Coming to America

[ONI]

Thomas Fabian Ackermann
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Thomas leaned his head back as he sat further back into his seat with a contented sigh as he waited for seat belt sign to turn off, his eyes were closed to everything around himself as he simply listened to the music emanating from his headphones. "Non je peux pas le nier, Aujourd'hui tes problèmes sont les miens" Thomas sang along quietly as the tunes filled his ears, it had been a long journey but at least he had music, a few movies and a rather comical toddler sitting off to his right to get him through it all, a flight from Calvi to Paris, from Paris to London and from there another eleven hours of flight time, Thomas was just glad that all those hours of flying were finally over, not to mention the hassle of getting a car shipped to another country or the very long declaring firearms.
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He opened his eyes when the muffled sounds of shuffling people began to get louder over his music, the tall man wasted no time in following on with the small crowd of people, a backpack he had brought on as hand luggage held in hand as he contorted his large frame into ways one should never have to bend, turning side ways to fight himself down the walk way and ducking his head in both a nod to an air hostess as well as to keep clear of striking the door as he stepped off of the aircraft onto the terminals gateway, absentmindedly smoothing out a few creases in the clothes he wore before he took a look at his watch.
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--Time Skip--
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The cool breeze from the air conditioning was a pleasant change from the near stagnate recycled air that half-assedly blew around onboard the aircraft, Thomas ran a hand down his face a couple of times as a yawn escaped him whilst he waited patiently for his luggage to eventually circle around on the carrousel for him to pick up, it didn't take long before he spotted his things and in all honesty he was confused, there were barely any bags now that he thought about it, nearly fifteen years of living abroad fit inside two duffle bags x, a rucksack x, two hardcases x and a cello case x as well as the bag he had taken onboard with him x, then again he didn't need much either.
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after a short few moments of thoughtful planning, careful placement and persistence he had managed to turn himself from a tall man into a pack mule once again, he caught a fair amount of attention as people watched him piling the luggage onto his big frame, by the end of it all he only had to drag one of the wheelable duffle bags with a hardcase haphazardly strapped to it behind him, the satisfying sound of wheels on hard flooring was everything he needed to hear as he strolled through the airport, slipping himself between crowds of people, gradually he made his way to the pick up point and halted, turning his head in every which direction looking for the woman who was supposed to be picking him up yet taking note of have very dark it was outside before he managed to just barely spot her out of the corner of his eye.
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Thomas turned his entire figure in a swift movement and his long legs began to quickly eat the distance between them before yelling out her name all too loudly as he started to close in on her, his mismatched pair of eyes gave her a very quick twice over as he came to a stop and took everything in with a tight lipped smile. So she doesn't wear those 'too big for her head' glasses anymore? was the first thought that came to his mind as he had a brief few moments of dwelling  "Hey!? Why didn't you tell me it was going to be like.... Ten in the Afternoon by the time I got here? Some help you are." he joked as his lips slowly began to part before he let a bag drop to the ground as he ducked himself down and pulled her in for strong, yet rather awkward embrace "It's been a short while since I've seen you Cee."
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Song lyrics from: KeBlack - J’ai Déconné - The specific lyric is at 0:45
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Yes, he is bringing guns into the country, that is why he has hardcases, two HK416's, a Remington 870 and a Glock 17 as well as a legal amount of ammunition.
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[Woohoooo]

Acacia Jin Watanabe
 


Acacia is not a terribly large person. So, really, it would be no surprise for anyone to discover she was having difficulty properly operating and maneuvering her father’s 2015 Ford F-150 (x). In fact, she looked rather silly behind the wheel and she wasn't even sitting directly on the seat. She had to stack two pillows on the driver seats to get a good view over the wheel. Somehow her car ended up remaining at the airport of her home town, thanks to some goof the airport made, while she was now in Los Angeles as of 4:00 yesterday. Luckily, her father had connections in Los Angeles and was able to get her a vehicle to use until her, much more suitable, red Nissan Altima arrived sometime this week.


