Raising an eyebrow, he laughed quietly at the actions of the lizard. Leaning back on one hand, his other lightly rubbed the base of Roy’s head. With another chuckle, he tugged at his shirt before gently lifting the iguana onto his lap to try and free the fabric in the other’s mouth. “You wanna help me find some actual food for you? Matthias has to keep it around here somewhere” He chuckled softly. "Or maybe I should go down and ask him where he keeps your food, better than rummaging around in his stuff" He mumbled thoughtfully.

(...>///>)

Claus blushed at his soft words, finding a smile reach his lips as he muzzled against the male's chest, finding himself comfortable there. "Nya...~" he yawned, stretching a bit as well. It was rather late, and waking up early didn't help either...but this was comfy~

It was as he was about to leave that it occurred to him that he should change out of his wet clothes. He stepped to the window and closed the blinds, taking a second to peer out at the rain first. Having done that he carried his suitcase into the bedroom and dug out some fresh clothes to change into. Considering the warmth of the building, he chose a pair of dark colored jeans and plain white fitted t-shirt. He hung the wet clothes up in the bathroom to dry out. Last but not least he brushed out his long ponytail and redid it. Feeling better himself, he through on a pair of loafers and headed out, locking the door behind him.

"Tenth floor" he reminded himself as he stepped into the elevator. There were no other stops on the way up and when the doors opened Rio was there waiting to step on. "Hello again Rio. Heading back to the truck?" Sho asked as he stepped out of the elevator, holding the door open for Rio as he did so.

"Sure am, Sho!" was Rio's quick reply before he'd grinned. Stepping into the elevator, he nodded his way in silent thanks. "Goo' ta see ya changed." Pressing the button to head to the parking lot, he waved once and went on to do what he was tasked to do.

Matthias would be all right being called Mister Jones if he were talking to a business partner but this one was making him feel a little, well, disturbed. "Please, I'd prefer Matthias over being called in my family name with a title." Chuckling as he watched Tai apologize to the fish and then correct his father, he turned to look back at Johnny who seemed to still be caught up with the man.

"You too, Mister Huynh and yes. You will see me later if you and your son decides to join us later in our little celebration." Waving towards the little kid, he glanced at the time on his wrist watch and idly wondered when the food would arrive. It was only a few minutes later when Rio had come to the lobby with a box of the packed food.

"'ey, Matt!" the big man called out before he'd bellowed out a laughter, "No nee' ta ge' yar panties in a pans. I'll set it up nic'ly!" Matthias heaved a sigh of relief as he moved to sit on the couch and nod towards Rio's way. "Thanks for coming, Rio. Party'll be starting in four hours. Think you can set it up in three or less?" The thumbs-up from the man made Matthias smile and he decided to help. Johnny, too, had seen what was happening and he excused himself from Beyond to help out and arrange the food.

Hopefully, this time, there won't be any mishaps like there had been a while ago.

- - -

Roy stubbornly continued to keep the fabric in his mouth. Apparently, he wasn't going to let go of it anytime soon. He didn't understand what the hell the other was talking about. If he spoke in human language, maybe he would. The lizard chewed toothlessly and continued to try to swallow what he could of the shirt.

Blinking in surprise, he raised an eyebrow, lightly stroking the lizard once more. He couldn’t be too angry at the other, Sage found the iguana too cute to get angry at. “You know Matthias won’t be too impressed with either of us, he told me to keep clothes out of your reach” He murmured before lifting Roy up as he stood at the same time, seeing if that would dislodge the other from his shirt.

He gave Rio a smile and a nod before Rio disappeared in the elevator bound for the food truck. "Room thiry-four," he said to himself as he peered at the numbers on the doors. Once he had gotten himself going in the right direction, he found the room without any trouble. He stopped at the door, wondering if he should knock. Alice might be preoccupied, and Rio had just left so it was probably open. He tried the handle and sure enough it opened with a satisfying click. He poked his head inside first. "Alice? It's me," He said. Then realizing that that was pretty vague, added, "Sho."

A quick look around showed him that Alice was not in the living room or the kitchen. The bedroom door was closed, so he assumed that's where Alice was. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Now that he was in, he couldn't help but notice that paintings scattered around the room. He walked into the living room, and admired some of the ones that were strewn around. "Wow," he said to himself.

