Not too shabby. It wasn't in a horrible part of town and the building had a little charm to it. It was pale and the building itself was chipping, but he didn't need much out of outwardly appearances. He hadn't even met the guy he'd be rooming with, but he was probably harmless. He'd deal with problems as they came; right now he just really needed a place to live, and he needed it desperately.

Atticus picked up his first suitcase and headed up the stairs. He owned a surprising amount of clothing, but this was because he tried his best to dress gentlemanly. Young as he was, he didn't want to give an air of immaturity; he wanted his fellows to respect him. He glanced back at the moving truck's driver, who seemed content to sit in his seat, before moving out of his view.

He knocked on the door, banging his suitcase against the frame accidentally. Atticus growled and bent to set down his suitcase, then fixed his glasses, pressing the small, square frames closer to his face. He really needed to get his glasses fixed.

Aerin opened the door rather quickly. The tan skinned male was wearing some rather plain black shorts with a solid blue shirt, nothing dressy at all. He was about the same height and a bit on the thin yet toned side "Ah, you must be Atticus" he said after noticing the suitcase, giving a quick look over the man before moving aside to let him in. The whole place of course smelled like it had been just thoroughly cleaned, most like because he had just finished clearing up the last of the dust before his new roommate arrived. "Come in, I'll show you around."

He'd give a little mini-tour of the simple apartment. It was split up into five rooms total plus a rather spacious bathroom. The first area had been set up as a dining area, a couple lease papers neatly arranged on the smooth wood table. Connected to it was of course a small kitchen with a stove, microwave, and fridge with plenty of cabinet space to keep things separate. On the opposite side was the bathroom and living area, a soft couch set up before a decent sized TV Past the living area was a short hallway with two bedrooms next to eachother. Atticus' room was on the left, and had a decent amount of sunlight and room inside as advertised. Comparing would be impossible though as not only was the other room shut but it was also fitted with a lock. Overall though, the place was a great deal, and only slightly run down.

"I hope everything is up to standards, and the price should be more than agreeable, just a couple strict rules I expect you to follow. Don't enter the bathroom while I'm in it and never enter my room for any reason. This shouldn't be a problem unless I forget to lock the door. Also uh, this may seem a little strange, but no mirrors in the common areas." he said giving a slightly odd guilty look. "For personal reasons."

"Yes, that would be me." Atticus moved into the apartment, scrutinizing it. His expression was one of almost mild disgust, but in reality, that was just his face; smiling gave him a look as though he were pouting. When he turned to give his roommate that same sort of smile, he found him already walking away. Atticus took in a shallow breath and let it out fast, shoulders raising and dropping just before he put a foot up and moved after him.

The place was quite nice; he looked around and found it to be well above his expectations. He knew there were several rooms available, but didn't expect them to be quite so spacious. Atticus nodded slightly to convey his attention, his dark eyes still sweeping the room. Most of the rules made sense, save for the last. In response, Atticus only looked at Aerin. "That's fine."

He walked ahead, towards his room. He looked inside, leaning through the doorway, then nodded. "Very well." Atticus turned sharply to his roommate and yelped as his suitcase struck him, having bounced against the doorframe and knocked him square in the groin. He choked, freezing, and took another step inside. Usually he'd be giving the whole "please don't try and nickname me, I like my name" spiel by now, as he typically introduced himself to his peers, but instead he fell into the nearest seat, dropping his things and letting out a groan.

He leaned over his legs. Even folded in half, it was evident he was tall. His legs were rather long, so long that he had submitted to taking the bus to his new apartment rather than squeezing himself into the cabin of a moving truck, and when he folded them up now, his knees reached over his head. The blow of his suitcase actually hadn't seemed like much, but his suitcase was heavy, and his turn was quick. It felt like someone had pitched a baseball into his lap.

Aerin nodded a little bit at Atticus' agreement. "We're all good then on rules then. I sleep like a rock, so you don't really have to worry about being loud or anything at night. Just don't destroy the place or burn it down and we should be fine."

He gave a bit of wince as that suitcase hit his new roommate right in the groin. That most likely had hurt. He wouldn't know from personal experience of course. His suspicions were confirmed as the Atticus moved over to a seat. "Yikes, er, yeah you should probably sit down, let me get that for you." he offered, scooting the suitcase the rest of the way in to the room so that wouldn't happen again. Despite its weight he moved it with ease, as if it were filled with pillows rather than whatever was actually weighing it down. Atticus would likely be a little too distracted to notice that though.

He'd give his roommate a minute, wandering into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. When he got back he gave a small smile? "Recovered?" he asked, waiting any additional time needed before he was ready to talk again. "So, do you have movers or are you going to need help bringing things up? I've got the whole day free today to help if you need it." he offered, looking out the window toward the truck. Truthfully most of his days were free days, it got quite boring living alone which was the primary reason he went for a roommate situation.