 


After several failed attempts and a few curse words Acacia managed to finagle the massive automobile between two white lines painted strategically on the asphalt outside of the airport. Granted it was in a very secluded area, one of the furthest parking spots from the building, but there was no way she could manage anything better without seriously denting all the cars within a 500 foot radius. Letting out several huffs she pulled the keys from the ignition, grabbed her camera bag, because she doesn't go anywhere without it, and purse to fling both across her body and (quite literally) jumped out of the vehicle and onto the ground. Pretty impressive for a girl in three inch heels. She smoothed out any creases in the floral sundress she had on, and pulled all her hair to one side of her neck before making her way to the entrance her shoes clicking loudly as she did so. 


 


Acacia was standing outside the gates, her petite little arms folded across her chest as her brown eyes scanned the area looking for a familiar face when she heard her name loud and clear through the crowds of people. As the man turned pack mule approached her, she perked up on her toes and waved as if increasing her height by one, maybe two inches max would make her easier to spot. Then she started to have a minor internal struggle about how to greet Thomas. They weren't horribly close so was a handshake too formal? Perhaps a firm pat on the back would work nicely. A salute seemed inappropriate. 


 


Luckily, he decided for her and before she could panic about it anymore he was pulling her close and yet somehow it still felt awkward. He's a big guy. Of course, she knew that already. But it wasn't until her arms were around him that she really noticed. He even felt strong and kind of...dense? Like even if she squeezed him with all her might he probably wouldn't even flinch. Acacia raised her eyebrows at the man and scoffed playfully before biting her lip to concentrate and study him, trying to decide if teasing back was appropriate. "I come pick you up at the airport at 10 in the afternoon and the first thing you do is complain? Some roommate you are" she joked with a little smirk curling onto her lips. Pulling away she offered him a soft smile, "so how was your trip over? Not terribly boring I hope..." she asked going to grab the bag he dropped to help carry his things to the truck but she could hardly lift it at all. "Jeeze, what's in this thing? Rocks?" 

 

[ONI]

Thomas Fabian Ackermann
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Thomas took in the soft smile offered to him as she spoke and raised her a cheeky eye roll in return "Need I remind you that you were the one who offered to pick me after I told you I'd make my own way there..... but as thank you for coming I'll let you win this fight." he jokingly shot back, he released her from his arms as he felt her movements, Thomas made a note of the smirk on her face and let out a short breathy laugh as a smile made its way back onto her face, he enjoyed it,  being away for god knows how long put a real big dent in his memories of home and the people who he had grown up around, Thomas kept an ear open as he leaned back down to pick up the bag he had dropped.
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"Uhhh, It was very boring... actually" he said plainly as he went for the duffle bag but was beat to it by Acacia, her reaction gave him a good laugh as he watched her struggle with it "Nah no rocks, just the bones of my enemies" Thomas tried to sound as action-heroie as possible whilst he lifted the supposedly heavy bag, in return handed her his hopefully more manageable cello case "Now, I don't want to sound impatient but.... I'd love it if we could get oscar mike, because I'm running nearly forty hours without sleep so uhhh, lead the way?" he said with the most passionate yet comical look on his clean shaven face, he subconsciously took shorter strides to compensate for the massive difference between them.
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Thomas followed her a few steps behind as he wheeled the duffle bag, making a bit of idle chatter with her every so often, he found himself watching her petite frame from behind, there wasn't anything wrong with just looking was there? even if there was he doubted that he'd been able to avoid it, a quick thought ran through his mind that brought forward a few images of varied levels of innocence as they walked but he quickly banished them to the back of his mind into the a box with a quiet curse in confusion, it wasn't long before the pair had reached her vehicle, a truck? really, for a person of her size he'd thought she'd have gotten some sort of smart car or even one of those hybrid car, Thomas simply looked to her for an explanation with a perplexed look that contorted his face.
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After a few minutes of considered positioning of his luggage Thomas had finally satisfied himself internally, he wasn't exactly a picky man when it came to putting things down in a car but he didn't exactly want to have them fly around in the back seat whilst they drove either, he threw his backpack into the backseat on top of his other things and hopped into the front passenger seat, well it wasn't exactly a hop more of a compact himself down to size so he could fit through the door type-thing, even with size of the vehicle one could notice how it visibly shook as he sat down. Thomas had to do a double take when he noticed that she was sitting on a pair of pillows and opened his mouth to say something but ultimately dumbed it down to a 'short person thing' and let it be, as he tried to make more room for himself by removing his prosthetic, leaving it to stand resting between on his thigh, as he waited for her to start up the engine.
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[Woohoooo]

