[for his part, Artie had been reluctant to return to his room until he was absolutely certain of two things: (1) the premises were safe and stable, and (2) Claudia was 1000% recovered from the virus and could handle herself. as such, he'd spent the last few days since the bombing in her company, stubbornly fending off a barrage of Old Man jokes, barbs, and general young adult crankiness before he felt satisfied that his protege was back to her usual self.
even though his bed hadn't had nearly enough time to formally become His Bed, he still found himself longing for it when he trudged through the apartment door. maybe not to sleep, no, but sitting on it with a nice book and a cool drink ... and maybe, if Mahdi had been baking recently, a cookie or two. he headed straight for the kitchen, and it took him a second to realize that someone else was actually there. stopping at the kitchen door, he hesitated a moment, then turned around]
Oh...!
Uh. Hello. [he flashed the young man a slightly awkward smile] You must be my, uh -
[he gestured around the apartment] - you know. Uh. [for God's sake, Nielsen, brain some words]
no subject
even though his bed hadn't had nearly enough time to formally become His Bed, he still found himself longing for it when he trudged through the apartment door. maybe not to sleep, no, but sitting on it with a nice book and a cool drink ... and maybe, if Mahdi had been baking recently, a cookie or two. he headed straight for the kitchen, and it took him a second to realize that someone else was actually there. stopping at the kitchen door, he hesitated a moment, then turned around]
Oh...!
Uh. Hello. [he flashed the young man a slightly awkward smile] You must be my, uh -
[he gestured around the apartment] - you know. Uh. [for God's sake, Nielsen, brain some words]
Roommate! Yes. ... I'm Artie. Artie Nielsen.