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 Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 4:40 pm
To say he was tired, hungry and cold was an understatement. He smelled so bad that he'd gone nose-blind to himself long ago, and that in itself was a small blessing. He had the kind of smell that attracted stray dogs. That was okay. He didn't mind dogs--until one of them tried to take a chunk out of his ankle.
The apartment complex around here had a nice dumpster. He means, a really nice dumpster. The man was halfway inside of it, shoving aside people's trash in an attempt to hopefully find something at least partially edible. His stomach was getting stronger, he thought. It stopped cramping when he did this most of the time!
Yeaaaaah, that probably wasn't an upside, thinking on it. Well, the man seemed pretty carefree, his legs kicking idly as he continued his search for something to fill his complaining belly.
He was long past the point of caring if people walked past. Unless they called the cops--that was just <******** up.
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 5:45 pm
The apartment complex was not really what Archer had had in mind in terms of places to stay for long periods of time; but still, it was pleasant enough, and it was clean and relatively high quality, and it would do for the time being until he was able to find a proper roommate, if he ever did (or if he managed to get Lorne out of his delusions). Archer had spent most of his morning simply transferring things from his hotel room over to the apartment, and most of it sat stacked in boxes and bins against the far wall of the living room. There was, at least, a couch and a bed, but no table, nor chairs just yet, and he was only halfway through unpacking as it was.
And with unpacking came a great deal of trash to be thrown out, Archer gathering it all up in a black garbage bag and heading down the three flights of stairs to the back door. The alleyway was devoid of most people, and he made his way over to the dumpster -
- and was in the middle of going to throw said bag into said dumpster when he noticed the thing that absolutely did not belong there. A shock of red hair and a figure, lounging as though the trash bin was his throne, legs kicked up and and looking as relaxed as ever.
Archer lowered the bag to his side, thinking hard.
"What are you doing, may I ask?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 5:56 pm
Ah, s**t.
The man grudgingly pulled himself more upright, staring hard at the dark-haired man as though trying to understand what he was doing there. Oh. A guy who lived in the complex, obviously. He finally offered a sheepish grin, keeping his feet still so he wouldn't accidentally fling trash at this dude. That wasn't how you made friends.
"Oh. You know. King of the castle. Grabbing a bite to eat. You wouldn't believe what people throw out!" It was an honest answer anyway, and he studied the trashbag that the man was currently holding. "I can take that off your hands. You're gonna throw it out anyway, right?" He was trying not to eye it greedily, but was failing miserably.
Hunger was a cruel mistress.
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 6:33 pm
For someone who had been caught rummaging around in a dumpster outside of a hotel, the man was remarkably unrepentant. Archer watched him with mingled curiosity and disgust; but he didn't have the urge to walk away just yet, too many variables and possible reasons why this man was here running through his head. He couldn't possibly leave when he did not have the answer.
Archer's eyes flickered to the bag in his own hands.
"This is just packaging materials, no food," he said carefully, trying to gauge the man's reactions. "Sorry to disappoint. I suppose if you've got your nose in here, you're not one of the residents, unless you make a habit of trying to find your dinner out of trash cans."
His dark gaze swept over the man's less-than-stellar appearance.
"Do you not have any other place to go to 'grab a bite?'"
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 6:47 pm
His face fell slightly at such a revelation, looking almost mournfully at the bag now. Packaging material? Nothing that he could salvage as a meal, then. His gaze flickered back to the young man's face, a weary grin tugging wide at his lips. "A resident? Nah. Not a paying one, anyway."
He spread his hands slowly, his eyes still locked on the other's. "Grabbing a bite usually costs money, friend. Need a job to get money. And I need money to look presentable enough to get a job...."
Damned if he did, damned if he didn't. His grin turned almost embarrassed, and he eventually dropped his gaze so that he could study the trash on which he lounged instead.
"The king of nothing, am I right?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 7:06 pm
The trash man was given a scrutinizing look, Archer's fingers idly twisting the top of the bag in his hand. There was something not quite...homeless about him, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. He was certainly filthy, and definitely certifiable, but he did not fit any of the stereotypes that Archer had filed away inside of his mind for future reference.
"I suppose," he said finally, and then lapsed into silence once more, his thoughts slowly piecing together a few pieces. The pros and cons were weighed back and forth, several possible outcomes running through like trains side by side on the tracks of his head. And finally, he came to a decision.
"Would you like to come up to my room, then?" Archer said at last, tone entirely calm, lacking any sort of emotion barring a simple curiosity. "If you agree not to take anything of mine without asking and shower immediately, I suppose I could let you stay a night or two."
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 7:16 am
"Wait. Wait." He paused, narrowing his eyes sharply as he leaned forward to investigate the man. He didn't seem like he was joking. Especially since he was mandating a shower. His eyes narrowed after a moment, suspicious in a way. "Is this a proposition? ...I mean, let's be honest, I'm not saying no either way, but a guy needs to prepare. Like. you know. Prepare."
Gross.
But still, if this guy was serious...well, hell, he'd be tempted to kick a puppy for a hot shower. A lukewarm shower. A cold shower would do in a pinch.
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 7:28 am
Archer instinctively leaned slightly back, nose wrinkling at the sheer dank smell that rose up off of the man. His lip curled, an expression of vague disgust mingling with the one of slight amusement that touched briefly inside of his dark eyes.
