It's an average night, hopefully.
The moon lingers in the sky, but shines down on nothing but a humble home with the lights still on.
Residing within, sits an anxious little nobody, shifting in his seat and nervously drinking a can of carbonated drink as the tv plays in the background. He simply... sits there.. constantly shifting his gaze between the tv, the open window, and the door. Just keeping an active look out as he fidgets in place, faintly.
There'd be the softest tap on his shoulder, followed by a whisper in his ear.
“Are you doing alright, Sir? You seem antsy.” He'd give a small jump with that, before immediately easing with a bit of a smile.
“O-oh, hhaha.. no, I'm fine! J..just.. easily worried, you could say?”
“Hm? Are you worried about that Wade fellow?”
“Absolutely! He.. has never been this late before I think-! It's just.. incredibly worrying y'know?”
Thrall gives a soft chuckle, placing a hand on Kenneth’s head to ruffle his hair.
“Oh, no no, you have nothing to worry about, Sir. I'm sure he's alright. After all, he can handle himself, can't he?” He can hear Thrall stepping away for a moment, his return being made very clear with a blanket being gently draped over him, “I can assure you, he's probably close to arriving as we speak!” Kenneth would seem to get vaguely flustered over the fact, warm as soon as the blanket is properly draped over him.
“Ah.. you're right. I'm sure he can..! He's not as, y’know, small as I am I guess..”
“You could say that. Small isn't a bad thing, though! I'm sure he doesn't mind, that is. Have you eaten anything tonight, Sir?”
“Nono, I know small isn't bad! No worries! And.. uhh.. Not quite? I've been a bit too worried.. Only soda, really.”
“Ah. Shall I be on that, then? What would you happen to be in the mood for?”
“If you'd like..! Uhh. Anything simple. P-probably a salad, or something..”
“Are you sure about that, Sir?”
“Mhm! No harm in it, y'know! And, I usually get pizza or something anyways..”
“Salad it is, then. Anything else you want me to handle before I go to fetch you a salad, hmm?”
“Uhh.. d-do you think you could.. check in his location perhaps? I-If you'd like I mean-”
“Oh, Sir, I believe he's on his way here! Very, very close. Would you like me to make him a salad too?”
“Oh! Good then. Uhhhh Sure! It'd be nice to give him something to return to. T-Thank you.”
“No need, Sir! It's my pleasure to work under someone so... Pleasant and kind may be the words I'm looking for, it seems,” The sounds of a car pulling up become clear thanks to the open window, “Ah, there he is! Right on time,” He gives Kenneth's head a good soft pat, “I'll be off to work on those salads.” And with a subtle flicker of the lights, Thrall vanishes.
Kenneth gives him a big smile in return as he heads off, saying, “Thank you..!!” He then watches the car from the window, and a familiar face becomes visible as Wade exits the car. He seems to have an arm wrapped around his torso, the other holding some sort of shirt. Kenneth leans back in his cushion to get a better look, but would get up and head to open the door for him a little after. Wade would sluggishly make his way over with heavy steps, with a few visible scratches around his neck, of which he covered quickly with his uniform shirt in his other hand.
Upon getting a good look at him, Kenneth seems a bit more.. worried, to say the least. Kenneth cracks the door open a bit wider and sidesteps to let him in.
“Is.. everything alright?”
“Almost lost my job,” Wade says, stepping inside with a huff, his gaze dull.
“H..hwh..? How so..?? Did something happen?”
As Wade steps inside a bit more, he removes his jacket, showing that the cuts aren’t only at his neck. Some of them are massive, only covered up haphazardly by the bloodied towel still wrapped around his torso.
“Ah, forgot to return this…” he holds his jacket in the same hand as his uniform shirt, wincing as he tries to tug at the towel, “Eh, I’ll deal with it soon…” Kenneth gives a sharp wheeze of complete shock as he quickly shuts the door.
“W-Wh–?! Wade?! C-Christ, wh-what- What happened?! You're covered in g-gashes and- and- I'll get- the bandages- Stay right there!” Kenneth hastily shuffles out of the room and to the bathroom in a hurry, nearly stumbling as he does.