Acacia Jin Watanabe
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Although Acacia had hoped his flights over to America weren't boring, she wasn't horribly surprised to find out they were. Her own flight was awful and it was significantly shorter than his was. When Thomas joked along with her about the bones of his enemies, she glanced to him before letting out a surprised laugh and scrunching her nose at him. It was good to see he still had a sense of humor. Here she was trying to chose her words carefully as to not scare him off and he says stuff like that. "Whose Oscar and Mike?" Acacia spoke, going for a certain level of ignorance and trying to make her eyes bigger and even more doll-like than they usually were. But she couldn't pull off the facade for more than a few moments before that goofy smile of hers curled back onto her lips, "I'm kidding, lets go..." she quickly tacked on whilst graciously and cautiously grasping at the cello case he offered and lugging it off to the truck. However, she did give the cello case a strange look. Does he play? 


 


As they arrived to her vehicle, she allowed her brown eyes to wander over to Thomas and she received exactly the perplexed look she was expecting. What? A girl like her can't drive a truck like this? "My car got left behind on a fluke, should be here sometime next week...but in the mean time I've got this bad boy" she explained patting the bed, and holding the cello case until he found the perfect location for it and tucked it away into the truck. "I think it suits me though," she added sarcastically with a shrug, looking over to the vehicle which was much taller than she was. As he made his way to the passenger door she followed suit and clicked her way over to the drivers door. She was having the opposite problem he was having entering the vehicle. It was a process for her. First, she opened the door and flung her bags inside. Then she placed the ball of her heel onto the side of the truck, grabbed the frame and heaved herself inside. She yanked the door shut, and wiggled around in her seat until she was quite comfortable.


 


As she leaned over to grab her purse, because her car keys were inside, it was hard not to notice how he removed part of his leg and then casually placed it near his thigh. She blinked at him, trying not to break her gaze from those two differently colored eyes of his which was easy given how mesmerizing they were. But she couldn't help herself. So she looked at his prosthetic, she didn't gawk at it or look at it as if she were mortified. She just...looked at it, and just for a second then back up at him. If he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it neither was she. "Have you ever purposely tried to spook people with that?" She asked, gesturing to the prosthetic with her eyes as she shoved the keys into the ignition and started the truck. Strategically she wrapped a hand around the back of Thomas seat and looked out the back window as she backed out of the spot painfully slow to avoid smashing into anything and drove off, the pent house wasn't very far. Maybe a 15 minute drive. "If you're really that tired you can fall asleep, and I'll carry you in" she teased, as that was something she was certain he had done for her plenty of times during their childhood. She was constantly falling asleep on the long car rides out to those joint family vacations.

 

[ONI]

