-
He trembled under the force of his masters anger. It was very rarely that he 'screwed up' but accidents did happen, and this one wasn't his fault. But he was getting punished for it anyway.
"You're USELESS! What good is a slave who breaks things! Omi! I have no more use for you. You are trash!" Omi's eyes widened. To be told that you were trash was the worst thing that could have possibly happened. It meant that you were completely incapable of working, and to a slave who knew nothing else, it meant certain death.
Not death as Humans would see it, but death nonetheless. Omi was an android, a human-like machine. He had the brain of a computer, and was completely synthetic, but still needed to eat, sleep, and use the bathroom, and could learn to feel. The only thing he'd ever learned was Fear. Fear of displeasing Master, fear of failing, fear of dying...
His worst fear was coming true. He'd dropped to his knees and was begging before he realized it. "NO! Please, Master, give me another chance! I will prove to you that I am worth your time! Please! Please don't send me away!"
His master turned around, and planted a foot on his shoulder, knocking him backwards. "Get out, trash." Omi ran from the house.
He was wearing everything he owned; two pairs of pants, two shirts, a pair of socks, and a pair of shoes. None of it was in very good condition, but it was getting cold out, and the house was cold, too. He had a locket, from his first master, but his first master had died long ago. Slaves didn't die. Not from old age, or sickness, though they could get sick, and could also grow. Slaves died from broken hearts, losing the will to go on. He also knew that his body would stop functioning without food and water, and it might not work if it got too cold. Shivering, he knocked on a few doors. They all opened warmly, and began to offer food and shelter, but when they saw his barcode - the symbol of his slave status - the door was slammed in his face.
He found the warmest alleyway he could, and curled up for the night.
-
He woke up the next morning so cold he could barely move. It was painful to stretch his legs out, and start walking again, but he had no other choice.
Days later, he was weak with exhaustion and hunger, but he had found no where to stop. Slaves were the dirty little secret that everyone knew everyone else kept. According to law, slavery was inhumane, and wrong, but that was when the factories began building 'fake humans' for slaves. They built them too well.
A runaway slave was an outcast, and it didn't matter why he or she'd run away. Omi began dreaming. At first, only at night, so it didn't bother him. It kept him warmer on the icily dry nights. But when he started dreaming during the day, he began to become afraid. He would be walking, staring at the ground, and suddenly, a beautiful dream would overtake him. He was with a caring family, warm, and has all the food he could eat. He wasn't a slave, but a person, a real person with a real family, and he was happy. When the dream would finally end, he would find himself miles from where it had started, and no recollection of having gotten there himself.
The one time he'd dared walk on a main road, a dream came up, and he was hit by a car. It shook off the dream, and he lay there, wondering what happened. The woman who'd hit him came rushing around to see if he was alright. She'd knelt down beside him, and was checking for a pulse, or bleeding, and lifted his hand. The barcode glared at her, bigger and blacker than ever, and she dropped him faster than she would a dead, rotting rat. She got into her car, and drove away, never once looking back.
Omi lay there for who only knows how long. He couldn't find the strength to move, nor the will to find the strength. He dreamt nearly all the time now, once waking up and he was being covered in snow. He was so far gone, he didn't feel it, and merely slipped back into a dream.
Weeks passed. The snow melted, and returned, melted and returned. Omi hadn't opened his eyes since the snows had first begun, although his dreams were starting to fade away.
He was listening to the cars driving by, when suddenly one of them stopped, and someone got out. He tried to move, but had no energy, and lay as if dead. He could even open his eyes, and he almost panicked.
-Shhhh,- a voice said into his mind. -Calm down. My name is Schuldig. I help people like you. I'll take you somewhere warm.-
Omi felt himself being lifted, and carried somewhere. He was put into the backseat of a car, and whoever had saved him got into the front.
"Your barcode says you are Omi, and you belong to Lord Crawford. Yes," he went on, as though Omi had spoken back to him. "I'm an android, too. But I hide it a little better than you did. You wouldn't happen to have a cord connection, do you?" The car stopped, and Omi heard some grunting as Schuldig tried to twist around and find one. "Aha!" A panel opened just beneath and behind his ear, and the oddest sensation occurred as Schuldig pulled the cord out. He plugged it into something, and suddenly, Omi found himself sitting on the front seat. Looking around, he gasped. "Wh..what! What is this!"
"It's a car. Haven't you ever been in a car before?" Omi shook his head. The only time he'd ever been in a car was when he was going from his first master to his old master, Crawford. And then, he'd been in the very back, on the floor, with his hands over his head. The next time he'd been in a car was to go with Crawford to the store. He'd stayed in the back of the car then, too. That was his first and only experiences with cars.
"Well, you're in my car now. You'll always have front seat, if its just us. If not, then you'll get the back seat. I souped it up just for me. Not all cars have these things, yano." he went on pleasantly. "Really, you're still laying unconscious in the back seat. This is just a holographic projection of your consciousness." Omi twisted, and indeed... He was laying stretched across the back seat, skin a pale white color, and his lips were bluish. His clothes were in tatters, barely hanging on his body by threads.
