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 Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 10:42 am
It was already after closing time in the high-rise shopping center, but this fact was unknown to the teen passed out on the couch outside the stores. He had simply come there to do a bit of clothing shopping, but then he'd gotten interested in people-watching and decided to sit down and sketch them a bit.
The mallscape was an interesting subject to draw, especially with so many different kinds of people around. However, Kit must have underestimated how tired he'd been after the previous night's patrolling as Sailor Ptolemaeus because it wasn't long before he'd fallen asleep with his sketchbook in hand.
None of the shop clerks or store employees had thought to wake him because he wasn't technically inside their stores so there was no need to kick him out in order for them to close up shop. As large at the shopping center was and as silent and still as Kit was while sleeping on the couch, none of the security guards or mall cops managed to spot him when they passed. Eventually Kit's pencil slipped from his limp hand, hitting the floor and rolling a short distance away on the ground.Kapoodles ((Hope this is okay! Please tell me if there's anything I need to change~))
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 11:00 am
The only time Shiloh ever loved the mall was when it was closed. There was just this wonderful echoing silence that filled the place, so much more wonderful than the loud hustle and bustle of it's daylight hours. What he loved even more was the fact that, since it was smallish, he could clean all on his own, take as long as he wanted. He'd only be paid for 6 hours, but that was plenty of time to go through all of the halls and sweep and polish. His boss let him work on his own because he did such a flawless job with cleaning, they had even received a few emails about the states of the bathroom in the morning. You could literally eat off the seats!
And the security guards were understanding of the young man and his particular needs. They knew he was rather unsettled by being around alot of people, so while he worked, they made sure to stay out of his way, keeping a careful eye out every now and then to make sure he was alright.
But tonight they were a little off their game, as their eyes wandered towards the seasons first football game instead of their monitors and Shiloh was left actually completely alone. Not that he knew that of course.
His first major stop of the night was to turn off the small fountain at one of the lounges, collect the coins for donations to the children's hospital, and then scrub it clean. In order to do so, he had to enter the lounge and flip the switch that was just inside the little pool. He hadn't expected to hear the pencil drop in the otherwise silent room.
It startled him so much that he swore he felt dizzy, and quickly turned around, holding his brush out in a defensive position. He may have been shy but he could protect himself.
And there it was. Just some man snoozing away on one of the couches... Okay, that was better than some crazy homeless man; it wouldn't have been the first time Shiloh found himself running away because some hobo with a half broken bottle tried to take him down, like he had any money.
Seeing as the man looked pretty young, Shiloh just imagine he had fallen asleep and no one had woken him up. It did happen every now and then. With a soft voice and a gentle shake to the shoulder, the young janitor tried to wake up the guy.
"E-excuse me... Sir... You have to go home now..."
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 11:25 am
Kit's eyes remained closed, though he stirred a little and managed to mumble something in response. "Mmm...no thanks, 'm fine..." he murmured, reaching out as if for a blanket. Instead, though, his searching hand found the custodian's arm that was extended toward him to shake him by the shoulder. Kit seemed to be fine settling for that and drowsily tugged his new captive toward him.
"You can keep me company, though," he added, eyes still closed as a sly, sleepy smile curved his lips.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 7:43 pm
Were it not for the fact that he happened to be biting his lip at the time, Shiloh would have screamed when the man grabbed his arm and pulled him close. He was in his work uniform still, smelling of cleaning solution and the slight hint of toilet water, since he was cleaning the bathrooms right before hand. To think anyone would want him close was just baffling.
The man didn't seem to mean him any harm though, so Shiloh wouldn't press his alarm button... He did wonder if the security guards were seeing any of this...
"Sir.. Please let me go..." His voice and breathing were both shakey. He really... Really didn't know how to handle this.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 8:48 pm
If the smell of cleaning solution and toilet water bothered Kit, he gave no indication. He cuddled his prize close like a child with a teddy bear, smiling soundly in his sleep until he heard the trembling of the other man's voice.