Thomas Fabian Ackermann
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"Hmm... Purposefully no, but I do unintentionally scare children every so often." he replied as he scratched the side of his neck, it wasn't an uncommon question if he was honest about it, a lot of people tended to ask it and he really didn't mind. His eyes were drawn to her fairly slim arm as she placed it to back of his chair but quickly reverted themselves to face forwards, could she drive any slower? "Though I'm sure you could pull it off, I'd prefer not to be dropped on my head y'know?, so I'll pass on that offer." he let out a few laughs as he tilted his head in her direction with a slight smirk plastered on his face before he eventually turned his head and leaned closer to the dashboard where began to tap on it idly as he looked about, quietly watching the changing lights and planes above them as she drove the vehicle out.
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As the truck the gradually gained speed Thomas sat back in his seat with his head pressed uncomfortably against the window "So.... What's the house like then? Was it weird weird sleeping there?" he questioned, if he was honest with himself he didn't really care for the answer it was just a way to keep the air from deadening inside and he doubted that he'd have trouble sleeping anyway. Thomas simply looked out of the window and watched the white lines swiftly merge as the truck cruised on the motorway. After a fair amount of time in silence Thomas turned to her abruptly "How've you been? Last time I saw you, you were... actually I don't know what you were doing, you worked in like a pet shop right?" he asked with an odd amount of enthusiasm and genuine interest. 
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With his eyes closed Thomas sank back into the seat, outwardly it didn't look like he had moved all that much but to him it felt like he was at rest, he hummed quietly as the muffled sounds of the trucks engine  travelled through the cabin "When I get in... I'm going to make a massive bowl of cereal." he said as he stuffed his arms inside his T-shirt and yawned tiredly "How about you?". Thomas was rudely disturbed as his head came in swift contact with the cold glass of the window when they went over a few of the speed checkers, he opened his eyes to be met with a rising entry gate with the cursive writing before the vehicle descended a ramp down into a brightly lit car park, Thomas' eyes flicked from car to car as they went past, there weren't many but the few that were in were probably pretty expensive.
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Thomas swung his leg out of the truck before he smoothly slipped his prosthetic back on, then with a firm grip, used the handle on the seiling to heave himself out and onto the ground,  he subconsciously took note of how short the truck actually was, though it wasn't exactly small it was still smaller than his own truck "Uhh.. Just so you know.. My own truck is almost the same height as me..." he said whilst he grabbed his stuff from the back seat, he once again passed her his cello case before shutting the door, he moved off briefly but halted again to wait for her "Do I get keys to this place too? or do I have to follow you around everywhere?" he joked draping an arm around her shoulder as they walked "This is like a long sleep over that doesn't end...... Until you move out and let me keep the place that is."
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[Woohoooo]

Acacia Jin Watanabe


As they reached a stop light Acacia took the short moment to glance at Thomas and shrug lamely, "it wasn't weird, no. It's a huge place though, so it was eerily quiet and kind of lonely if I'm being totally honest" she explained flicking on her blinker and pushing up a bit in her seat to scan her surroundings before making the turn onto the main road. "Not a pet shop, it was a bakery," she clarified picking up speed now that she wasn't worried about backing into vehicles around her. "Now a days I'm in the fashion industry, and I dunno if you've seen any of my YouTube videos? I've got a channel and it's kind of my baby and another job of it's own! Overall, I'd say I'm pretty content" She spoke nodding a bit, glancing over to him quickly again. Her YouTube channel was getting pretty massive but she wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't ever seen a video given the subjects were typically makeup or clothing which didn't seem to spark his interest. "What about you? How have you been?" She asked raising her eyebrows at him and then refocusing back to driving. 


Thomas' humming caused her to divert her eyes from the road again to get a quick look at him, and then she caught herself smiling at his words. "That sounds good actually, I think I might have to join you..." she spoke using the hand over hand steering method to turn into the entry way of the penthouses. "Unless it's a one man party and I'm not invited. If that's the case I'll figure something out" she clarified lightheartedly, partially joking and partially unsure of how much time spent together would be unwelcome by him. He did just come from what probably felt like worlds longest plane ride, he probably didn't want to shoot the bull with her.


It only took Acacia four attempts to get the truck between the parking lines, and once she was happy with the spot she pulled the keys out of the ignition, flung her purse and camera bag across her chest and then leaped out of the truck. Perfect landing, again. After wandering over to the passengers side Acacia blinked at Thomas, looked up at the top of the truck, and then back to Thomas before grasping at the cello case again. "Jeeze," was all she could manage considering she thought this truck was already as big as they got. As she felt his warm arm around her she rested her head against his shoulder and looked up at him with a goofy smirk, "nope. You don't get a key, you have to follow me around like a lost puppy forever" she teased. As they reached the large wooden door she gently placed the cello case down for just a moment, and dug into her bag for her house key. It looked like all her other keys except she painted a big pink nail polish blob onto it to make it easier to differentiate. She scurried into the penthouse before him and held the door open as wide as it went. "You're key is on the kitchen counter, I believe"


The penthouse itself was immaculate. Almost completely barren, but beautiful and spotless. Acacia didn't really have enough time to decorate and make the place feel like home yet because that could take months. But what she did manage to do yesterday was plug in several motion sensor night lights throughout the penthouse. Carefully she placed the cello case down, followed by pulling her bags off of her person and hanging them on some hooks by the door. "I did a little grocery shopping yesterday, and I brought a bunch of dishes and silverware. But other than that, that's about as far as I got as far as filling the place up, oh--and my bedroom of course. I picked a smaller room cause I figured you could use the extra elbow room" she spoke pointing all over the place as she spoke, and moving her elbows similar to a chicken about as she spoke of them. She's always been one to use hand gestures, but her YouTube videos have only caused her to use them more often and more dramatically. 


