outrunning karma — open, cleaning

[roman.]

— there were a few downsides to never being around the district. a lot had changed since he’d last been around the district; green had cleaned the place up nicely, patching up places that used to once be moss-ridden and unusable to now being prominent places within the district. and, of course, roman had neglected his own place of stay. the amount of dust that could accumulate in nearly a year was unbelievable; roman was surprised he wasn’t coughing and sneezing every five seconds as he tried to clean the old place up. coughing gently, he paused in his busywork to try and catch his breath amid the stirred-up dust. when he had found his first home at alexandra, he had been ecstatic about constantly patching the place up. however, his excitement about dusting this home-away-from-home seemed rather dulled. lackluster.

it was a job that needed to be done, though. it wouldn’t do any good to have them staying in a place that was dust-ridden and dirty, right? besides, this house was a bit of a step-up from the one in alexandra, as reluctant as rome would be to admit it. their home had floorboards that creaked with each step, with a joke that too many people in the place would make the entire structure collapse… but it was still home. roman’s first ever permanent home. while this house seemed far more sturdy, and nicer, he didn’t think his fondness for their actual home could be matched.

pushing the dust out through the propped-open door, he stepped outside to allow himself a moment or two to get fresh air. there was still much that needed to be done, but cleaning a room or two wasn’t too bad of a start. sighing, he gently placed the broom down against the building, leaning his back against it too. he didn’t expect to put in this much work during a vacation of all things.

Spoiler: tags ― updated 02/27. • show

◜BASICS ┊ FEEL ENTITLED TO A SENSE OF CONTROL ◞
‣  ❝ roman lee darrow ❞ | rome, ro | male [he/him] .
‣ 27 years old . | december 27th; capricorn.
‣  currently second in command of bluestem prairie
↳ has a dual-alliance between bluestem prairie and northstar district

◜PERSONALITY ┊ MAKE DECISIONS YOU THINK ARE YOUR OWN ◞
‣ clever . observant . “people smart” . witty . quick-thinking . intelligent . determined . sneaky . argumentative . selfish . judgmental . blunt . stoic . distrustful . distant . detached . cunning .
↳ hobbies include: pushing peoples’ buttons, pickpocketing, conning, making the odds stack up in his favor, and making everyone else’s lives ten times harder
↳ currently stressed about the imminent war between flintlock lodge and bluestem prairie

◜ APPEARANCE ┊ LET ME LOOK AT THE SUN ◞
‣ five foot seven & one hundred and sixty five pounds ; reference .
↳ brown hair, short and messy
↳ has overall muscle tone - a little on the slimmer side
↳ pale blue eyes , an unimpressed look , judging

◜ FAMILY ┊ I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO PROVE ◞
‣  john darrow x mary darrow | whereabouts unknown
↳ abandoned roman a few years ago after roman explained disinterest in the family’s way of life
‣ two brothers named cassius (“cas”) and august (“gus”)
↳ cassius and roman were extremely close growing up. inseparable.
‣ two sisters named livia (“livvy”) and julia (“ju")
↳ livvy and roman had a love-hate relationship . roman adored julia
‣ owns three dogs with frank: coca cola (cola), pookie number 2 (pooks), and angus
↳ more-so considered children than pets

◜ RELATIONSHIPS ┊ I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE ◞
‣  homosexual ; monogamous | grew up disinterested in pursuing relationships
‣ ex-lover to killian crowley
↳ short-lived . ended after killian explained he’d already met (and lost) his soulmate
‣ husband to franklin darrow
↳ considers him his other half .

◜ INTERACTIONS ┊ SEE ME BARE MY TEETH FOR YOU ◞
‣   [ 10/10 ] physically  |  [ 6/10 ] psychologically .
↳ difficulty w/ guns [ very easy ] | difficulty w/ melees [ moderate ] | difficulty w/ hand-to-hand [ moderate ]
‣ @elysian. | dm for any major plots .
‣  friendly or nonviolent actions may be powerplayed .

[green.]

When Green had taken it upon himself to help guide the people of Northstar, he had made it a long term goal to renovate the dilapidated maritime city so that it could be appreciated by more people. And, as the many months went by, Green’s determination rarely wavered; this place was his home, and he intended on making it look like a home to others, too. Even Roman was always more than welcome to visit and call this place a home, Green providing him with his own place to stay for whenever he wished to visit.

Once he had found out that Roman has chosen to visit the District with his husband, Green was sure to make frequent trips to look for his best friend. After all, he so wanted to make the most of Roman’s visit. Strolling over to the home in question with several bottles of water to keep the couple content, Green stopped as he saw the front door propped open, Roman leaning against the wall to take a rest from cleaning. ❝ Ooh, I got a cleaning tip for you. ❞ Green offered, lowering the bottles on the doorstep before straightening up, grinning imprudently and wagging his brows at his best friend. ❝ The more often you come to visit me, the less dusty your house will be. Try it out, you’ll see it works! ❞ He soon wandered over to lean against the wall beside Roman before he began to laugh to himself.

❝ How’s it going? Do you need any help? You know what they say— ❞ Ugh, wait; what was the saying again? ❝ Too many hands makes the light work. Many hands make the work light… Many hands — wait, that’s it — many hands make light work. ❞ At least he tried, even though he’d often fall short on many things, especially literacy.

[roman.]

