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 Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:17 pm
It was everyone’s dream to have a home, wasn’t it? That seemed as though it was always the dream. It had been Sterling’s dream for quite a while now, and as he stood, looking happily at the two bedroom house in front of him, he felt a sense of utter accomplishment. Here he was, twenty two years old and the proud owner of a house that was only slightly worse for wear.
His roommate was due to arrive at some point today, he hoped it would be soon. Honestly, Sterling had been excited when he had received the call from Yu about his interest in moving in, and sure, perhaps he should have actually met his roommate prior, this wasn’t really any different than living with someone in the dorms. And the other male was a student. This was just much more affordable living…and besides. The lease that he had drawn up was for a semester, nothing more, and hopefully by the end of it…if things weren’t going well—not that he thought they wouldn’t, but.
If they weren’t. Well, he might have enough saved to continue with the house alone, at least for a while. And when he got a job as a psychiatrist…well. He would be able to afford the place with absolutely no issues.
Walking into the house, Sterling looked around and made a soft noise of excitement.
This place…was such a dump inside. There was going to be so much to do…and he would be able to do it all. Once Yu got here, the two could go out shopping, though he wasn’t sure what the other male would bring. The place was furnished, though it might have been better if it weren’t…but. Those were things that could be replaced over time. Some fresh bed sheets and possibly some new fabric to cover the sofa and everything would be just fine.
At least until he could save up a little bit more money.
The living room would be tackled first, Sterling decided, giving a nod and walking into his own room, grinning sheepishly at his mattress which lay on the floor. With a sigh, he flopped onto it and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if there were any time at all for a nap before he had to welcome Yu.BlackSageTea <3333 I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS ;w;
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:35 pm
Yu pulled into the drive, the well outdated Jeep packed with what he owned in the world, which meant ‘not a lot’ but he’d protect it with his life. The car made a protesting groan as it puttered to a halt and he patted the dashboard like he was consoling a feral animal before reaching behind him to pull a duffle out of the back seat. Sterling, it looked like he was already here, no shock really, but he shouldered his bag and wandered towards the door and knocked. He stepped back to wait for the door to be answered, scuffing the toe of his boot against a gouge in the stoop, testing where a stone was loose. The outside wasn’t awful, but… he said He’d pitch in to fix the place, somehow he doubted loose slate and gravel would have been enough to get him in the door. As long as he had the basic tools he needed to cook in the damn kitchen, he could make the rest work.
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Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2020 2:10 pm
Sterling heard the sound of the car door shut and he got up, moving to the door and smiling as he opened it. “Yu?” He took in the brown haired male, and extended a hand, somewhat pleased to see that he was a few inches taller. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, this is the place, I know it needs a lot of work now, but…it has a lot of potential.”
His eyes roamed over the male’s face and lingered for a moment on the scars there, the smile fading just slightly as he took in the one on his face.
That wasn’t a nice place to have a scar, especially one like that.
Idly, he wondered what had caused it but, there was no way he would ask.
Not at their first meeting.
“If you brought anything with you, we can go ahead and unload it, and then I thought we should head over to Ikea maybe? Get ourselves some odds and ends…the house was left furnished but…honestly, I found that it was better to throw away what was in my bedroom, and I want to at least get some fabric to redo the sofa…”
Stepping back, Sterling gestured to the inside of the house. “Ah…welcome home?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2020 4:11 pm
He hesitated, then shook the offered hand, taller than him, like that was news. He huffed anyhow, a flash of his nose wrinkling at the thought of being the short one, again. “Just what’s in the car, I travel light. Should make it easier to renovate the place eh?” He said with a flash of a grin that showed off pointed teeth. “Where do you want me to drop my s**t? If I clear it out we can take my car, you can fit more of whatever you find in there I’d bet, we’re only f***d if it rains, the top’s a bit leaky.” He was already making plans to just keep the mattress, hoping it didn’t smell like someone died on it. But hey, Mattress weren’t cheap and if it was salvageable that was perfect. He slipped inside to at least get the duffle in and see what they were up against for the renovations. “Maybe I should ask for a tour first, see what you’re thinking for which room, what do we rip up first and all?” He offered glancing back. The glasses were cute. “Is the kitchen stuff they left any good? I mentioned I cook but… wasn’t sure you took that seriously. Last place I stayed thought it was funny or something.”
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Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2020 5:31 pm
Sterling nodded. “Sounds good to me. The kitchen seems okay? It’s not the prettiest but, we can fix that. Everything works, so I suppose that’s the most important thing.” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose from where they had slid down and shut the door behind Yu. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you around!”
He moved deeper into the house, first showing the male where his room would be, gesturing to the old furniture with a small, almost shy smile. “This is your room, it’s a decent size and it has great lighting in here, and that closet is wonderfully large.”
All of the storage areas in the house were large enough to walk into, it had been an unexpected luxury.
“The kitchen is over here, and the door to the basement is in the kitchen. There’s a washer and dryer down there, and I’m thinking of maybe fixing it up…eventually. It would be nice to add value to the house, you know?” And the basement needed help. It was a standard basement, but he had seen enough television to know that it could be so much more. Perhaps a room for recreation? That might be nice.