"I'm..."
"Still alive, but I don't know how. I'd heard reports of a droid on the road, but I couldn't believe no one'd picked you up already. Oh well. I take in folks like you, fix them up, and give 'em a place to stay. Would you like that? You don't have to be a slave anymore... Because we were all slaves. We made our own society when the human one outcast us. You'll have friends and food, and warm clothes... It'll be like paradise after what you've been through. l tell ya, it'll be great. Just wait and see."
Omi stared out the window, amazed at how fast they were going. He could stare enough at what was going on. The car fascinated him, and so did Schuldig.
He stared for a while, then realized he was staring, and put his eyes back out the window, analyzing everything. Long, shaggy reddish orange hair, and smiling blue eyes. A wide mouth, but impossibly skinny. Omi figured from the length of his legs that he would stand at least 5'9 at full height. Maybe as tall as 5'11. Schuldig seemed content to let him stare, and simply drove. At some point, he flipped on some music. Soft, and relaxing, it made Omi feel like maybe this wasn't the worst part of his life after all.
A map popped up in front of him, a familiar one. "What..is this?" he asked, wondering why a map of his hometown and the surrounding lands was there. A big glaring blue line made a trail across it.
"That's how far you walked." Schuldig said. "In two weeks, you walked all that way." Omi gaped.
"I had no idea." Schuldig nodded, and another dot showed up. "You spent another three and a half weeks just lying there." Omi shivered, remembering it. Three and a half weeks of hell...
"We're home!" Schuldig said cheerily. Omi got one glimpse of the house before the car was shut off, and he was forced back into his comatose body.
As Schuldig shut off the car and was just getting out, the door to the house opened and a brown haired, blue eyed boy came out. He smiled at Schuldig. "So did you find him? Or did someone else pick him up already?" He asked going over to the car. Schuldig didn't say anything, and just opened the backseat and lifted Omi out.
"No, no one picked him up. No one had even stopped. Which surprises me; he's still in fairly good shape. I mean besides being hit by a car, and being without food or anything for about a month. Did you finish setting up the room, Nagi?"
"Yes, every thing is all set up for him. And I'm making some soup for when he wakes up."
"Well, that won't be for a while. I have to warm him up, and make sure everything is still working properly. Make sure none of his wiring is frozen beyond repair." Schuldig said and carried Omi inside. The house was fairly big, and one look around once you were inside would tell you that more then two people lived here. That, and the yelling coming from the kitchen.
"Are the twins still fighting over breakfast?" Schuldig asked. Nagi shook his head.
"No, I think they're now fighting over who gets to stir the soup." He sighed. The twins were one of the few slaves created as a pair. There were very few twin slaves around, mostly because of the fact that not many people could afford two slaves. One was enough to handle. Nagi went into the kitchen.
"Tomo, Hoshi, what are you two fighting about now?" He asked. The two twins looked at him and blinked. There eyes were golden and shown with an innocence of any normal human child. Their hair was blonde, but they had been trying to dye their hair the same color as Schuldig's, because they liked his hair color better then their own.
"Fighting?"
"We weren't fighting."
"We never fight." They said and smiled. Nagi rolled his eyes again.
"Alright, have you two been watching the soup like I asked." Nagi went over to see how the soup was doing. Hoshi nodded.
"Yeah, I was stirring it, then Tomo got in the way and almost dumped it over." Hoshi said and glared at his his brother. Tomo glared back.
"Is the new boy here? Did Schuldig get him?" Tomo asked turning his attention away from his brother. Nagi nodded as he tasted the soup.
"Yes, he's here. But he's comatose so you can't talk to hi--" Nagi blinked and looked around. The twins were already heading for the door. "Hey! Stay out of Schuldig's way." He called after them, but they ignored him. Nagi sighed and put the soup on simmer before following the twins.
Schuldig smiled, and dodged them. "He's still sleeping, guys. He's not going to be very interesting for a while. You can come watch while I run some diagnostics on him, though." He navigated his way through the living room, and into the basement. The house looked like a family could live there comfortably, but the basement always reminded Schuldig of a mad scientists hospital room. There were beds, machinery, tools, moniters, parts... Everything someone could ask for in a slave Repair Shop.
He laid Omi down on the bed, and attached his wires to the moniters. Immediately, things began to pop up. "Impossible," he said quietly.
Omi appeared on one of the screens. "What is?" he asked, looking at them. There was a camera in the room specifically designed for things like this.
"Nothing's wrong." Schuldig said. "Your entire system seems like its just hibernating. You need food and water... if you were human, you'd have died... but theres only minor maintenance needed due to damage sustained in the accident when you were hit. You could do with a 'tune up', too. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything for you." he said, and began.
A few hours later, Omi opened his eyes, and sat up. "I.. thank you..." he said, a little awkwardly. "I'm glad you came along...If you hadn't..."
Schuldig ruffled his hair. "Well, I did. You hungry?"
"I can barely move!" Omi said.