What a comment–"yikes"? Atticus let out a growl, even as he held his breath. This was already embarrassing enough, and for some reason, his roommate's offhanded language had bothered him. Had no one ever nailed him in the nuts before? Atticus shook his head. He was being unreasonable, there was no reason to take out his embarrassment on his roommate. He allowed the other to take his suitcase and sat back, letting out a soft breath. Maybe he shouldn't have taken his grandfather's suitcase as a carry-on...

The other male returned with a slight smile, to which Atticus answered with a mangled smile–more of a grimace than anything. He took the water as it was offered and drank. "I don't have movers," he answered as he pulled the cup from his face, "and if you're willing to help, I'd be much obliged." He tipped the glass back again and, quite ineloquently, downed the rest of the water. Atticus leaned back before rocking gently onto his shiny Oxford shoes. "All right... I'll wash this and we'll get started, hmm?" He headed for the kitchen.

Aerin gave another nod. “Oh, you can just leave that by the sink for now, I'm sure you'll have use for it in like 20 minutes.” he said, shuffling over to the table with the documents on it and shaking it out as Atticus moved into the kitchen. A key loudly fell on to the table before he could grab it. “Here's your house key, the front door automatically locks so try not to forget it.” he warned, offering it to the other male.

He'd open the door and give an overly showy gesture. “After you.” he said a little jokingly, kicking a shoe over before he followed after to keep the door from shutting all the way. He didn't want to have to keep unlocking it all the time. “So you said that you're renting as a college student now? What are you studying?” he asked.

Atticus paused and slowly set the cup down. He didn't like the idea, nor was he used to it, but... He looked back at the sound of metal clattering. Slowly he reached out, one long arm extending towards Aerin to take the key. "Yes," he replied, hooking the key on a key ring. He slid it into his vest pocket. The key settled flat in the thick, nice fabric, no longer visible.

He followed after his roommate, checking his watch as he walked. Again, it was a rather expensive watch, but it looked rather old. Atticus raised his eyes to look at the man. "Thank you," he said, his eyes flickering down to watch the shoe tumble away. "...I'm a writer." He walked past his roommate and down the steps, heading for the small moving van parked out front.

Aerin gave a curious look at the old looking watch, as if slightly entranced by it when the glimmer caught his eye, but it passed quickly as he came back to his senses. Strangely enough he followed along without shoes. “Oh a writer eh? What sort of stuff do you like to write. Novels, reporting, academic?” he asked curiously as he moved over to the truck. “I actually like reading all sorts of things.”

He'd handle whatever Atticus handed to him without much effort unless it was something truly heavy, but he did take an interested look into the back of the truck just to see what sort of stuff his new roommate was bringing, though he just expected more boxes. Despite his strict privacy policies he was a bit nosy.

Atticus glanced back at his roommate and did a doubletake, noticing the male eyeing his watch. He frowned and pulled his sleeve over the watch, taking note that he might have to take care of his valuables. Just as his roommate did, he'd have to lock his door. "Short stories, novels, the like." He gripped the bottom of the truck's door, his too-clean hands looking especially out of place over the muddied metal. He threw it open and then patted off his hands. He handed off a lighter box, gradually beginning to bring out heavier and heavier boxes as he reached further into the truck. His roommate seemed unencumbered, even as Atticus grunted and wrestled heavier cargo from the floor. For a thin guy, he was pretty strong.

He came to the furniture and raised an eyebrow at Aerin's curious looks. Atticus dropped a foot into the truck, the solid heel of his shoe striking hard into the alloy. "Would you help me? I have a desk and chair here, as well as a chiffonier which may be much more of a struggle... I may have to ask the driver for help." He gripped one end of the desk.

Aerin had no problem moving the boxes setting them aside as they Atticus handed more and more to him. "What's you're favorite genre then. Suppose mine would be.. um.. fantasy I guess." he said, moving in to the truck after making sure nothing would be in the way for getting the desk out. He'd grab the other end and lift it up, finally seeming to struggle a little with it's weight, or at least have to put some effort into it. He'd bring the desk out with the other male being quite careful with it, handling whatever amount of weight he needed too. "This will be a pain to get up the stairs." he huffed, not looking forward to that part too much. "Do you want to get the rest out or this up to your room first?"

Once they were back out of the truck he shuddered a little bit, not really like being in the truck all that much. It was a little to closed off for his liking. Fortunately it wasn't enough to trigger his claustrophobia, but it was still a little unsettling.

"I write about typical, human things." Atticus tightened his grip on the desk as Aerin approached, finally hefting it up and waddling out of the truck with Aerin. This time, the man seemed to be showing more signs of a struggle; however, no matter how much weight Atticus leaned on him, he still supported it. He'd noticed him struggling for the first time and had decided to test his strength, just for future reference, but the man seemed unaffected. As they set down the table, Atticus had pushed nearly all of the weight onto his roommate, and he raised his eyebrows slightly. That was impressive.

