bigapplesauce | may we stay lost on our way home [closed]

Current Location: Corner of 75th and 9th
Current Music: August 15th, 2013

Entry tags:

may we stay lost on our way home [closed]

For the life (or death) of him, Daniel can't decide what it is he did to deserve a friend like Seth, who has apparently been devoting time to finding Daniel a new place of residence. What's more, unlike Daniel, it seems like he's actually succeeded in locating something feasible. With some of the creative dodging of the building management he's had to do, it's very likely that Lucy's old place won't be tenable for much longer. It'll be frustrating no longer having friends like Bee or Spike or Melanie in easy reach, but the potential consequences of the Rebels forcibly evicting him or, even worse, deciding he could be an asset of some kind, aren't ones he can afford to ignore.

He's putting a lot of faith in someone else's judgment over a potential new living space, but he trusts Seth. He trusts him, and he likes him, and it'd be nice to have a place Seth could visit once in a while instead of Daniel always crashing at his, if only for reciprocation's sake. He already likes the location, far enough removed from the Rebels or ROMAC's respective bases of operations while still within a reasonable radius in relation to the Rift center. The latter wasn't a necessity, but Daniel more or less feels like he needs to have some means for access to it, if only for the sake of any other rifties who might come through. And it's only a few blocks away from the bookstore he may have landed a job at, no less.

Daniel re-checks the address texted to him by Seth, then crams his phone back into his pocket and waits.

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Seth himself grabs a cab to get from Hell's Kitchen to the Upper West Side. There's no way he's taking the subway past the rebel base, through the very station he escaped out of, and unfortunately that's the only subway that goes up there. He should get some alternative means of transport rather than rely on cabs all the time, but owning a car in Manhattan is hell.

He's rather excited to show Daniel this apartment, since he's been extremely lucky to find it, seeing as it's not officially on the market. And since the shared dream last night was actually reasonably cheerful, he's in a decent mood. For once they've had a non-traumatic shared dream, which doesn't take any decompression or important discussion. Seth had started to doubt it was possible.

A couple minutes after 3PM, the cab pulls over right near the corner, and Seth pays before getting out, spotting Daniel almost immediately. He grins in greeting as he heads over to him. "Sorry, traffic. Y'alright?"

Another furtive glance at the last text from Seth is quickly aborted when the cab pulls up and the man himself exits. Daniel thrusts the phone back into his pocket and tosses back a wave and a smile in greeting.

"Hey. Yeah, yeah, fine. How about you? You doing, um?" The grin fades a little, tempered by a vague look of concern, an emotional holdover from the conversation they'd had in the shared dream prior. All in all it had been a pleasant experience, or at least the selective parts not involving Satan had, but their discussion had touched on a few still-relevant topics.

"Yeah, good," he answers, refusing to let the smile slip off his face. He's pretty sure he knows what Daniel's concern is about, but today he doesn't want to worry about it. And hopefully once Daniel sees this apartment, he'll be distracted from worrying about it as well.

"It's this way," he says, stuffing his hands in his pockets and gesturing with his head for Daniel to follow. "Wasn't sure until this morning. Apparently the guy who was gonna rent it backed out, so I got a call asking if I was interested."

Seth's easy familiarity is infectious, and Daniel lets himself get lured into the casual mindset it invites as he falls into step beside him.

"Really." He scans the line of buildings curiously. "That's fantastic. Thank you, really, I was, I was starting to get a little doubtful I'd find a place at all."

"Now you see why it's so easy for the factions to keep tabs on people by offering free housing," he points out, looking behind him before crossing the street. It's a very obviously residential street, so the cars don't zoom past, and it immediately gets a bit more quiet once they get away from the busy avenue, with all the shops and people and traffic.

The steet is lined with trees and narrow brownstone buildings with detailed exteriors. It's actually completely outside of Daniel's price-range - he'd barely be able to afford the rent of one of these places if he spent all his days at work, and would have nothing left over for actual living expenses. But thankfully, Seth has managed to get hold of someone with a rent-regulated apartment who's willing to rent it out at far under market price.

"Anyway, they're fixing up some plumbing issues, so it won't be ready till the start of next month, maybe a bit sooner," he says, checking his phone to make sure he's got the address right. 126 W 75th street, that's right. It's almost right between 10th and 9th avenue. Or Amsterdam and Columbus as they for some reason insist on calling it, even though Seth finds the numbered grid system to be a lot simpler.

"Yeah, I can see why that is." Which is why Daniel would much rather stay under both factions' radars, even if it means having to scrape out his own living space without government or organization support. That troubling line of thought is thankfully diverted when they cross into the residential area. The unexpected quiet of this street already appeals to Daniel, and the look of the building they stop in front of appeals to him even more.

"This is it, then?" He raises his eyebrows, smile pulling at one corner of his mouth. "That soon? Wow. You really - wow. Thank you." He's said it already, both verbally and in text, but it bears repeating.

Seth grins happily at Daniel's obvious approval and gratitude. It's really nice, to be able to give something back after all Daniel's done for him, and he just really enjoys seeing Daniel happy. It definitely makes the effort worth it.

