He'd stayed up late the previous night, lying on his bed and listening to the general chaos that tended to erupt during dinner hours in his families household. It always started with mom preparing a nice family meal. Then one of the siblings would complain about it not being their favorite thing to eat. Which would lead to one of the other siblings telling them to sod off and enjoy it. And finally, the shouting, food possibly getting thrown, mother sighing and wondering why she was eternally cursed with her children and father just ignoring it all. Until a plate or a glass gets broken. Then he'd thunder at them all to go to their rooms.

Typical family dinners.

Was it any real wonder why he, the youngest of said siblings, tended to spend more time with his boyfriend then at home? Or why he had spent a considerable amount of time looking for a place to move out into?

Lycander glanced down at the notebook sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Zoey had let him borrow her car while he went around touring different apartments, condos and even a townhouse or two. A few of them he'd put stars next to, rather impressed with some of the features offered and the look of the unit available. But he wouldn't make the final decision just yet. He was just narrowing the field down.

This next one, though, he had high hopes for. Which was probably why he'd yet to go inside.

It was a nice little townhouse, though from his understanding, townhouses were supposed to share a wall. This one was on a nestled on a corner with the neighbors house separated by a wall for the backyards. So really, it was a small house. Which was perfect, in his opinion. It allowed for more room then an apartment yet wasn't quite as big as a single family home.

His phone dinged at him. Glancing down at it, he saw a text from Zoey.

"What u think of house?!?! - Z"

Taking a deep breath, Lycander finally stepped out of the car. The realtor that he'd spoken with had told him he'd stop by at 1:30. There was certainly another car in the driveway. A rather nice black BMW to be precise. Very nice. Walking up to the door, he was almost close enough to knock when the door swung open. The gentleman that stepped out with that all business smile was rather striking. Sort of in that way a shark might be.

Lycander tried not to laugh. Instead, he flashed the man a charming smile and held out his hand. "Lycander Taimborlin. We spoke on the phone this morning. Thank you so very much for agreeing to show me the house today." He spoke with ease, not at all intimidated by the other man. There seemed to be a pause as he shook the hand Lycander offered, as if he were composing himself. Then he smiled back.

"Ian Carter. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Taimborlin. And please, it's my job to be at your service."

"Lycander, if you don't mind. Mr. Taimborlin is my father." He replied cheerfully, preceding Ian Carter into the house as the man gestured him forward. "Front entryway is nice and open." He commented right away, letting his eyes scan the room they stood in. There was very little he missed. "Neutral colors on the walls. Very nice. And the windows in the front let in a nice amount of natural light." He nodded to himself, seeming to tour the house on his own.

"Ah, yes. The previous owners had an extra window added for that very reason. They also added in French doors to the backyard." Mr. Carter chimed in. Was there a little bit of disappointment in his voice? Ah well. Lycander only grinned to himself. He was not so easily manipulated.

"I can't argue with their choices. The kitchen is a little smaller than I'd have expected for a house like this. And yet, I rather like the set up. There's at least enough room to maneuver around one another." He also noted the nice hard wood floors. And was that granite or marble counter tops? The redhead ran his hand along the smooth surface experimentally. Granite.

"A little smaller, yes." Mr. Carter agreed. "But I dare say that the extra few feet it gives the dining area makes up for it." He gestured to the nice little area that was supposed to be a dining room. "And just through the walkway here, you'll find the living room. The hallway here, leads to the bedrooms as well as the first of the bathrooms."

Nodding, Lycander wandered through the living room area, envisioning furniture sitting around and what all he could fit in there. Satisfied with it, he headed down the hallway, peeking into the first of the three rooms - yes there were three! - before moving on to the next and making small comments here and there. Last, they walked into what was considered the master bedroom with the second bathroom attached to it.

"Hmm. Not that much bigger than the other two bedrooms. But the bathroom is nice. And the closest." Lycander stepped back out of said closet, glancing over at Mr. Carter. Who chuckled and agreed.

The two men walked back towards the living room, chatting a little with Lycander tossing in a question or two. They made their way to the backyard, which Lycander was surprised to find was quite big. Bigger than he'd thought. He walked around outside, looking here and there and was overall happy with the upkeep. Truthfully, he hadn't seen anything that he was unimpressed with or felt would need major work. Mostly easy cosmetic stuff. Like repainting here and there.

"Well, I'm quite please with this place. I won't deny that. It's met a lot of my standards and surprised me in some others. I do appreciate your sparing some time again for me. I must discuss this with my other half first." He said sheepishly with a small hint of apology. "But I shall be in contact with you again fairly soon, I would think." Lycander held out a hand again. "Do let me know if the status on this place changes between now and that call."

With a promise to do just that from Mr. Carter, the redhead slipped into the car and looked over the cozy townhouse again. He wasn't sure if it was exactly what they were looking for. But it was nice. And hadn't disappointed him. He put a big star next to the location in his notebook, and pulled his phone out. Zoey was waiting to hear how it went. And his boyfriend would be anxiously waiting to hear how the day had gone too. Grinning at the days success, Lycander text away letting both of them know how the day had progressed.

Perhaps, in the very near future, he'd be returning to one of the places that seemed to be quite fitting and call it home.

[WC: 1181]