(Shall we,my dear..?)

Eroke smiled and held the small uke there, petting his hair softly...So very cute...

Alice was a bit glad when Rio left, though he didn't offer any type of farewell through the closed bedroom door as the big man left. Alice had tossed his wet clothes in the bathtub, he'd put them in the dryer later. Sho's coat was laying haphazardly in the middle of the living room floor where he had shed it the moment he entered. Alice had relaxed alot when Rio left.

His relaxation was short lived however, when he heard Sho announcing his arrival. Though he had expected the other, of course. Alice opened the bedroom door and ran a hand through his white hair. There he stood, wearing loose black cotton pants and a loose, short sleeved black cotton shirt. Most likely they were the clothes he usually slept in. Dull blue eyes glanced nervously, Alice began to cough some. Hands attached to scarred forearms raised to cover his mouth. There was no way he could have hid the scars from Sho without pulling on some arm warmers or such, and that would've just looked odd, considering he was about to get in bed.

Max returned to Beyond with a small messy kitten in his mouth. As Beyond found the kitten he fingered around the body. It was wet and he could feel its ribs. It was also a female. She snuggled into his touch and he realized she wasn't this way because of abuse. "Good dog." He couldn't leave the kitten alone so he pulled out his cellphone. He waited for an answer. "Yo, Jackson. Are you at Dad's building?" Beyond waited. "Leave." Beyond smiled. "I found something cute and starving. Also it has the chance to be fluffy." Beyond chuckled. His Dad's building was very close to Gonrei so it would take 5 minutes for Jackson to get here.

(Jackson won't be long I promise. Also later may I set a kitten ad at the front desk?)

When Sho heard the door open he gave a quick glance to Alice and then back at the paintings he was looking at , "These are amazing Alice. Did you paint these yourself?" As he addressed the question he turned back to Alice and got a better look at him. He was dressed down, obviously ready for rest. Then he noticed the scars and for a second he couldn't help staring. When he realized it, he shook his head and turned back to the paintings. "What was I...?" He mumbled, having lost his train of thought. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "The paintings, um, they're very beautiful."

Alice didn't move, barely breathed as Sho turned and stared. Slowly he had lowered his hands from his mouth and looked away. "..It's..." He began, but Sho seemed to focus on the paintings. "...erh..I'm glad you like my work.." He was looking at Sho and then he let his gaze sweep over the rest of the room. "...There are plenty of artists that are better than me..." He had shrugged a bit, sneezed, and coughed again.

Alice had stepped further into room, his own gaze sweeping over his art for a moment as he came to stand next to Sho. Alice was a bit tense for another reason now, what did Sho really think of those scars? Alice couldn't quite squish the feeling that he needed to explain them. His lips parted, to say something, when he suddenly felt very feverish. A wave of dizziness washed over him and he swayed. Those hands reached out, grasping, he grabbed onto Sho. Mostly to steady himself, but he ended up falling against the man with a soft gasp. He shivered almost violently, clutching tight to Sho. Suddenly feeling very very cold, even though to Sho his body probably felt rather hot. A soft whimper left his lips. His body was tense, clutching to a stranger, or even a friend was not typical Alice behavior.

"Nonsense you're very..." he wasn't able to get the rest of the sentence out, for Alice fell against him. "Whoa," was his first reaction. Instinctively he put an arm around the man. Sho could feel Alice's fevered skin even through the clothes they wore, but he gently laid a hand across the others forehead. It was hot to the touch, and Sho could see beads of sweat already springing up on his brow. "You've definitely got a fever. Guess I didn't need to bother with the thermometer after all." He joked. Not that he thought it was a laughing matter. But he was a little worried, and the joking made him feel a little better. "We should get you to your bed. I'll help you walk." He moved his own arm down to Alice's waist, hoping the other wouldn't take it the wrong way. "Put your arm on my shoulder."

For a few moments longer, Alice didn't move, he just clutched tightly to Sho. Slowly his grip relaxed a bit. Blinking softly and nodding just slightly at Sho's words. Alice moved rather slowly, sluggishly almost as he raised his arm to place it around Sho's shoulders. Though Alice had cringed slightly when Sho put his own arm around his waist, but he didn't protest. He knew he probably wouldn't make it all the way to his bed on his own. Alice gripped Sho tightly as they slowly made their way to his bedroom.

