The bedroom surprised Thomas. It was liveable and reasonably clean, so Milo must have been a cleaning tornado while he was downstairs. Somehow he had expected piles of dirty laundry and clutter. He dumped his bag next to the closet and debated whether or not he’d just crawl into the bed and sleep for the next few hours. Maybe days. But he couldn’t; cause he had a schedule to adhere to and honestly, he needed a shower first.
“So, is the bathroom safe already? I’d like to take a shower but first I’ll unpack.” So if there is anything embarrassing going on in there, this is your moment dude. As he opened the wardrobe he noticed his shelves were left empty. A wide grin spread on his face as he turned around. “Did you seriously leave those for me? Thanks!” Having his own shelf in Milo’s house meant a lot to him. He had no idea it had been so important but it was, there was a little space in the huge house dedicated to him, waiting for him to return in one piece.
He didn’t own, nor bring, much clothing or items anyway. It all had to fit into the backpack he quickly emptied and stuffed away in the back of the closet, as far away as possible. He didn’t need a reminder that this was all temporary. The few shirts that he had were neatly placed on hangers. Thomas normally just folded them but it had earned him a firm scolding from Milo, who was more of a pro when it came to clothes anyway. So he had tried to pack them as neat as he could and hung them on some hangers.
When he got to the bottom of his bag he realised he had forgotten his book. He only had one, they traded books around base as much as possible because they needed to be moved every time the camp moved. Thankfully Anthony’s collection of books was enormous, even after it was raided by the University and Thomas quickly went downstairs again to pick one from the huge bookcase in the living room. It wasn’t an easy task though. The man had everything, from classic novels to thrillers, from biographies to fantasy. He didn’t know what to choose and took his time, leaning backwards against the couch and scanning all the titles.
Most of the books were dusty, but not the ones quickly thrown back into the empty spaces. It didn’t surprise Thomas in the least they were of Milo’s favorite subject at the moment, although there were a lot more titles than last year. Some of them even looked brand new. The one that had been sprawled open on the coffee table when they came in stood closest to the edge and Thomas decided he might as well read something he could talk about with Milo. The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A–Z for the Entire Magical World by Judika Illes. And honestly, he was just curious about what Milo could have been so feverishly looking for in all of the volumes that had been there the moment he came into the house.
Armed with his book of choice he almost ran back up the stairs again, really looking forward to taking a shower and getting into a clean bed, with actual bed linen and no desert sand.
March 2010 - The Reunion
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Milo Hayes
- Posts: 25
- Joined: 21-01-2019 04:52
Milo was already mentally planning. Hopefully he could wake up early and sneak out at some point before Thomas woke up, and get a head start on the hidden laundry mountain he’d simply dumped in Anthony’s old office for the time being, out of sight. It wasn’t like he’d even been awake all that long today, but his sleep schedule was so messed up he couldn’t really guarantee anything to himself or otherwise without an alarm. He’d just have to bank on Thomas falling asleep first. That seemed likely, anyway.
“Uh… oh, I do need to… get some fresh towels for you,” He murmured. If Thomas was going to spend some time unpacking though, he would happily use the extra chance to clean up a bit more. The sudden shift and smile caught Milo slightly by surprise, blue eyes blinking between Thomas and the shelf as he realized.
“Of course I did!” He answered simply, as if no other reality had ever entered his mind. “You’re always going to have a spot here…” Milo touched the small of Thomas’s back briefly as he slid by him. The empty spaces were always waiting for Thomas to come back and complete the picture, just like Milo was.
Snatching a pair of fresh towels from the linen closet, Milo tossed them up in the bathroom before doing a quick assessment of what else could be done in quick fashion to give the semblance of a deeper clean. A momentary spike of panic upon hearing Thomas moving closer was just as swiftly relieved when the other man moved past and back down the stairs. Thankfully it wasn’t as terrible as one might have feared, Milo liked taking baths for self care just as much as hygiene (a good place to wallow) and so that needed to stay at least relatively clean; mostly just the problem of clutter and dust collecting that plagued much of the house. He had it presentable anyway, when Thomas returned.
“All yours…” Milo offered as he caught Thomas flying up the stairs again, although did a bit of a double take recognizing the book under his arm.
Wait, what? Why does he have that? I put it away, didn’t I? It wasn’t still open was it?
He was fairly certain he’d put it back on the shelf, not that his own mind was particularly trustworthy at the moment. It didn’t seem like Thomas had brought it up with the intention to interrogate him about it though, not yet anyway… so he’d just have to leave it. Any other reaction would just seem suspicious, right? So he just managed a small smile, lingering in the bedroom doorway for a moment before turning into the room, quietly trying to recall if he’d actually dogeared any of the pages in the book.
It didn’t occur to him that he’d simply had that book open long enough that it might even naturally want to open back to the same section once Thomas started leafing through. A section specifically discussing how to interact with or banish spirits.
“Uh… oh, I do need to… get some fresh towels for you,” He murmured. If Thomas was going to spend some time unpacking though, he would happily use the extra chance to clean up a bit more. The sudden shift and smile caught Milo slightly by surprise, blue eyes blinking between Thomas and the shelf as he realized.
“Of course I did!” He answered simply, as if no other reality had ever entered his mind. “You’re always going to have a spot here…” Milo touched the small of Thomas’s back briefly as he slid by him. The empty spaces were always waiting for Thomas to come back and complete the picture, just like Milo was.
Snatching a pair of fresh towels from the linen closet, Milo tossed them up in the bathroom before doing a quick assessment of what else could be done in quick fashion to give the semblance of a deeper clean. A momentary spike of panic upon hearing Thomas moving closer was just as swiftly relieved when the other man moved past and back down the stairs. Thankfully it wasn’t as terrible as one might have feared, Milo liked taking baths for self care just as much as hygiene (a good place to wallow) and so that needed to stay at least relatively clean; mostly just the problem of clutter and dust collecting that plagued much of the house. He had it presentable anyway, when Thomas returned.
“All yours…” Milo offered as he caught Thomas flying up the stairs again, although did a bit of a double take recognizing the book under his arm.
Wait, what? Why does he have that? I put it away, didn’t I? It wasn’t still open was it?
He was fairly certain he’d put it back on the shelf, not that his own mind was particularly trustworthy at the moment. It didn’t seem like Thomas had brought it up with the intention to interrogate him about it though, not yet anyway… so he’d just have to leave it. Any other reaction would just seem suspicious, right? So he just managed a small smile, lingering in the bedroom doorway for a moment before turning into the room, quietly trying to recall if he’d actually dogeared any of the pages in the book.
It didn’t occur to him that he’d simply had that book open long enough that it might even naturally want to open back to the same section once Thomas started leafing through. A section specifically discussing how to interact with or banish spirits.