"No," he said dryly, flatly. "It's most certainly not a proposition. It's an offer for a night's rest in a clean environment, but I'd rather you not get essence of garbage dumpster all over my furniture. I only have a few pieces as it is, so if you're willing to acquiesce to my requests, then you can stay a few days."
Archer reeled a hand back and tossed the bag of trash over the man's hand, into the heap already there.
"Take it or leave it."
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 8:03 am
"Phew!" He said settling back on some cans with a crunch. "Thank god for that. I dunno if I've ever done it before. I probably would have been really bad at it." Maybe not. But who wanted to take the risk and find out, right? He wriggled out of the trash, hopping out of the dumpster and stumbling until he caught his balance.
"I'll take it. Don't know what's in it for you, but not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth." He shoved his hands into his disgusting pockets, waiting for a minute even as he studied the guy.
Well. At least he wasn't about to mess with Archer's stuff. "I'll sleep on the floor. That's fine. Floors and me get along real nice."
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 8:09 am
Archer wondered if he should regret his decision, though it had been carefully thought through inside of his head. This man certainly seemed...peculiar...but at the same time, his curiosity over his situation and a piqued interest had so far overruled possible safety concerns. If anything, he looked mostly helpless.
Especially after getting out of the dumpster. Archer eyed him and said, "Nothing particular's in it for me, I'm doing you a favor."
Except no favor was ever truly done just for the good of mankind. Archer gave a little wave of his hand, gesturing for the man to follow him as he pulled open the door to the back staircase again, starting to wind his way through the hall and up the flights to the third.
"Do you have a name?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 8:18 am
The man peered into the building for a moment before he followed after the other, green eyes taking in almost everything. Nice place. Nicer than the streets, by far. Hell, even nicer than his trash kingdom. Who was he kidding... only a little nicer.
It made him feel better about himself, probably.
"Probably. Don't remember it, though." He said casually. "You?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 8:33 am
Archer made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat.
"Well, I can't just call you you," he said, a touch of dryness back in his voice. "Do you have a preferred name I can refer to you as, or would you rather me pick one out for you myself?"
He'd reached the right floor, Archer pushing open the door that would lead into the inside hallway. A row of apartments were laid out side by side, even numbers on the right, odd on the left, each door a dark, mahogany colored wood, the walls pale beige, relatively unremarkable.
"My name's Archer," he said, as he reached for his keys, stopping in front of number 307 and fiddling with the lock. The door opened a second later to reveal a rather spacious living room, leather couch pushed up against one wall, stacks of boxes and bins kitty corner to a TV stand that had no TV yet. It tapered off into a small kitchen area, and a hallway down to the left would lead to the bedroom and washroom.
"That way," said Archer, nodding, tossing his keys onto the counter. "There are clean towels under the sink. You can borrow some of my clothes, I'll grab you some."
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 2:53 pm
"Why not?" He laughed to himself, running his hands through his dirty hair. "But nah. Call me whatever. I don't care." He really didn't. Dickbag, snotrag, he'd answer to it one way or another.
The man whistled slowly to himself when the door was pushed open, grinning lazily. The space was nice! The couch, too. No television, but that was liveable. Hell, he didn't remember the last time he'd watched TV. ...He had at some point, right?
"Archer? You're a bro." He probably needed to burn the clothes he was currently wearing, seeing as they were something rank. Whistling cheerfully to himself, he made his way to the bathroom and stripped down to the skin without any hesitation. He remembered to shut the door, right? Probably. Maybe. Don't wander over this way just in case, Archer.
The water was turned on as hot as it could go, and the man snatched a towel for later before he slid into the water. He hissed between his at the pain, but he didn't hesitate to start scrubbing his skin as hard as he could.
"Myyyy Sharonaaaaa...."
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 3:02 pm
While the man was getting ready to shower, Archer had stepped into the kitchen to retrieve a garbage bag before ducking into his bedroom. There was hardly anything in here except the bed, and a few suitcases that were tucked against the wall. He made his way over to one and rummaged around, tugging out a plain black teeshirt and a pair of sweatpants he thought might fit the man and that he wouldn't miss if they disappeared.
He padded back over to the washroom, entirely unfazed, and pushed the door open with a lack of hesitation or consideration that was probably bad at some point in time, but this was his own apartment.
"Clothes are on the sink," Archer said, over the sounds of warbling and the spray of water. "I'm taking your old ones and dumping them."
He picked them up gingerly and stuffed them into the bag before they could stink up the room any longer, Archer tying the bag tightly before stepping out once more. The trash was set out on the back balcony, where the smell wouldn't permeate, and Archer himself went to the kitchen.
The scent of grilled beef and vegetables was soon wafting through the apartment.
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 2:33 pm
"You might wanna burn them!" He called after Archer, his skin soon turning red as lathered up his skin with soap as best he could. Had to wash his hair, too... there were plenty of mats and knots in it, unfortunately, and he savagely yanked his fingers through them with soft growls and grumbles. The hot water felt great at least...
When he was as clean as he was going to get in one shower, the man grudgingly turned the water off and stepped out, gingerly toweling himself off. It felt weird as hell putting fresh clothes on... they felt almost too soft against his skin.
His stomach rumbled something fierce as soon as he smelled the cooking, and the man tried not to chew on his towel to sate his growling stomach. Well, he had to at least dry off first...
Cue speed-drying. His hair looked like a giant frizzball, and the man tried not to look too much like a toolbag as he scrambled out to find the source of that delicious smell. "What's cooking? It smells great."
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