Wade watches Kenneth as he goes, mumbling, “Oh, uhhhh… just a mountain lion or something. Nothing much, just need to disinfect these.”
“J –ＪＵＳＴ Ａ ＭＯＵＮＴＡＩＮ ＬＩＯＮ?!”
“Yeah, I escaped just fine,” Wade lightly sits down on the couch, stretching his arms. Kenneth returns shortly, shuffling in with some bandages, bandaids, alcohol, cotton swabs, medicine, generally anything in the medicine cabinet at this point.
“G-Good!?! Uu-uuhh.. Let me handle it, i-if you don't mind? You shouldn't handle it yourself- y-you were just fighting for your life-!”
“Keith, there’s no need to worry yourself so much…” he’d sigh, trying to unwrap the towel, “It’s not like I lost a limb! It’s fine, I can handle it myself.” Kenneth sets the supplies aside, sighing a little, but reaching his hands over to offer to help with the towel .
“I can't help it! T-these are serious injuries-”
“Fine, fine…” Wade relaxes, getting the bloodied towel undone finally, “No need to be so panicked though, I’m not dying. Oh and, sorry for getting home so late.”
“G-good for so and,” he'd give another sigh, trying to give Wade a weary smile, “P-Please don't be sorry?? Y-you were attacked by a wild animal?? That's- not something in your control- please don't be sorry.” Wade would pull the towel off fully, showcasing… some really deep gashes. Enough to fit two fingers into just from its width. Most are cut from his shoulder down to his hip. Still bleeding quite a bit.
“I know, but I’m still sorry for making you worry. Should’ve at least sent you a text or something,” he winces quite a bit from the wound being open, “I don’t want to make you stressed, especially considering I’m basically fine…” Kenneth takes a moment to take in the sight with wide eyes, giving a soft, stressed, sigh as he reaches over to some of the supplies he gathered.
“P-Please don't be sorry over it, it's- certainly understandable you'd be preoccupied. L-Let's just get these handled yeah..?”
“You do know I can do this myself, Keith…”
“I am aware, and won't let you! So, please, where should we start..!”
“Okay, Mr. Gardner, your word is law I guess…” Wade chuckles quietly, removing his hands from his wounds, “Probably start with the wounds. I think that would be a fantastic idea dontcha think?”
“You're lucky I don't shove cotton balls in em..!!” he says, giving a fake little huff. He picks up a cotton ball and dabs it in alcohol, preparing to clear some wounds, “Ready..?”
“Yes Keith, it’s not like it’s going to hurt less on its own,” he nods.
“Of course, of course,” Kenneth says, beginning to clean the wounds.
“So, how was /your/ night?” Wade asks.
“E-eventful, one could say? Mostly, consisting of worrying endlessly and trying to distract my worries.”
“Keith…” Wade sighs, “I’ve been trying to tell you, I’m sorry…”
“N-No please! Don't be! It's just my silly little worrying y-y'know?? I'm glad to see you alright! P-Plus, I didn't even call or text you to begin with, so a fault on my part.”
“Your worrying isn’t silly.”
“I-I suppose! But still, it was more me making myself more than I should've. I'm very happy to see you're not in pain!”
“Oh no the pain is immeasurable,” Wade chuckles, “I’m just not dying. But, getting back on topic… Why were you so worried? Is it solely because I was so late? If so, I promise not to keep quiet in contacting you for too long…”
“A-Ah… I mean.. I suppose it was primarily how late you were.. b-but don't feel the need to cater to me!”
Wade furrows his brow, “And yet you can do the inverse just fine…?”
“... Yes.”
“Of course….” he rolls his eyes, “How’re you dealing with the wounds? I’m guessing not well, since I’d believe you’re a little squeamish seeing how worked up you get over simpler things…”
“I'm dealing with them fine..!” he goes quiet for a moment, muttering something like 'stop reading me like a book..!' under his breath.
“Mhm… and when do you think you’ll be done tending to them?”
“A few minutes! Not long at all!”
