the meaning between them.
"It talks, doesn't it? It's one of those ******** talking senshi cats." He didn't seem all that pleased, but he wasn't saying no at least.
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 8:23 pm
"All right, take a second to think about who you're rooming with. Do I look like I'm so high maintenance that I can't share a -- wait, you're right. You're a ******** sheepdog with all that hair. I want my own for sanitation reasons." So, it was settled. They were going to have to get a nice apartment if they both wanted their own rooms and bathrooms. It would probably be easier on their sanity, and perhaps make it so their living arrangement would actually work out.
"Does it look like I give a s**t about your credit, Kam? I think we can work this out, though. My parents are pretty pleased with the idea of me moving out. Me staying at home probably gives them migraine, so I'll be good for covering rent and s**t. I'd get a job myself but..." Delphine dedicated what was probably too much time to her senshi duties. It wasn't surprising when she ended up sleeping through most of the day because she had been out all night patrolling. If she was going to step her game up and finish this war, she couldn't have the distractions that living at home and having a job would provide her. Her civilian life was going to be put on hold, and she'd resume it when she finished this war. "Anyways, I'll be set on money. My parents won't leave me to rot."
Ah, good! He seemed to think she was talking about a normal cat, and Delphine was all too happy to let him keep thinking that. Invidia was a handful herself, and Delphine thought it very likely that she could be the deal breaker. Hell, she hadn't even brought moving out up with her guardian cat. It was going to be a surprise. If she was fortunate, Invidia wouldn't give a s**t, and maybe even like not having to pretend to be a normal feline.
Oh s**t -- what? He had suddenly caught on. Delphine evasively glanced towards the kitchen, wondering if now would be the opportune moment to grab herself a slice of pizza. She could use eating as an excuse not to confirm Kamboja's sudden suspicion. "Uhh..." ******** it, Kamboja seemed pretty convinced that she had a talking cat. "Yeah, I picked her up a few weeks ago. Her name's Invidia, and she's... my cat so she definitely won't let me leave her behind. She's not... terribly talkative. I'm sure you guys would get along just fine."
Riigghhhtt. She hoped he bought that.
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:45 pm
The look he gave her over the edge of the pizza he was stuffing in his mouth said he didn't really believe her, or appreciate all the comments she was making about his hair.
"If the cat is yours and it talks, I'm sure it's a ******** pain in the a**." He half mumbled the sentence around a mouth full of pizza, then swallowed after what was probably not quite enough chewing, but seemed pretty unconcerned with it. "But I guess if we're going to be using this place as a base of operations, having one of those damn cats around would make it much safer."
He was kind of looking for a silver lining..
He took a bite out of what was left of his second slice of pizza (pretty much only the crust) and chewed on it for thought. Then he pushed himself off the couch, shoved the other half of the crust in his mouth in a way that left it partially hanging out, and mumbled what was the last nail in his coffin of consent.
"Damn it, fine, when d'ya wanna start lookin'?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:28 pm
"She's not so bad. She just likes to speak her mind," it was a subtle way of Delphine saying that Invidia was definitely a pain in her a** sometimes. Delphine was the proud owner of a guardian cat that had entirely failed to find her for a solid two years, and they were supposed to be connected somehow. Still, Invidia was not someone she was going to elaborate on if she wanted Kamboja to move out with her. If she was lucky, Kamboja wouldn't even meet Invidia until it was too late to move out of the apartment immediately. Delphine didn't really have any back up ideas, and she certainly couldn't stand to live with anyone else. Kamboja was a good friend, and fairly easy going. They could do little to genuinely grate on each others' nerves. "See, that's exactly what I would think... if I didn't have to bring her along anyways. My parents will be ecstatic - she terrorizes the hell out of the family cat already."
A few seconds then proceeded to tick by, which could only be accounted for stunned silence. Kamboja had definitely just dedicated himself to moving in to an apartment with her. Delphine had to jump on this opportunity before it slipped through her fingers. He was dedicated to the decision now, so she just had to keep on him until they actually moved out. She wouldn't give him time to have doubts about this sudden decision.
"Let's go now. You look at least halfway dressed, and you ate, and I'm ready to go looking now. So let's do it." Kamboja had no way out now. He had said 'yes', and there was no going back.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 6:18 pm
He had agreed, but he certainly didn't look like he was jumping for joy over it. Whatever had made Kam realize this was the best decision for both of them was purely based on necessity.
He just nodded at her and pulled on a t-shirt tossed carelessly over a chair arm, then shoved his socked feet into a pair of poorly laced Etnies forgotten in the middle of the floor. One hand reached down to turn off the TV as he other reached out for the hoodie he had tossed on the back of the couch, almost lost on the other side.
"Fine, let's go," he pointed at the door in expectation of her seeing herself to it and grabbed a set of keys off of an end table with a tiny 'c***k'. Then he was headed for the door, with or without her.
Shopping for apartments had definitely not been on the agenda for the day.
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