"Hmm?" He opened his eyes one at a time to appraise the person in his arms before releasing him slowly. Then he sat up, yawning, and stretched while he tried to assess his situation. "s**t...what happened?" Looking around, he realized no one else but the custodian he had just been clinging to seemed to be available to answer his question.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 8:38 pm
Gods be praised, he was free! Shiloh quickly backed away, cradling his arm and making sure he was out of reach, just in case the man decided that he was ready to go back to sleep and needed a toy. He a tleast seemed to be waking up all the way again.
"I think you may have fallen asleep when the shops were open.. But the mall is closed now, and it's time to go home... Do you have a home to go to? I know a few shelters around if you need a place to sleep... If you stay here, you'll get in trouble.."
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 8:55 pm
Kit watched the young man back away from him as if he were some dangerous criminal and had to grin. They seemed to be about the same age. What was this guy so scared of? Had he been attacked by active sleepers before?
"Oh...right." He looked at the bag of clothes he'd purchased sitting on the couch beside him. Next to that was his sketchbook, but his pencil wasn't neatly tucked in the book's spiral binding as usual. He scratched his head as he looked around for it. "Where'd I put my pencil...oh." He got off the couch and bent down on the ground to snatch up the utensil that was now beside the custodian's foot.
"Hehehe...relax, angel-face, I'm not homeless. It's just kinda depressing to think I'll be going back to an empty apartment." He looked up from his position on the ground with a soft smile. "Before I used to go to Hillworth and we had dorms, so it was almost never quiet with so many people around. Now it's been weird trying to get adjusted to living alone."
With a grunt, he pushed himself back up to his feet and stepped back over to his sketchpad to fold it shut and stick his pencil through the binding. "How about you?" he asked, slipping both sketchpad and pencil into his pocket. "Got someone waiting for you at home?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 9:24 pm
Now that the man was up and speaking properly Shiloh relaxed a little, picking up the broom that he had poked the man with. He wasn't a threat, he could tell now. Just kinda weird.
The more he spoke though, the more it made sense. He never lived in the dorms himself while going to community college, but he could imagine being alone after that. But there were WAY befter places to sleep than in a mall. What if his stuff was stolen?
"I'm sorry, that sounds really sad... I go to community college, so no dorms... And I have my own apartment. No one's waiting for me, but It's not the same I guess... I like being alone." Personally people freaked him out. They were unpredictable and he didn't want to disappoint anyone.. Ever.
For now, he offered a hand shyly to the man.
"Come on.. I'll walk you out."
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 9:47 pm
"Hahaha, don't worry, I'm not looking for sympathy," he laughed upon hearing the other man's apology. "You like being alone, though? That's interesting. Isn't it tough having to pay for an apartment all by yourself while having to pay for college too?" He eyed his peer's uniform and nodded toward it. "Not to mention have a night job while keeping up with classes and homework."
Kit was taken aback upon being offered a hand, especially after having seen the other back away from him so hurriedly. It didn't take him long to recover and accept it, however. He smiled gratefully in return. "Thanks. The name's Kit, by the way. Heh, and I appreciate you not reporting me to security. Especially after that little stunt I pulled." Shrugging sheepishly, he confessed, "I'm a very physical person. Physical contact is a big thing for me, so I can get pretty clingy and it makes a lot of people uncomfortable. No sense of personal space, see."
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 2:52 pm
"It's not tough..." Shiloh wouldn't mention the fact that he only took two classes each semester, nor would he mention they were just for fun classes. When it came to his life, his future, the young man was more than just a little listless. He just... There was nothing he found himself wanting to do. Except right at this moment, he wanted the young man to leave.
The small smile was returned, though just a little forced.
"Yeah... I... I don't really like surprises and personal space is important.." After helping Kit up, he pulled his hand away, holding more tightly to his broom with both hands. He'd love fro this man to just leave, so he could get back to cleaning, but he wouldn't say that out loud...
