- indent Alfie offered the older man a small smile as he took his outstretched hand and used it to pull himself up. He almost missed the feeling of his hand in his when he let go but had more important things to focus on like food, “Yeah, of course. I’m the one who asked you anyway. That reminds me, we should probably get you a new phone that isn’t tied to you.” His mouth fell open as he stared up at Markus with wide eyes, flushing pink as he was handed the phone, eyes darting between his face and his wrist. The taller man stepped away, giving him the ability to think like a proper person again, well at least, enough so that he could call and order takeout. After placing the order, they sat in silence for a while before he had a sudden thought, “Since you’re technically a wanted fugitive, you should probably stay hidden when the food gets here.” Once the food was delivered and he brought it into the kitchen, Markus came out of his hiding spot in his room. His head whipped toward him when the older man mentioned that he would pay them back, “No. You don’t need to and I won’t take it. I offered so there’s no reason for you to pay me back.” Neither of them talked much while they ate, he almost preferred it that way since he was making a fool of himself any time they did speak. It was nearly impossible not to glance at him every so often, flushing pink whenever the older man caught him and grinned. After they were finished eating, he followed close behind Markus as he went to put stuff in the fridge. His eyes went wide at the sight of his powers going haywire, raining food down on both of them, “It’s alright! No need to be sorry, accidents happen.” Alphonse fought the urge to look away as Markus made another attempt, this time succeeding, “No, it certainly wasn’t.” He raised a hand to brush some of the rice that had fallen on him from his hair, not noticing when Markus made his way over to him. He froze as the older man brushed the remaining rice from his hair before tilting his head by his chin, cheeks going bright pink at the contact and the grin on his face, “T-thank you.” It wasn’t fair the effect Markus had on him and it seemed clear now that the other man knew it too, though, he wasn’t sure he knew that he had had a crush on him.
indentAfter a little while, they both split up and went to their separate bedrooms. Alfie wasn’t entirely sure why he had even bothered to go in when he didn’t plan on sleeping. With a tired sigh, he walked over to the cage and leaned down at the fluffy white rat inside, “He didn’t even remember me and I still invited him to move in. What on earth am I doing, Sniffles?” His pet said nothing as he shuffled around his enclosure, “Well, you’re certainly no help.” His head whipped to the door at the sound of someone moving out in the hallway. He glanced over his shoulder at his pet with narrowed eyes, “What’s he doing? I know, yes, you know as much as I do. Silly me.” Alphonse threw on one of his normal hoodies before exiting his room and heading to where he saw an open window, watching as Markus made his way across the street. His first instinct was to follow him and so he did, but he quickly lost sight of him after a block. He knew giving up wasn’t something he should do, but neither was following his new roommate like a stalker. While he made his way back from the loft, his phone started to ring and there was really only one person who would call him this late at night, well, the only one still living anyway. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, swiping to answer the video call, “Why are you calling me this late, Christopher?” The younger man scoffed, a small grin on his face as he walked around his own apartment, “Why are you answering my call so late? Where are you? A-are you outs— Why are you outside?” He rolled his eyes, trying to fight back a grimace as Chris asked why he was outside. It wasn’t like he could just straight up say, ‘Oh, I was following my new roommate like a weirdo after he snuck out. Oh, did I mention that he’s partially responsible for the deaths of the main team and on the run?’ Not only would that be stupid, but it would also make Christopher come running and really didn’t want to deal with that at the moment. So, instead, he shrugged and tried to be as nonchalant as he could possibly be, “I’m just out for a stroll. Am I not allowed to go outside and just take a stroll?” Going by the look on his face, it didn’t seem like the younger hero bought his act, “It’s almost one in the morning, Alfie. Are you sure that you’re okay? I’m not far, I can just run right over.” He pushed down the panic and kept his voice steady as he reached the loft, “I. Am. Fine. I don’t need you babysitting me! Do you want the real reason? I had another nightmare last night, Chris. I am hesitant to try and sleep, there’s nothing you can do to fix that. Good night!” Without letting the other man respond, he hung up the phone and shoved it in his pocket as he entered his home.
indentHe leaned back against the door and crumpled to the ground, holding his knees to his chest. After a few minutes, he finally stood up and made his way to his bedroom. Alphonse grabbed his blanket from his bed, made his way to the couch, and laying down on it. It was only out on the couch that he could hide from the loneliness, surrounded by memorabilia from his team and their photos. At one point, he had put some of them in his room, but they had felt out of place and did nothing to help. It was also far too quiet in his room, even with Sniffles scurrying around his enclosure all through the night. Alfie wasn’t sure exactly when he had managed to fall asleep, but when he did wake up, he could see the sun had already risen. He went about his morning routine, momentarily forgetting about his new roommate. It was showering then brushing his teeth, getting dressed, and possibly tricking himself into actually eating something rather than just drinking iced coffee. But when he made it to the kitchen, his hair still damp, he was met with the sight of Markus standing there, leaning against the sink and drinking a cup of coffee, “Oh, morning…” The older man hid a smile behind his mug before repeating it back to him. He watched as Markus tilted his head to the side, staring at him, before mentioning that he had slept on the couch. His eyes went wide before he nodded, “I don’t really use my room for much other than for storing my clothes, oh, and my rat. His name is Sniffles.” He continued to babble as he fiddled around the kitchen, not really doing anything other than going through the motions before deciding that it was not a breakfast-eating sort of day, “Anyway. How was your night? Was the mattress alright?” Perhaps, if he pretended that he didn’t know Markus snuck out, it would somehow prevent the man from pushing for why he slept on the couch and barely used his room. Alphonse let out a small noise as he glanced up at Markus, eyes wide and expectant, “We should go to the store to get you things you may need, We can put a mask and hoody on you. Plus, I know a store where a lot of people who need to keep their identities and whereabouts a secret go to.” He wasn’t about to go into why he knew of a store like that, but it didn’t really matter because it fits their needs.
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- indentOwena stared at the man with disgust, rolling her eyes as she pushed herself up onto her kitchen island, “I’m trying to stay out of all this hero-villain-vigilante nonsense right now. Wanna tell me why you decided to show up here, Markus? Doesn’t even need to be the real reason, just a believable one.” As soon as he started to say something about missing her, she caught him with a bolt of electricity to his upper thigh, making the wrong answer buzzer sound, “Wrong. Try again, remember, I said something believable.” She listened quietly as he spoke, crossing her arms before letting out a tired sigh. It didn’t matter to her what the actual reason was and as much as she pretended not to, she did care about him. Owena dropped her arms, rolling her shoulders back to ease the tension in her upper back, “Listen, there’s not much I can offer you that will actually help, but… But, I can offer you a shot or some rum. Which would you prefer? Actually, I don’t care, you’re getting a shot. Vodka, alright?” Before he could answer, she was up and in her kitchen, pulling out two small shot glasses and filling them with vodka. She slid the one-shot glass across the counter, throwing back her own and wincing, “I hate this stuff, honestly. But it feels like a nice shock. Hah, get it, shock. Like this!" Owena reached across the counter, taking his hand and shocking him with a small bolt before cackling. After a few minutes of going back and forth then a round of silence, she slid him another shot before pointing to the window, “One last shot, and off you go. I have a girl coming over soon and I don’t want to explain why you’re here to her. Yes, it’s late for her to be coming, but unlike you, she has a job. Night night, Markus.” She waved him off, shutting the window behind him once he left.