“You’re too kind, tending to massive wounds when you’re already quite squeamish…” Wade ruffles Kenneth’s hair with a grin,“You should probably start thinking of a way I can repay you… Maybe… making breakfast for a month? Would be nice to finally let you sleep in…”
“N-No! No thank you! I-I appreciate it, but there's really no need for any repayment,” he says, blushing from his hair being ruffled, “You're injured! I'm just willing to help!”
“And not everybody is like that! Besides, it’s the least I can do to uplift your mood.”
“A-At least lessen it to a weekend then?”
“No. Month. Final offer.”
“A-a week..?”
“/Month/.”
“A-any other options?”
“Well, how else can I repay…?”
“Uhh.. Come back to me later on that!”
"Ah yes, later, as in never. Cmon, I’d like to settle it now so you don’t keep prolonging it."
"No, I promise! It'll be settled in no time... Just not right now-"
"I’m going to give you until the wounds are done being tended to come up with something," Wade settles more into the couch, making a bit of a stubborn expression.
"That's not a lot of time!" Kenneth subtly goes at a gentler pace, but still is making sure he's getting the wounds taken care of as best as he can, "A-are you sure you're not going to need stitches..?"
"Unless you can do them yourself, hell no. If these wounds don’t kill me- which they won’t- the medical bills surely will."
"I definitely don't trust myself to handle something like that.. And they better not!! If you show the slightest signs of dire illness I'm dragging you to the hospital myself. I'll do whatever I can to cover everything!!"
Wade would slug Kenneth lightly in the shoulder.
"How about you stop talkin’ about how you’d go broke and homeless just for save my sorry ass and get back to tending to my sorry ass. That’s how you keep me from showing severe symptoms, cleaning the massive gashes on my front. Okay? There’s no need to think about hospitals or sterile emergency rooms or medical bills or anything. I don’t need you overworking yourself to death just to keep me from dying. Seems counterproductive."
Kenneth is a little stunned by the slug, but blushes vaguely.
"Suppose you're right.. But still!! I'm not a doctor or anything but you should probably take it easy, y'know? Don't want any more mountain lions coming by..!" He continues cleaning at the biggest gashes, before starting to try and wrap em up as best he can. Wade winces heavily as his deeper wounds are disturbed, albeit trying to face away from Kenneth as to worry him less.
"The quicker this is done, the quicker it can get to healing," Wade says. Kenneth makes sure to go carefully when it came to the deeper ones, trying to contain his shiver as he lightly patted it down to ensure the bleeding wouldn't be too heavy.
"Yep.. and we get you straight to bed!"
"Keith we aren’t even related so I’m not sure why you’re acting like you can parent me."
"I'm not parenting!! You shouldn't disturb the fresh wounds!!"
"One, wound's not fresh now," Wade struggles to not roll his eyes again, "Two, fine, but no removing the divider pillow. That will also disturb the wounds."
"Still-!! And I can deal with that!! Anything so you can sleep comfortably," Kenneth finishes up his wrapping.
"Aside from all this… wound nonsense…" Wade would suppress a yawn, rubbing his eyes, "Did I tell you about this jackass who ordered like right before we closed?"
"Hm? no, I hadn't heard so.. Had that been your last run of the night?"
"Yeah and the dude lived like a fuckin hour away and just didn’t order from any closer pizza parlors," he makes a few pained coughs, "Ahem, and I spent so long trying to get to the damn guy. Lived in the fuckin boondocks, ass end of nowhere. Swear to god that place was on the border of not being labeled on a map…"
"Honestly sounds way too suspicious of a place to me.. fair distance, middle of night and barely known," Kenneth gives a little sigh, mixed in with a light chuckle, covering some of the lighter scratchers in band-aids, "But I know you can take care of yourself! I hope it wasn't too much of a burden though. Very unfortunate it happened right at closing." Kenneth would notice and feel the presence of something watching him from the lightless kitchen, however Wade wouldn't notice. Kenneth perks up considerably at the fact, almost taking a small glance to the over to the kitchen, just to peer over a little. But he's still working on the wounds! The light flickers for a second. Wade would be a bit skeptical of that, but its not like he can go and investigate.
"Hmph. Looks like I have to replace the bulb sometime..."