—when green had initially offered up the idea that northstar district could be a second home for roman, he had momentarily hesitated. the offer had been nearly overwhelming for him to comprehend; having not only one place to call home, but two. he used his dual alliance sparingly it seemed, but with the dual-alliance also came many twists and turns and memories. getting to spend time with the person he considered family, not having to worry about shifty characters whenever he arrived… clocking mateo suarez in the jaw had also been a dreadful moment at the time, yet he looked back on it with amusement.

no matter what happened at each stay, ro felt incredibly fond of the district and everything it had offered him. eyes tracked green as the man slowed to a stop and observed the half-finished cleaning job. ro’s shoulders visibly slumped, as if he was already waiting for green to make some comment or another on the state of the house. ”ooh, i got a cleaning tip for you. the more often you come to visit me, the less dusty your house will be. try it out, you’ll see it works!” the remarks, followed by his friend’s warm laughter, was enough for him to roll his eyes. called it. he shook his head as he absently turned his gaze away. “i never would have thought of that, green.” he said dryly, sighing before he sobered and uttered, ”i’ll have to try it out sometime.”

he could act annoyed by green all he wanted, though it was hardly ever genuine. he squinted at the other man’s fumble for words, pushing himself away from the wall. this guy really was something else. “you can help. but-” he bent over to pick up a broom, pointing the stick for green to take, but also pointing at him with an almost accusatory tone as he said, “don’t turn this into some karaoke session, green. you always do that.” he could only handle all of green’s songs and music taste in small doses.

Spoiler: tags ― updated 02/27. • show

◜BASICS ┊ FEEL ENTITLED TO A SENSE OF CONTROL ◞
‣  ❝ roman lee darrow ❞ | rome, ro | male [he/him] .
‣ 27 years old . | december 27th; capricorn.
‣  currently second in command of bluestem prairie
↳ has a dual-alliance between bluestem prairie and northstar district

◜PERSONALITY ┊ MAKE DECISIONS YOU THINK ARE YOUR OWN ◞
‣ clever . observant . “people smart” . witty . quick-thinking . intelligent . determined . sneaky . argumentative . selfish . judgmental . blunt . stoic . distrustful . distant . detached . cunning .
↳ hobbies include: pushing peoples’ buttons, pickpocketing, conning, making the odds stack up in his favor, and making everyone else’s lives ten times harder
↳ currently stressed about the imminent war between flintlock lodge and bluestem prairie

◜ APPEARANCE ┊ LET ME LOOK AT THE SUN ◞
‣ five foot seven & one hundred and sixty five pounds ; reference .
↳ brown hair, short and messy
↳ has overall muscle tone - a little on the slimmer side
↳ pale blue eyes , an unimpressed look , judging

◜ FAMILY ┊ I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO PROVE ◞
‣  john darrow x mary darrow | whereabouts unknown
↳ abandoned roman a few years ago after roman explained disinterest in the family’s way of life
‣ two brothers named cassius (“cas”) and august (“gus”)
↳ cassius and roman were extremely close growing up. inseparable.
‣ two sisters named livia (“livvy”) and julia (“ju")
↳ livvy and roman had a love-hate relationship . roman adored julia
‣ owns three dogs with frank: coca cola (cola), pookie number 2 (pooks), and angus
↳ more-so considered children than pets

◜ RELATIONSHIPS ┊ I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE ◞
‣  homosexual ; monogamous | grew up disinterested in pursuing relationships
‣ ex-lover to killian crowley
↳ short-lived . ended after killian explained he’d already met (and lost) his soulmate
‣ husband to franklin darrow
↳ considers him his other half .

◜ INTERACTIONS ┊ SEE ME BARE MY TEETH FOR YOU ◞
‣   [ 10/10 ] physically  |  [ 6/10 ] psychologically .
↳ difficulty w/ guns [ very easy ] | difficulty w/ melees [ moderate ] | difficulty w/ hand-to-hand [ moderate ]
‣ @elysian. | dm for any major plots .
‣  friendly or nonviolent actions may be powerplayed .

[green.]

Despite the years spent apart, it rarely felt as if much had changed between the duo in terms of their innate characteristics. Sure, situations had changed — for Vernon, he finally managed to find himself a place to call home, whilst Roman grieved over the loss of a family who purposefully left him behind — but Green never doubted that this was still the Roman that he’d gotten to know so well. And, after a mischievous comment from Green, that was usually Roman’s cue to retort with some dry, snarky humour. As Green goaded Roman playfully, he chewed down on his lip in anticipation before laughing when Roman inevitably reacted with an utterance. ❝ Yeah, you should. ❞ Vernon confirmed with raised brows. 

Green would bite off far more than he could chew. He was never one to practice literacy, only picking up quotes and idioms along the way once hearing them. And yet, with the utmost confidence, he enjoyed using these clever sounding phrases as if he truly knew how to use them properly. Roman seldom appeared fazed, pointing the broomstick towards Green with a very understandable warning. So what if Green liked to make any dull situation more enjoyable? ❝ No? ❞ Green queried before grabbing the broomstick from Roman. ❝ Not at all? ❞ He would continue to push his luck, huffing with amusement before beginning to sweep the floor. And, as expected, it wasn’t long before he began to hum, glancing over with anticipation towards Roman as he awaited a grumble or two.

It was what their friendship was all about, making the most of the way opposites could attract.