@Lord Shaxx

 

[ONI]

Thomas Fabian Ackermann
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Strolling behind her Thomas allowed a quiet huff of a laugh to escape him, his lips contorting into subtle smile as he observed her, watching as she momentarily paused to open the door before he casually strolled in behind her once again, his long strides took him further into the house before he halted beside the staircase, glancing at the petite woman as she spoke out however stopping himself as something caught his eye, only half listening to her as his attention was caught by the whole look of the place. Hard wooden floors polished perfectly, smooth walls of numerous different colours and large concrete beams that just grounded the place, it was much better in person than the few pictures she had sent him in his opinion. His momentary musing came to an end when one of his bags slipped from his grasp "Alright thanks I'll get it in a bit" he quietly, still fairly surprised by just how nice the place was even in its emptied state.
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"Oh you did? What'd you get?" he questioned, the question was put on hold however as she went on what seemed to be a passionate tale of 'Where everything was'. He simply gazed in her direction, a brow cocked and a mouth slightly agape as she went on, every time her hands move his eyes followed them in whichever direction she had chosen to throw them, internally dumbfounded by how fast she was able to talk and simultaneously move her hands but externally kept a comically perplexed yet fairly intrigued looking expression, briefly nodding just to assure her he was in-fact listening. After she had finished up he cleared his throat, chuckling quietly as he strung his words together "Uhh thanks for the room? I think I'd have been fine either room though." he stated, trying his best to sound as polite as possible.
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Thomas gradually wondered away from her, moving into the kitchen in search of something to eat as he ran a hand through his short hair, "Hey, where are the bowls?" he queried as he glanced back at her for all of one second before looking back, following her instructions as he opened cupboard after cupboard before finding a pair of bowls and placing down on the counter. The large man moved through the not-so-large kitchen with ease, as if nothing short of a fire would stop him in his searches. He used his extra reach well, leaning over to the refrigerator and taking out the single bottle of milk that was in there before closing it. After preparing both her and himself large bowls of cereal, Thomas made his way back over to her, two bowls in hand before passing one off them over to her "I know, my stuff is all over the place. I'll pick it up after" he said this as he sat down with his legs cross on the rug beside their dining room table, glancing over to her as he shovelled a spoon full into his mouth before speaking "This is some good cereal!"  he exclaimed rather excitedly as he devoured another spoonful.
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[Woohoooo]

Acacia Jin Wantanabe


With one hand placed against the wall for support Acacia kicked her foot up behind her and unbuckled each of her black heels, instantly becoming inches shorter as soon as they were off. However, this also made her significantly more comfortable. Curiously, her big brown doll-like eyes watched as the tall fellow rummaged through the kitchen cabinets rapidly. She caught herself admiring him for a moment, wondering when on Earth he got so massive. Was he that tall last time she'd seen him, however many years ago? She couldn't remember but she was pretty sure he wasn't. Nor was he that ripped. After pulling herself from her thoughts she offered up several possible location of the bowls until he found them. Even though she was the one who put the bowls into the cabinet she still wasn't entirely sure where everything was. It was a big place after all. 


"You know," she began as she padded over to take the offered cereal bowl from him, "we have chairs, and they're nice too..." she teased gesturing toward the pub style dining room table with chairs included whilst simultaneously ignoring her own observation and plopping down onto the floor with her legs in front of her. With the bowl in her lap she pushed the cereal around with her spoon ensuring every individual piece of cereal was coated with milk before she took a bite. His enthusiasm earned a small chuckle out of the woman as she pushed her hair off to one side of her neck. "I'm glad you like it," she smiled back before focusing her attention back onto the bowl. It was just whatever was on sale but she made sure to make a mental note that he liked this specific cereal, so in the future she could eat it again.