"C'mon," he says, going down the steps to the front door and fishing out the keys he picked up just earlier today. "I think you'll like it."

He point out the laundry room on the ground floor, before leading the way up some old and creaky (but well-kept and clean) stairs, up two floors. "Mind you, I haven't actually seen it in person yet either, so I apologise in advance if it's shit," he says with a smile back at Daniel, as they head upstairs.

"Please, it's gotta be better than squatting where I am now."

He does like it. It's a bit on the smaller side, but it's got a good layout and enough space without being too cramped. One bedroom, one bath, and a balcony as a bonus. Daniel grins and shoots Seth an intensely grateful look.

"It's great. I can, really, this is - thank you." He moves over to peer out of the window by the balcony. "It's perfect."

Quiet, small, close to the Rift center, and near enough to his possible new job. He has to thank Seth and whatever connections he has to have heard of this place.

"So, do I, um, contact someone to see when I'm able to move in, or - ?"

Edited 2015-02-02 01:33 (UTC)

Seth is pleasantly surprised at the apartment as well. It's actually pretty decently sized for a Manhattan apartment - certainly a lot bigger than the tiny studio apartments the rebels provide. And the tall ceiling makes it feel a lot more roomy than it really is. Kitchen and bathroom are definitely pretty compact, but it's decent.

Then you add the wood floors, the one exposed brick wall with a fireplace, and the (admittedly small) balcony, and Seth actually can't believe his luck. It's facing the back garden rather than the street as well, so it'll probably be nice and quiet.

"Well, you can start moving in furniture next week, but the problem is it doesn't currently have water or electricity, and the landlord doesn't want anyone staying here while they're working on that," he answers, still smiling at Daniel's excitement. "But I've given him your number, so I'll just let him know you like it, and you can sign the lease and all that stuff."

Unless he wants to start pilfering from the Rebels, furniture might be a problem. Aside from the obvious moral pitfalls that come from actually going and stealing from them, Daniel doesn't want to give them any reasons to target him, even petty ones.

"All right." He nods decisively. On that note, the sooner he can get away from the Rebels, the better he'll feel. He'll miss being able to quickly visit any of the building residents - except for perhaps Peter - but he doesn't want to endanger Seth or in general get on any semi-powerful organization's bad side. "I'm circling a job in the area and so far it's been pretty promising, but, uh, what kind of rent am I looking at?" He can't help but sound a little worried when he says it. His old job might have paid well - saving the universe twice a year, it turns out, will get one a pretty decent salary - but he's shifted from intergalactic rescue to being homeless in another universe's Manhattan, and that's a position that pays significantly less.

"Ah, well," Seth answers, turning serious for a moment. Well, putting on a more serious face, at least. "Building next door? About three thousand a month. Other side? About five thousand. This particular apartment?" he continues, smile pulling at his mouth. "Seven hundred plus utilities. A thousand total at most, probably much less." He grins.

Daniel's eyebrows climb the length of his forehead in record time and he exhales sharply in disbelief before realizing Seth is completely serious.

"Wait, really? You - you really have those kinds of connections?" He casts another awed look around the empty space, then back at Seth. "Honestly, I - I probably owe you like a dozen dinners at this point, but - thank you. And you know, anytime you ever want to crash here, once I'm settled, it's, you know." He mirrors Seth's grin, hands pushed into his pockets. "Really, thanks."

"It's rent-controlled," he answers with a cheerful shrug. Which means renting it out second-hand is not completely aboveboard, which is why it's so cheap. So really, it's not so much about his connections being particularly good as it is having been lucky with them and the timing. Very lucky. Lord knows the Rift is probably going to rain something terrible down on them to make up for this, but oh well.

"Aaand I've already set aside money to cover the deposit and the first month's rent, since I assume you won't be able to cover it quite yet," he adds. Seth has never been particularly stingy when it comes to friends. Perhaps it comes from growing up poor.

"You -" His head snaps back to face Seth, eyebrows scrunching back down in amazement.

"What would I do without you?" His expression can't decide on surprise, gratitude, or wonder so it settles on a mixture of all three. Daniel shakes his head, mouth half-open in wordless appreciation. He's not ordinarily overly tactile, but he sort of feels like hugging Seth rather fiercely in thanks. Or maybe, say, kissing him or something, but that thought came right out of left field and is completely unwarranted, where did that even come from, how is that in any way relevant. It isn't. So Daniel is going to stop thinking about it. He absolutely is.

Instead Daniel swings one hand up to clap Seth lightly on the shoulder. There. That's acceptably, easily, utterly platonically an expression of his gratefulness, though maybe not entirely enough for what Seth's done to help him.

"Thank you." All right, sure, broken record, but he means it. "Really, I - this is - thank you. And I swear, anytime you wanna drop by, I'll make you dinner. I will make you," he pauses, lifting his shoulders in a helplessly overcome shrug, "so much dinner."