He noticed him shudder and tilted his head. Was he cold? It was the very end of summer; the cool weather was only just beginning to seep in, and just barely. Atticus raised his shoulders and turned them in their sockets, cracking each. "I'd prefer to leave this for the end." He leaned down, working his fingers under a pair of boxes and heaved them into his arms, air filling his cheeks as he straightened. He walked back to the entrance of their building, slowly dropping one mahogany foot after the other.

Atticus nudged the door open and placed the boxes aside. He held his foot out to push them further into the apartment, but left them in the main room for the time being. Once they were finished, he'd begin to bring them into his bedroom.

Aerin gave a bit of a shrug at that answer, seemingly less thrilled a little about it. He started to show a bit of a struggle with the weight as Atticus tested it, he might have been able to lift the desk fully himself if it wasn't too big for it, but not much more than that. It was a little strange considering his build, he definitely didn't have the most defined muscles or anything.

Following Atticus' lead, he'd help bring up the boxes one or two at a time depending on if one happened to be light or smaller. He made sure not to do anything risky though since it wasn't his stuff, and fortunately there were no incidents of him tripping with them as a result. He'd move them into the room as well, but obviously leave the unpacking to Atticus.

“Are you familiar with the area at all?” He started, changing the topic, “I rather enjoy the food around here, though I've been told my tastes are not to be trusted sometimes. Apparently I think everything tastes good. I might not be the best guide around since I don't get out very much, but I know where all the necessities are.”

"I am not." Atticus made his way back down the stairs, his perpetual frown still twisting the corners of his lips. He glanced back as Aerin continued onto the topic of food, realizing that perhaps, his roommate was hungry. Once he'd finished putting all his things in the apartment, he would treat him to a meal as a thanks for his assistance. Atticus reached the sidewalk and fixed his fingers over the edge of the desk again, nodding at Aerin for him to do the same.

"One should really not be picky," Atticus said, nodding slightly again, "with food, with anything. Being picky does not allow for the full experience of life." He grunted as they lifted the desk again and, foolishly, turned so that he was at the bottom of the stairs. "I–" he grunted again as they took the steps one at a time, "–intend to take full advantage of my location. I do intend to explore."

Aerin continued to help along with Atticus' things. The desk was a little tricky, as there was a 180 degree turn on the stairs they would have to maneuver it past. A bit of bumping around and they'd eventually get the thing inside. He'd similarly help out with anything else heavy until the were done, keeping up with the bit of small talk they had going.

“Ah, I'd say it's not exactly in that way, I like strange combinations, peanut butter on pizza, hotsauce on a slushy, apples on burgers...” he said, “I don't think I've actually found anything I don't like actually.” he said, nodding along with Atticus' statement. “I love to experience new things and explore.. just not in crowded places. I stick to parks usually if I go out.”

Atticus looked up in surprise. "Hot sauce..." He made a face and shook his head slightly. "If I didn't eat that, that would not be because I am picky; it's simply common sense." He leaned down and hefted up a box from their apartment floor. "Apples on burgers, however, sounds gourmet. I wouldn't put it past a restaurant looking for ratings to try it." He nodded back to Aerin as he spoke, walking idly towards his new room; he had to start unpacking soon, but for now he would just move a few valuables into his bedroom.

"You don't mind if I take you out now, do you?" Atticus asked, returning from his bedroom with quick pace. He was a naturally fast walker; it was a perk that came with his long legs. "I intended to take you out to dinner, as a thank you for your assistance."

Aerin shook his head a little bit. “See? You don't know what you're missing man! It's hot and cold, it's great!” he explained. “If you try lots of weird food combinations you're bound to find some gems!” he added cheerfully. He sat down on the couch to fiddle with his phone a bit as Atticus unpacked a little, checking what was on TV for the night before Atticus found his way back.

“Oh now?” he'd answer. “Sure, all this talk of food is kind of making me hungry anyways.” he said. “Did you have something in mind? I'm good with pretty much anywhere. I promise I won't order anything weirdly customized” he added with a chuckle.

"It's not literally hot..." Atticus mumbled, returning to his labors. He returned with his jacket in hand, having noted the clouds that were sure to rain. "Yes, now. I haven't got anything in mind, I don't know the area well at all. Maybe you could suggest something?" He paused and looked back at Aerin, his brow furrowed. The other man seemed comfortable on his couch; perhaps he'd interrupted something. "I'm sorry," he said, taking a few steps towards him. His shoes clacked loudly as he moved a little closer to Aerin. "I'm not interrupting your plans at all, am I?"