After getting dressed in a pair of shorts and a long-sleeved shirt, he opened the door, walked outside, and let out an undignified scream, not expecting to see a humanbeing inside his house.
Xal, whose figure his brain registered milliseconds too late while letting out that scream, who had his back turned to him, startled, and dropped the glass of water he was trying to place on the table. It shattered against the Mahogani floor, pieces scattering across the kitchen.
Kian praised himself for deciding to get dressed in full before walking out. He used to walk around half-naked or grab clothes without wearing a towel till he experienced the horror of a spirit walking in on him.
He watched as Xal shook his head, muttered something that should be a curse, and moved to collect the broken glass with his bare hands.
Seeing that he wasn't wearing any slippers either, he immediately stopped him.
"Don't move!" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"What are you doing HERE? Didn't I tell you to go home?" He scolded as if Xal was a child, and he walked toward the kitchen corner to get the dustpan and broom, careful to step around the glass fragments catching the morning light.
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Sure, he was waiting for Kian to wake up. Not to scream bloody murder. Watching over as Kian swiped all the broken pieces of glasses and complain, again, Xal shrugged and spoke as calmly as he could gather to a sentence.
"Didn't I tell you that I have something to talk about? And I couldn't have you dead on my watch. It would be a hassle to go to the police. And the door was OPEN! Who keeps their door open at night?"
Good lord, I sound like mom. Dial it down a notch. He sniped at himself.
Kian kept quiet as he set down a pair of slippers in front of Xal. After making sure he'd swept all the glass pieces, he loaded them onto the dustpan, picked it up, and walked back toward the trash can.
"Wait...did you close the door?" He turned back, asking with what looked like genuine worry creasing his forehead.
"Uh… yeah, but I did open it in the morning," Xal responded.
"Don't EVER close the door to this house! EVER!"
"Okay… I won't." Xal surrendered, raising both hands in mock defense.
"But why?" He asked before he could stop himself.
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"Because…" Kian barely stopped himself from blurting out the real reason.
Damn, this thread is making me trust him and open up like a dam made out of paper.
"Because it's MY house and it stays the way I want."
"Now would you please leave and never come back?" Kian said, still 190% on edge, feeling like he was losing his general carefree persona. He was completely determined to drive him away and get back to his old, stress-free routine.
His boring, gloomy, not-so-fun, Xal-less routine.
"The hell no!" His head snapped up at that response. Xal continued, "You said you'd give me three days to work with you, observe you, and decide if I still want to be your bodyguard. It was never your decision. It was mine."
He pointed at him. "You gave it to me. I decided to take the job. And you already know why I want this job. Using you to find Khem."
"I'll be damned." Kian face-palmed.
"Haven't you seen enough to give up? Any sane person would not take the job. I'm a hundred percent sure you still have bruises from the second day! What if you end up dead on the job?"
Kian threw his hands up in exasperation.