Dead by Midnight

FIVE

It turns out that Kit didn't make it back home until it was dark. Not too dark where he couldn't see anything, but there was still a curfew that everyone had to abide by.

So, as soon as Kit returned to the house, he and Pierre got an immediate scolding from Mayor Declan. The old man couldn't stop pointing his fingers at them, already exasperated and he told Pierre how his grandson should've known better than to stay out this late.

But Pierre simply takes one look at his grandfather and simply... shrugs. He hangs an arm around Kit's shoulders, unbothered by Mr. Morison's scoldings. In fact, he doesn't seem to be paying any attention while Kit smiled apologetically and tried to say it was his fault. He didn't want to return so soon since he was still trying to memorize the town.

Eventually, Mr. Morison settled down with a bothered sigh. He takes one good look at the pair. Kit doesn't particularly seem to care at Pierre's action of being brought even closer, and his grandson doesn't say anything about it either.

"Well... I suppose you two staying out after curfew isn't... too big of a deal."

Mr. Morison takes another look at Kit, who tilts his head, a little confused but still smiling.

"7 P.M. Don't forget it again... but if you try to sneak around after curfew, just at least keep in mind that you can't be allowed outside when it's near midnight. I won't be lenient on that," Mr. Morison hisses.

Pierre makes an exasperated gesture with his hands. It's all the response he'll be getting from him, so the mayor turns to Kit instead.

Kit nods and lets out an awkward chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind. I'm sorry, I'll try not to let this happen again."

Mr. Morison gives them one more stare before huffing and telling Kit that the problem has just been resolved with his house. Now, Kit shouldn't have any more problems. If he does, he's free to reach out to him or Pierre.

With Mr. Morison taking his leave and saying a small goodnight, Pierre takes a second to stay behind.

Again, Kit reaches up to fix the man's coat while avoiding the fact that Pierre's eyes were still on him. Never moving. It... might be a habit that Kit will just have to get used to. Not that he minds. In fact, he's still smiling even after he's done adjusting Pierre's coat before backing up on the porch steps.

"I appreciated you taking me out to see the town. It's a shame we didn't get to finish."

Pierre hums, "There will be more opportunities."

"You don't mind?"

"Who else will take you if not me?"

Kit quite liked that answer. He only replies with a large grin before bidding him a goodnight, turning around and taking his leave right then and there. And as soon as he closes the door, the small ringing in the back of his head stops. Kit feels the thrum of his heartbeat slowing down, no longer excited while the atmosphere... turned soft.

He feels like he can breathe now that Pierre isn't beside him.

He isn't so sure what to think of that, but he leaves the thought alone for right now in favor of taking a shower and having some dinner.

As he ate, he looked through the letters from his family. One of them in particular made his eyes gleam. It's fun honestly, getting to read them all and know how much they care about him being in a new environment.

But there's a lot of helpful tips from some of them since his relatives from dad's side used to live here anyways.

"A pet dog..." Kit murmurs after reading about getting a small companion to keep him company.