"Let's head to the doors. If your with me, the security guards won't stop you..."
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 4:10 pm
"Yeah? That's a shame," the teen answered, unable to keep the grin off his face as he noticed the tightened grip on the guy's broom. "Especially because you seem like a lot of fun. If you would be more honest, that is."
Kit reached out a finger to poke the other young man's cheek. "Your smile's too fake. What'cha hiding back there in that mind of yours?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 6:27 pm
There was no denying at all that Shiloh's cheeks were starting to darken in color as the man did what he assumed was flirting. That was a completely foreign thing to him. Who would flirt with this weird lanky nightowl anyway? Apparently the answer was weird people in closed malls.
"I-I don't... I'm not sure what you mean sir. I'm just doing my job." He couldn't help that he was fidgeting more and more the longer the man stared at him, and when the finger came out and poked his cheek he flinched, making a soft, displeased sound before stepping back.
"I'm... I'm sorry sir, but I'm just thinking... You shouldn't be here... And That I might get in trouble if they see you.."
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 2:50 pm
Shiloh's change in complexion amused Kit. Evidently this guy wasn't used to being teased. He supposed that made sense if he was the sort who liked being alone. That made no sense to Kit, though. Most people enjoyed being alone to some extent, but to completely isolate oneself day and night as much as possible?
"Why do you keep calling me 'sir'? I'll bet we're around the same age. And I already told you my name's Kit, didn't I?" He cast the custodian a sideways look and a crooked smile as he watched him step back with an unhappy sound.
"Don't worry; I'll tell them it's my fault if anyone shows up. But I really don't know if I can go home this late..." he murmured, pulling out his phone from one pocket to check on it. "Not by myself, anyway. I heard it's been pretty dangerous out there on the streets at night in this city."
Kit gave Shiloh a pleading look. "Do you mind if I wait until you're done so we can leave together?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:50 am
"Calling you sir is a respect thing. Plus... You now... Military things..." Though Shiloh was never in the military himself, he was more than used to their ways and ranks, due to his father being so pushy about it. The young man just wasn't made for that kind of field, especially since he viewed himself as subservient to most others. Hell, he couldn't even keep his eyes fully on Kit, constantly looking away and avoiding eyecontact.
"Kit then... " He really... REALLY didn't like the idea of walking Kit home. Shiloh wasn't a weakling, he was strong and lean from his workout routine but just didn't have the heart to fight... Did this man really think Shiloh was worth walking home with?
"I'm not... Sir-- Kit. I am sure you can call a cab for your way home... I'm sure you understand, my job is a night one, this isn't the only place I clean... The night is still young and I have hours and hours of work ahead of me. I would not think you'd want to stay with me the entire time..."
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 9:57 am
"And you really think I seem like the sort of person to deserve that kind of respect?" the black-haired male asked with a smile. "If you had experience being in the military, though, maybe that would explain why you seem so meek or you prefer being alone," he continued, noticing how the other appeared unable to keep eye-contact.
Kit listened attentively when the curly-haired young man gave his response, trying to suppress the grin that threatened to creep up his face. "Sweetheart," he said when the other was done, "If you're trying to make excuses, you're going to have to come up with something better than that. If that's really the only issue here, I can wait however long I need to. But if you honestly have a problem with me - and I wouldn't blame you if you did, since like I said, I seem to give a lot of people the creeps - then you gotta tell me directly."
He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "I'm the sort of flexible person who's usually willing to accommodate whomever I'm with. If you seriously don't like people touching you, just let me know and I'll back off. If you can't stand the sight of my face, go ahead and hit it. But don't give me some half-assed excuse like you don't think I'd want to stay with you the entire time when I was the one who offered to do just that. I do know what I get myself into, contrary to popular belief."
Unfolding his arms, he held them out and shrugged. "If you're going to be too shy and polite to be honest with me, though, I'm just going to have to make my own assumptions about what you're really thinking and act as I see fit."
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