And that expression right there makes it worth it. It sort of makes Seth's insides do little flips, actually, in an not altogether unpleasant way. Which he would ordinarily feel kind of pathetic about, but right now everything is just wonderful and he doesn't even care.

"I expect I'll be rolling out of here," he answers with a small laugh, ducking his head a little. "But, well.. Consider it payback for all you've done for me." He's bordering on sentimentality now, but whatever. It's true.

He drops the hand from Seth's shoulder after a fractional increase in pressure.

"I think I'll consider it - an entirely too generous gesture of friendship. Which I'll probably never stop thanking you for." As if in compensation, his hands feel obligated to flee back to the relative safety of his pockets, but the sentiment remains. "Anyway, it's high time I had a place that you could visit." And come the end of the month, Daniel will have his own place, completely free of corporate or organization control. It won't be as easy as if he had actually gone and registered for one of the factions, but this is better. Politically unattached.

"Fair enough," he answers, alright with that. Their friendship is important to him, so marking it with gestures is definitely worthwhile. "And, yeah, I agree. Then I won't have to keep my place tidy all the time," he jokes. Not that there's really that much difference in how messy his apartment is depending on whether he's expecting a visit from Daniel or not. Well, maybe a little.

"Oh, please. The only reason my current place hasn't been wildly untidy is simply because I don't have enough books to accomplish that. Well, yet." He plans on rectifying this, between the painstaking translating work he's been doing for Spike and the bookstore he's narrowed in on as a very probable job prospect.

He nudges Seth companionably as he heads to the door.

"C'mon. We can get whatever paperwork squared away that needs to be, but right now I," Daniel announces with mock ceremonial flair, "am treating you to the finest coffee three dollars can buy. Which, unfortunately, isn't all that fine, but just you wait. Give me a month at the place I have down as a potential job and I will be able to put forward a whopping four dollars for coffee instead."

"Such extravagance you have planned," Seth answers with a grin, following along and locking the apartment behind them. He's really glad Daniel likes the apartment, and that Seth will finally have somewhere he can come visit. "So where's this job?"

It takes Daniel a minute to orient himself, and pulling out his phone to determine the location of the nearest coffee shop just seems superfluous when it turns out to only be a couple blocks away.

"Uh, few blocks from here, actually," he says, pocketing the phone again. "Really optimal location, honestly. Rare book shop. Think I made a pretty good impression, and they wanna talk to me again this weekend." Even if he can't exactly present evidence of his PhDs - universes and Rifts in space-time get in the way of little things like that - he likes to think they'd been fairly impressed with his clear knowledge base of the bits of their collections he could see. It's not saving the world on a regular basis, but it's a job, and it's working in an environment he's familiar with. Daniel's missed handling books.

Seth stuffs his hands in his pockets and nods approvingly. Book shop sounds great for Daniel, really. And if it's a rare book shop rather than some big chain, it's probably gonna be a bit more interesting rather than just a basic retail clerk job. Not that retail clerk is the worst thing you could be, it's just kind of boring. Outright torturous if you have bad coworkers.

"I'm sure you'll dazzle them with your intellect," Seth responds with a smile. He uses a joking tone, but he kind of means it seriously.

"Mm, well, that's the ideal." He shoots a vaguely amused look at Seth. "In all seriousness, though - you really couldn't have picked a better location, even if it was, well, entirely unintentional."

The universe, tossing him a halfway sympathetic bone? Daniel feels that frankly there are better ways to spend good karma than apartments and jobs, but if this is what the Rift is dealing his way then he'll take what he can get.

"Well, you mentioned before that you wanted to be close to the Rift," he answers with a shrug. Back when Seth had mentioned he used to live down in the Financial District, wasn't it? So not entirely unintentional. Plus it's a very good neighborhood, and close to the Rift without actually being that close to either faction. He didn't know about the job, though, so that's just lucky. And, well, finding this place was pure luck anyway. Which, they really need all the luck they can get in this ridiculous city.

Daniel holds the door open for the place when they get to it, standing back to let Seth go in front of him. It's not the nice, self-brewed stuff he prefers but it's not Air Force day-old grounds either, so Daniel will settle well enough for the heavily branded run-of-the-mill caffeine that places like this will get him.

"I did." He shrugs and orders something simple and black, which is about all he needs and also all about he thinks he can afford. "I feel like that'd, you know, be a good place to be. So yeah, pretty great location on all counts, I think."

Seth orders himself an iced coffee, since he could really go for something cold, because as usual for August in New York, it is obnoxiously warm, which is really inconvenient when you insist on permanently wearing long-sleeves. ~~Thankfully Daniel doesn't, so Seth gets the benefit of seeing those nice arms.~~

"Well, assuming you want to get in the fray rather than just avoid it like I do," he answers with a shrug. Of course they both know he has very legitimate reasons for wanting to steer clear of the Rift and its associated factions. But even though it's reasonably close to the rebel base, the location of the apartment isn't really in an area heavy with rebels, so as long as Seth doesn't take the subway, it's all fine.

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this thread was lacking in trash so i brought some in to go with the pine hardwood floors

have some more, in the spirit of reciprocation

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