Alice's room was organized, bookshelves held all kinds of reading material. Novels and art books. His closet door was open, and nearly all his clothing hanging in there were black. There were shoes scattered about his room floor, converses and boots, but none in the way to cause either of them to trip. His bedsheets and comforter set were all black. As soon as they were at the bed, Alice reached out to pull back the blankets, then he slipped out of Sho's grip and fell onto the bed with a soft noise. He coughed a few times.

Sho moved slowly, matching Alice's stride as they made their way into the bedroom. He was struck by how vulnerable the man suddenly seemed, clinging to him like a child. It was such a change from his guarded demeanor just an hour ago.

At this slow pace he was able to get a good look around the room before Alice made it to the bed. Alice seemed to enjoy black. It was slightly surprising considering her was an artist. It seemed drab compared to his own wardrobe which reflected his love for purples and blues, but he wouldn't judge.

Once Alice eased into bed, Sho pulled out the medicine box that he had been keeping in his back pocket. "Where do you keep your glasses? I'll get you a glass of water to take with these capsules. And it's probably best if I turn the thermostat up to help you sweat out the fever."

Alice wriggled a bit in the bed, getting comfortable. Or as comfortable as a sick person can get. He pulled the blankets up over him, and then threw them aside. Cold. He felt cold, but then as soon as the blankets had touched him he felt as if he were on fire. He shivered. Frowning a bit.

Glasses? He blinked. Right. Sho had medicine for him. "...In the kitchen...The cabinet over the sink..." Already he was pulling the blanket back over him, only to toss it off again a few seconds later. Sho would find Alice's kitchen spotless and if he nosed about, he'd find nearly no food in there. Every dish in it's proper place. Maybe a bottle or two of water in the fridge. Alice grabbed food on the go often.

"Right, I'll be right back," He stepped out of the room and walked into the kitchen. It was quite clean, cleaner then Sho's would be once he started living in his apartment. He checked the cabinet over the sink and surely enough there were several glasses stacked neatly inside. He picked the closest one and filled it with water from the sink.

On his way back he stopped by the thermostat and turned the temperature up a few degrees. From there he could see Alice fussing with the blankets. He apparently couldn't decide between staying covered or not. "I know it's probably uncomfortable," Sho said as he strode into the room again, glass in hand, "But your fever will usually break faster if you stay warm." He sat down on the edge of the bed and held out the glass to Alice. As he did so he read the directions on the box. "You can take two of these every eight hours. I've already used some of these," he said, testing the weight of the box in his hand with a quizzical look on his face, "But I think there should be enough left to tide you over,"

Alice was still fidgeting with the blanket when Sho returned with the water. Though he stopped and pushed himself to sit up when Sho handed him the glass of water. Once he was situated he reached out to take the glass. He took a few sips of it before holding his other hand out, for Sho to put two of the capsules in his hand. He didn't really like the idea of this man wasting his medicine on him, but he was in position to really argue. "....Thanks.." He murmured softly, watching Sho almost critically for a moment as he had reached out for the medicine.

He let Alice take the glass from him and then fished out one of the packets of pills. Three had already been punched out. He punched out two of the gel capsules from the metallic covering and placed them in his hand. He checked his watch, "It's about five right now, so you can take some more at two. If you happen to wake up that is."

He pulled his right foot up under his left knee in a sort-of half cross leg, then set his chin in his hand, leaning on said knee. Sitting there he simply looked at Alice. As he did so, he couldn't help his violet eyes from wandering to the scars that lined his wrists. When he caught himself staring, he looked away, "I hope the medicine helps. No one wants to be sick on Christmas Eve."

Alice nodded slightly, taking a sip of the water before he popped both pills in his mouth at the same time. More water followed and he swallowed hard. Taking both pills and mouthful of water at the same time. He shuddered slightly. He hated pills. Gel or not. The rest of the water left in the glass soon followed, Alice gulped it down quickly then moved slightly to set the glass down on the tiny table near the head of the bed.