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Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:39 pm
“Dang, I could sleep in the freaking closet if it came down to it.” He muttered in surprise. “You have enough uh...closet space right? I really don’t have a LOT, I’ll be like a marble in an empty room pinging around in here.” He dropped his duffle into a corner of the room and gave a small pleased sigh, the doors looked solid, the window wide but clear enough to see out of. “Nice, not a galley kitchen, three point kitchen is my favorite!” He said and shook his head impressed as he moved from appliance to appliance, fingers brushing over them like introducing himself to a new friend. The basement made him roll his shoulders forward, glancing around at the wide expanse of cool concrete, sealed but still having that slight odor to it reminding you that there were no windows, just you, the walls, and the earth beyond. The stairs didn’t do it any favors either, bare wood with open backs and an old railing that still threatened to give you splinters if you slid your hand just a fraction too carelessly. “So…. should we hang up a clothes line before...or after those rattle traps catch fire and try and kill us?” He mused aloud.
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Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2020 4:28 pm
“I mean,” Sterling laughed softly, shaking his head as he made his way down the stairs, carefully stepping and only making a slightly concerned face at the way the boards sounded under his feet. “I don’t think they’ll catch fire…but replacing them…might be a good idea. And a clothes line out in the backyard might be nice. Laundry from the line always smells so fresh and wonderful, don’t you think?”
Plus the way that the clothes rippled in the breeze…it just felt homey. And suddenly, he wanted a clothes line. Badly.
“…Where do you even buy clothes pins anymore though. Do they still sell them?”
They had to still sell them. People still hung clothes up, that was a stupid question, but it wasn’t anything that he had ever really looked for.
“The window there,” He pointed to the small window over the washer and dryer, shaking his head. “It should be cleaned…I can take care of the outside tomorrow maybe, and I think perhaps we should look to make sure it’s sealed up good, it looks like there’s some water stains coming down the wall…the inspector didn’t say anything about it but…”
Sterling had seen enough renovation shows to know that it could be a bad thing. And if it were to snow or if Destiny City were going to have a bad storm, he didn’t want the basement to flood, especially if they were able to get it fixed up.
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Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2020 4:29 pm
“Right, smells good…” He murmured glancing around in small shuffling circles. “Ahhh… local box store probably, normally near the irons. You can get them pretty cheap and they make good bag clips too if you need.” Window, he followed the indication and blinked at it and the water stains that ran down from it. “If it's an old window, they uh… they might have so much paint on it it's not sealing anymore.” He said and cleared his throat, wandering that way to lean up to try and pick at it with a fingernail. “So… if we strip it down that might solve it. We’d want a mask though, you can still turn up lead paint in the older layers.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:25 pm
Sterling nodded. “That could be your project if you want. I was just thinking of throwing up some caulking.” He laughed softly, pleased that this new roommate of his seemed both interested and rather knowledgeable about the repairs that would be needed.
“I think that sounds like a good idea. And, what do you think about the basement? It’s a decent enough size…it could be a great recreation room if we put some effort into it…some drywall, carpeting…it could be really cozy. And safe from tornadoes!”
Not that there ever were tornadoes in the city, but…it was something he thought of every so often.
Sterling moved back to the stairs and went up them once again, flicking the light off when he saw that Yu was behind him. “So…that’s really the tour. And then there’s the backyard, and that needs some love…but I’m not too worried about that.”
Especially not so late in the year. In the spring…well. In the spring he wanted to plant a garden. Wanted to grow all sorts of fruits and vegetables for the summer.
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Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:27 pm
“Y-yeah, I think I can chip most of that off and then work through some grades of sandpaper, then we can caulk it after just to be sure.” He flicked at some of the paint, revealing another color under the current shade. “Uh...yeah, rec room or something, add some lighting and things and that could be cool, be nice if it had another way out but that...seems a bit beyond us.” He admitted. He might have quickened his step on the stairs when the lights went out. “We can always clean the back yard up some, set up areas to make it easier to plant when you want to do that.” He offered rubbing at the back of his neck thoughtfully. “Where do you want to start first? I can get you my schedule more or less… It’s kind of all over but if I know what projects and when you need to sleep we can work s**t out you know?”
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2020 1:56 pm
“You know, I didn’t…you aren’t here to work for me, right? I…I know the house needs repairs, but I do want to be up front that I don’t expect help, though it is very much appreciated!” Sterling gave a little laugh, feeling both a little apprehensive and excited.
“You’re…my roommate, and…this is your home, ah. I think…we should start with shopping today though. I really want to reupholster the sofa, it…it’s a little gross, I won’t lie…or if we can find a new one that’s affordable, I think…we could do that too. And after that…maybe the rest of the living room? And then the kitchen?”
Sterling gave Yu a fond smile, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “…Internet and cable will be installed tomorrow, so we can deal with all of that when it comes. And…other than that…well. We’ll see what happens?” It sounded as good a plan as any and he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Let me help you unpack, if you’re ready?”
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2020 1:59 pm
He opened his mouth and closed it again like he wasn’t sure what to make of that. “I, mean, the rent was a steal so, I figured…. But uh, yeah, I can figure out something between the library and the internet. Or like I said we check the salvation Army or something. “I...you don’t have to worry about that, I wasn’t kidding when I said I didn’t have a lot. If you wanna help me get the last out of the car though, I’m not going to argue.” Hell it would give him a good view if he walked second into the house, not that -that- thought was being shared out loud at this time.
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2020 2:16 pm
Oh, Salvation Army was a good thought, and one that hadn’t really gone through Sterling’s mind. “Thrift shopping…that could be an adventure, yeah.” He grinned and shook his head, nodding towards the front door once again. “After you. The sooner we get you moved in…the sooner this place will get to be home. But, no, we’re both in school, I figured we didn’t need to spend an arm and a leg to afford a place to live.”
He walked to the door and opened it, grinning at Yu.
As far as first impressions went, Sterling had a very high one of the male, and if things were going to continue like this…the semester would be very pleasant.
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