"Oh, uh- yeah! On that, would you like something to drink?"
"Just water."
"Sure, we've got a few bottles in the fridge," after finishing up with the wounds, Kenneth stands up and stretches his legs out a little. And, y'know, quickly shuffles off to the kitchen. Wade tries to stretch himself, but just ends up in a painful coughing fit.
"Just a water please. I will get suspicious if you take too long and try to sneak in making some extra thing to make me feel better or somethin'."
"I'll keep that in mind..!" Kenneth gives a wave to Wade!
Well, y'know. The kitchen is very obviously dark, the lights are off. However, there are big, glowing red eyes in the darkness. Wade mumbles to himself while Kenneth is in the kitchen, seemingly a little peeved. He'd wedge the fridge open a little to grab the water. There's a very light tap tap on the counter, quiet enough for only Keith to hear! He perks up with that, hurries over to the counter. The lights flip on, and he's presented with two salads. He'd take a small glance around with that, before giving a firm nod! And would grab up the two salads with a whisper, "Thank you..!!"
Weirdly, Wade's still mumbling at nothing, but would suddenly cut off with Keith's return, bearing a warm smile.
"Ah, good to see you treating yourself with two salads. Can I have my water please?"
Kenneth honestly barely notices, smiling to Wade as he sits down nearby and handing him his water, "Here you go! And I hope you don't really think I can finish two salads by myself.."
"Well, I did ask for just a water. Clearly ain't my salad..." Wade lightly takes the glass, shrugging.
"Do you want a salad..!"
"Hmmmm..." Wade makes a dramatic thoughtful expression, as if he isn't taking the situation seriously, "I dunno, I feel like you earned the second salad after patching up all the gashes I have..."
"Nope!" Kenneth crosses his arms dramatically, "You definitely deserve it after the long night you've had!"
"I beg to differ, considering you've been worrying nonstop tonight as well! So it is only fair that the person who worried most and has done the most deserves the second salad!" Wade smirks and raises a brow.
"Wrong!! Well I wouldn't be able to finish it anyway!!!"
Wade quickly tries to dramatically stand, "A-ha! See, I knew," and would barely straighten before nearly toppling, using the table for support as he gripped his center with a short sound of pain. Poor Kenneth is be spooked at the fact, immediately getting up and rushing to help the lad up, giving a startled wheeze as he does.
"B-be careful-!!!"
"Right. Immeasurable pain. Forgot that part," he tries to push Kenneth away, "It's alright, it's fine, I'll just have whatever you don't finish for breakfast."
"Are you sure?? If you're not eating then you should head straight to bed!"
"I know, I know..." Wade gives a light chuckle to mask his pained coughs, reluctantly accepting Kenneth's help, "I can get there myself."
"Nope! I'm helping."
"Wrong, you aren't," Wade instead picks up Kenneth, shaking his head, and would slowly try to shuffle his way to the bedroom. Kenneth is picked up with ease, and like.. vaguely flustered over it. With enough time, Wade would eventually get to the bedroom, playing Kenneth on one side of the singe large bed in the room, which had a large pillow in the middle to separate it into halves. "See? Made it by myself."
"T-Thank you but..! You should take it easy!" Kenneth sort of just... lays there as he's placed down. Wade would lay on the other side of the bed, breathing a sigh.
"I am kind of exhausted. Not planning on getting up again until tomorrow."
"Good! Well.. I mean. I hope you feel better tomorrow then! I don't expect your wounds to heal overnight of course but!! You being in less pain is good!! Always good..!"
"You gonna..." Wade situates himself under the covers, making a huff, "put away the salads...?"
"I'll do that later! I won't fall asleep so soon."
"If you say so... Try to sleep well. If you don't, I'm not letting you out of here until you do..." And with that last mumbled sentence, he'd already be drifting to sleep. Clearly, he's more exhausted than he let on. Kenneth waits a moment, making sure that Wade's fully asleep first and foremost. Wade would look about as dead asleep as one could get. Kenneth slowly makes his way off his bed to head out into the living room again. The lights are off. Obvious shadow demon on the couch, just chilling.