He coughed a few times, and sneezed once. Shaking his head slightly, he looked at Sho. His brow furrowed slightly. The scars on Alice's arms varied in length, width and shape. They didn't just decorate his wrists. Both forearms were covered, from wrist to elbow. It was the main reason why he usually wore long armwarmers that came up just a little past his elbow. "..It's complicated...but I didn't do these to myself.." He laid back down, draping an arm over his forehead while he pulled the blanket back up over him with the other. He stared at the ceiling.

Sho winced when Alice mentioned the scars. He rubbed the back of his neck, fingering the stray hairs from his ponytail. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I was just being rudely curious." He sighed and rolled his shoulders, moving his hands into his lap at the same time, "Though, I'm glad to hear it's not something you've done to yourself. Of course that means something else is the cause." His voice trailed off and then he said quite hastily, holding a hand up in emphasis, "But you don't have to tell me. It's probably not something you enjoy talking about."

"Everyone stares...and everyone judges.." He had shrugged slightly but didn't really move other than that. Not taking his eyes off the ceiling, nor removing that arm from across his forehead. "..but I don't care about the staring so much...sometimes I stare.." He raised his other arm, as if reaching for Sho, he wasn't really reaching. "...You can stare...Staring doesn't hurt.."

Sho was right though. It was something Alice didn't really enjoy talking about. He had lowered that arm, his eyes drifting from ceiling to Sho for a moment, before that gaze settled back on the ceiling. "..You're missing the Christmas Party.." Alice didn't much care for holidays, to him it was just another day on a calendar. Another day to paint or sketch, or walk in the park during the rain. Despite the cold.

He couldn't help but smile at the brave front that Alice put up. "Staring may not hurt you, but it feels wrong. It lets my mind make up all these ideas that shouldn't be in there." He was staring again but not at the scars this time. He was watching Alice's face, the way his eyes stared at the ceiling, peering into some moment in the past. The look of his fevered face, and the way his messy white hair hung on his forehead. Sho was remembering what he had noticed earlier in the truck at that stoplight, Alice was quite handsome. He only half heard Alice's words. He shook his head slowly, "No, the party doesn't start until nine. I've still got some time." He didn't add that he would feel bad going to enjoy the party while Alice was up here trying to sweat out a fever.

Alice had almost smiled at that. Almost but not quite. He did lower that arm from his head though, only to wipe at some of the sweat on his face. "...What kind of ideas?.." He asked hesitantly. Only a little curious, and a bit afraid of what Sho might be thinking. Sho was still a stranger, though really that didn't mean much. In Alice's experience, the people closest to you hurt you more than strangers ever could.

He shivered and coughed a bit. Pulling the blanket a bit tighter around himself, but he was watching Sho, not the ceiling anymore. He tilted his head a bit. "...You know...You don't have to stay with me...It isn't necessary..." He said that, but despite his uneasiness with new people, he was rather glad Sho was there. Alice absolutely hated being alone. More so when he was sick.

"Hm..." He said, staring of in front of him as he thought of an answer, "It makes me wonder," He turned towards Alice for a second, "And kind of hope actually, that it was some kind of accident. And then I wonder what kind of accident it could have been." he turned away again as he said, "But then I get doubtful and my brain insists that it must have been a person. Then I wonder who would such a thing, and thinking of the kind of person that would do that is terrifying." He rubbed his chest, as if the fear he spoke of was itching his skin.

When Alice brought up Sho leaving again Sho just shook his head and smiled. "I don't mind staying at all. And trust me, I'm more comfortable here, knowing how you're doing, then I would be unpacking my bag in my empty apartment."

Alice had cringed just slightly as Sho spoke. Reaching over to unconsciously trace one of the scars that adorned his left arm. His voice was a soft whisper, and he wasn't looking at Sho anymore, he was looking off towards one of the walls. "More terrifying than you could ever imagine."

Alice had closed his eyes. Shivered lightly and wriggled a bit under the blankets, as if to get more comfortable. He was feeling rather drowsy now, he wasn't sure if that was from the medicine or from being sick. He had felt a little drowsy a bit earlier. He rolled onto his side, eyes open and he curled his body some. Alice was facing Sho, instead of rolling over so his back was to the other man. He yawned.