After some silence and a few more bites of the cereal, which in his defense was actually pretty good, she finally spoke up. "So, do you play the cello? Or was that just a clever way to get the bones of your enemies through airport security?" she questioned with a chuckled as she nodded her head off in the direction of the case she had been lugging around for him. Acacias knowledge of the military was pretty slim to none, but she had to assume it wasn't terrible common for someone in the military to play the cello. Or maybe it was, what would she know? 

 

[ONI]

Thomas Fabian Ackermann
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Thomas gave a lazy glance to the furniture in question, rolling his eyes at her as his eyebrows rose in a silent 'Whatever' at her teasing. Without much to say his attention was once again turned to his bowl, strategically targeting the blue pieces within the bowl and devouring them hastily. The woman's light laughter had seemed to break his trance from the bowl, causing him to gaze up at her with a small smirk. "I never bothered to buy my own cereal so I've pretty much just had shredded wheat, cocoa pops and bran flakes." he said cheerfully, sort of awkwardly eying her before letting out an audible cough and directing his attention to his bowl.
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The large man perked up once again upon hearing her voice, an eyebrow raised as he let out a few hums of laughter, his face settling in a sort of soft smile "Yeah, I play. I thought you knew." he said, his statement coming across as both confirmation and question as he shifted a leg to make himself more comfortable. "Been playing for years" he started, using his spoon to point at her as he spoke "I could probably fit bones in it, but nah it's just got the Cello.", a laugh escaped him for a moment, and his eyes crinkled as he looked away to take another glance at the room. It was all sort of surreal to him, nothing had really been this good where he had been it was either get a small apartment or live in the barracks.
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Feeling rather relaxed, Thomas simply placed his bowl on the table top not far from himself before he reached downwards and removed his leg, he rolled it to the side casually as he turned to her once again. "So what's the plan then? For tomorrow, or today even?" he questioned, in all honesty he hadn't even thought about it himself, though sitting around all day did seem pretty tempting to him. At some point as she spoke he had stood up and hopped along to the kitchen once again, rummaging through a few cupboards before he found the only jumbo packet of crisps in there and shoved a hand into it, as he came to look at her again he wagged a finger toward Acacia "By the way, I don't know what your...." he began with a brief cough that seemed to drown out a word he had said "Life is like, so if you're gonna be bringing guys or... or girls back, I don't judge, please tell me so I don't have to hear it." he said with a smile, giving her a thumbs up as he let out another laugh.
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[Woohoooo]

Acacia Jin Wantanabe

As Thomas confirmed he did, in fact, play the cello Acacia made a "hm" noise and nodded curiously. "No, I had no idea..." she told him before taking another bite of her cereal. That fact alone made her wonder what else she didn't know about Thomas. The last time they had spoken was many, many years ago...who knows what sort of things he likes and dislikes now. And she was sure there were quite a few things he didn't know about her. It would take some time for them to get to know each other again.

She couldn't help but to discreetly watch out of the corner of her eye as he removed his leg again, that would take some getting used to. "Uh, well, I'm sure you're exhausted after all that flying. I'm exhausted and I didn't really do anything," she chuckled while looking over to him. "I'll probably just go get ready for bed after this..." she continued with a shrug, allowing her eyes to wander toward the clock on the wall which indicated it was nearing midnight. "I did plan on going to pick up some things for the house in the morning, if you want to come?" She asked focusing back on her cereal to keep it casual in case he hadn't intended on ever hanging out with her.

Upon looking up from her now empty cereal bowl, Thomas had made it into the kitchen and it made her grin as he pointed at her mid chew. Acacia wasn't exactly the kind of girl to bring strangers home every night, but if she did she would definetly give her roommate a heads up. "You got it, and right back at ya, yeah?" Acacia replied, she had every intention of treating him the way she'd like to be treated. She had a few terrible roommates in her day, and she really hoped Thomas wouldn't be added to that list.

Grabbing his bowl off the table she placed hers to ontop of it so she could carry both to the sink where she started to clean them quickly. "Wait until you see the bathroom in this place, it's insane. And I think if we tried, we could get onto the roof my Dad said..." Even though Acacia wasn't new to fancy, upscale living conditions she was still in awe of this place.
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ONI