"Seems like I should've only made one salad," he turns to look at Kenneth, talking in a whisper.
"Nooo.. I'm certain he'll eat it later!" Kenneth gives a soft sigh, but with a smile, sitting down nearby.
"If you say so, Sir. You did a good job with caring for his wounds."
"Y-Yeah.. You know you don't need to call me 'sir', right? No need to be so formal..! And ah, thank you? I just did what I could..!"
"Oh no, I'm fully aware. It's simply what I prefer, unless you'd like to order me to stop."
"Nono, that's perfectly fine then!"
"Alright then...Are you going to eat your salad, or did you forget your fork?"
"No worries, I'm eating!" Kenneth gives a little appreciative nod to him, and would pick up the salad and start to eat.
"Let me know if you enjoy it."
"This is really good..!!"
"Thank you!" Kenneth can't really tell if Thrall is grinning or not, because he cant see his mouth. But he sounds happy!
"You're really good at this y'know!!"
"Well, I would hope so," Thrall chuckles, "If I wasn't after an eternity of practice, it'd be a bit concerning!"
"Ha, I suppose you're right! Still, amazing work!" Kenneth says, finishing the salad.
"Glad you enjoy it, Sir. In the mood for dessert?"
"Dessert..?"
"Ice cream, a pastry, whatever you wish. I'll find a way to acquire it for you, no need to worry!"
"A small ice cream would be nice..!! If you don't mind."
"What flavor? Any toppings?"
"Just chocolate! Probably.. nuts?"
"Just a moment, then!" Thrall says, disappearing.
"Thank you..!!" Kenneth replies, checking the time. It's around 1am. Ice cream time :]
"Your ice cream, Sir," Thrall reappears suddenly without notice, standing by Keith's side on the couch, holding a decently sized bowl of pecan covered chocolate ice cream!
"Oh- Thank you!!" He'd give a small jolt of surprise, then would look up at him, "You work very quick!"
"You're flattering me tonight, Sir. Now, make sure to eat it before it melts!" Thrall says to Kenneth, who would carefully pick it up as it's offered and would start eating.
"Chri-...Sheesh, this is amazing!"
"Only the best," Thrall chuckles.
"Thank you! You certainly do give it," he's going right through it, "How often do you make this sort of thing?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Y'know.. how often do you make things like this? If that's.. the right question to ask!"
"Oh no, no, I don't make that. I just happen to know people who do! Not like I can tell you who, though."
"Oh! Still!! Very good!"
"Anything you wish for me to do while you sleep? Or shall I just let you rest."
"Nono, do as you like! Thank you for asking though-" Kenneth gives Thrall a lil smile.
"If you say so."
"And I do!" He'd finish up the ice cream completely, "I should probably sleep soon, huh.."
"Yes, you should. What do you want for breakfast tomorrow, Sir?"
"Yyeah.." he lifts up both of the bowls into his hands, "Uuhh... maybe bacon and eggs.. if you wouldn't mind! Something small. Thank you!"
"Scrambled?"
"Mhm! Scrambled is good."
"As you wish," Thrall reaches for the bowls, "Let me take care of those bowls for you."
"Thank you!" Kenneth hands over the bowls.
"Have a good night, Sir."
"You as well!" Kenneth gives him a small smile as he'd head off and return back to their room. Wade’s still out cold. From the sound of it, it seems he’s breathing heavily in his sleep. Kenneth looks at him for a good moment, taking a small look around the room, before just.. feeling his forehead with his hand. Temperature check. Cold as ice. Kenneth flinches at that, not entirely expecting so, then would softly, gently just put his head to his chest. Kenneth would then get grabbed by both shoulders by Wade.
"Is there something you need…?"
"N-No, not at all! Just wanted to make sure yyou're alright!" he'd immediately jump, just being held in Wade's grasp.
"Go to sleep," Wade sleepily mumbles, looking at Kenneth with one eye barely open.
"Yep..! Gotcha!" he nods immediately, starting to try and head to his side of the bed. He's just gonna.. slide on into his end of the bed and get comfortable with a short-lived wheeze. And he drifts off to sleep, being tucked in by a shadowy demon.