Private Finished I Can Handle This

Every step Konpeitō made towards his apartment made him shake harder from excitement. "Be careful," he repeated to himself quietly every time the three boxes stacked onto each other wobbled. The thought of all the good money he paid crashing into pieces on the rough ground chilled his spine. This was important. So important that he didn't care if his shape-shifting made the colors of his body so bright he was practically neon, or that he was smiling wide like an idiot.

Old computers and new computer parts. Konpeitō was going to have a field day once he got into his house. If he could. Once he arrived at the steps leading to his apartment, he paused. Carrying the boxes wasn't hard. What was hard was settling himself down to balance them. This area wasn't bad, but he worried that sitting down his boxes, even for a moment, might result in them being stolen behind his back. Call him paranoid—which he was—but the last thing he needed was all his hard work getting picked up and carried off.

Konpeitō barely noticed someone was speaking to him until he looked past his boxes and saw a blonde man looking right at him. He considered how to answer, almost wanting to say, "No, carry on." Then he saw the stairs and rethought that.

"I probably just need a break," he said while sitting down the boxes as gently as possible. Which was very gently. And very slow. "There's a lot of delicate material here. I'm not having trouble picking them up, but," he bit the bottom of his lip, "I don't want to leave them down here unguarded while I take them up one-by-one."

Not a yes. Not a no. He was still thinking. But now that he got a better look at the stranger, his ears flickered. "You're our new neighbor, aren't you?"

Stefan received a gentle handshake, which took some self-control from Konpeitō. His strength was enhanced to carry the boxes, and the last thing he wanted was to accidentally hurt someone by gripping too tightly or shaking too roughly. "Nice to meet you, Stefan. I'm Konpeitō. I'd appreciate the help!"

Now that he got a better look at the man, he had to admit, his bone structure was nice.

The boxes were brown closed tight. They had labels saying FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP. One came from an electronics store on the island, two from a store from the Space Station.

"Parts for building a computer, mostly. One is an old computer model. Mm, how should I do this? They're both heavy, so I'd like to take the computer and another box, but I need to unlock my door—Ah, we can just put it in front and I'll move them in myself. Mind taking the lead? I'll give directions."

He picked the two boxes up and looked at Stefan expectantly. The man looked nice, in more ways than one, but he worried that letting him follow behind would give him an opportunity to ditch. Which was stupid. They both lived here, and Konpeitō would break into a fucker's house if it meant getting his stuff back.

"Yep!" Konpeitō gave instructions to where his apartment was, all the while sprinkling in small conversation.

"I'm lucky you asked for help. I can be a bit anal about my stuff, but—No, that way—But you're carrying that box so easily that I don't have to worry about you dropping anything. Oh, and sorry for not noticing you moving in. I try to greet neighbors, but, ah, sometimes they slip past me... Ah, here. Set it by that door. To your right."

Every ounce of Konpeitō's body told him to tease Stefan for the dazed smile he wore. He had to remain professional and polite. That didn't mean he couldn't have some fun though.

"I'm happy to hear you've been having good encounters," he replied with a cheeky smile and an almost sing-song tone. He unlocked and opened the door to his house, then gently carried the boxes inside. "Would you like a drink or snack? I'd like to repay you for your kindness."