"Nagi made you some soup. Come on. Can you make it on your own?" Omi shrugged, and tried to stand. He wobbled a bit, and Schuldig picked him up. "I'd better take you..." he said, and carried him upstairs.
"Who's Nagi?" Omi asked.
"He's one of the ones who live here with me. He was kicked out, just like you, and, also like you, had no where else to go." Omi 'ah'ed, and looked around for him.
When they entered the kitchen, Nagi could be no other. There was a dark haired angel stirring the soup on the stove, and Omi felt his entire system freeze for a moment. The moment passed, and Schuldig set him down in a chair at the table. Nagi glanced over and smiled.
"You're awake." He said and went over to get a bowl. When the twin terrors came running into the kitchen. Hoshi was chasing Tomo. They ran around Schuldig, the table, then crawled under the table.
"Nagi save me!" Tomo giggled grabbing the back of Nagi's shirt and turning using him as a shield. Nagi yelped trying not to drop the dishes.
"He can't save you." Hoshi said trying to get around Nagi to get to Tomo. Hoshi pounced and Tomo screamed running from Nagi to Schuldig.
Schuldig dodged them again. "Leave me out of it!" He said, moving around to the other side of the table. Omi laughed softly, then gasped. The last time he'd laughed out loud he'd been severely beaten around for it. He tried to sink into his seat and pretend that he hadn't done anything.
Schuldig frowned at him. "Is anything wrong?" he asked. "It's alright, you know. You're not a slave anymore. You're a free person."
Tomo yelped as he was pounced by Hoshi, and tickled. He squealed with laughter squrming under his brother. Nagi sighed and walked over puting a bowl of soup down in front of Omi. "Here you go, I hope you like it. I'm Nagi by the wa-...excuse me for a moment." he said and walked over to the twins.
"Oi! Stop goofing off in the kitchen, there is food cooking in here and sharp objects, you could get hurt." Nagi snapped at them. The two twins stopped rolling around and stood up slowly.
"...sorry Nagi" They said at the same time giving him the 'innocent' look. Nagi rolled his eyes and went over getting soup for them too. He looked at Schuldig. "Do you want some too Schu?"
Schuldig nodded. "Please... It looks really good, thanks." He grinned at Nagi. Omi hid his smile at the antics of the twins. "I... I didn't know they made twins..." he said, glancing at Nagi. "And... I'm Omi... It's... nice to meet you..." he said, shyly. He'd never ever been around this many people in his entire life. It was a little bit unnerving.
"GUYS! DINNER!" Schuldig bellowed, and another two came running in. A teenaged-looking girl with long brown hair and dressed in black skidded to a halt when she saw Omi.
"Who's he?" She asked. The other one, a slightly younger looking boy, plopped down. He was wearing a pair of baggy carpenters pants and a loose shirt. "Who cares? Nagi made soup!"
Schuldig smiled. "And now we have a couple more, Kali and Loki. They adopted eachother after they ran away. I think you two used to be neighbors?"
Kali nodded. "Yup." she said, and served herself and Loki some soup.
Nagi got Schuldig some soup and some for himself before going over and sitting down.
"They don't make twins. Or at least it's rare that they do. These two were a custom order, for a pair of parents who couldn't have kids." Nagi said.
"Tomo! That's my seat!" Hoshi whined. "Is not!" "Is too!" "Is not!" "Is-"
"Tomo, you sit there, Hoshi, next to Loki. Schuldig, could you sit between them again?" Nagi asked as Hoshi pouted and slowly went over to sit next to Loki.
Schuldig moved to sit between them, chuckling. Kali rolled her eyes. Omi watched them all with interest. "Why do you two fight?" He asked, curiously. "Didn't your masters yell at you for it?"
Tomo shook his head. "No, they weren't our masters. Like Nagi said, we were a special order, custom made twins for a couple who couldn't have kids...although I don't know why..." Tomo said looking thoughtful. Hoshi threw a peace of bread at him.
"It's because they were both girls you moron." He said. "Anyway, they didn't treat us like slaves. We did all the house cleaning, and helped with the cooking. But we were more like a family. They even tried to get us enrolled in school, but the school wouldn't let us. And the reason we fight, is because it's funny to watch Nagi play a 'mother' roll." Hoshi said, he and Tomo giggled at the look that Nagi gave them.
Omi nodded. "I see..."
Schuldig sighed. "Not everyone had it as bad as you..." he said softly. "Most peoples masters/mothers are very nice to them. Or at least, treat them well." He chuckled at the glare Nagi gave the two of them. "AWwWWww... But you do make such an AWESOME mother-type-figure, Naggles." Schuldig said.
Nagi kicked him under the table.
"Be careful, or you'll be waring your dinner." He said and went back to eating. The twins giggled. Tomo looked at Omi.
"So what's your name? My name is Tomo, and my brother is Hoshi."
"I can tell him my own name." Hoshi frowned, Tomo ignored him.
Omi nodded. "My name's Omi.." he turned to Nagi. "it's nice to meet you... "
"It's nice to meet you too. Do you plan on staying with us?" Nagi asked
"I... don't have anywhere else to go," Omi said. "A month ago, my master kicked me out, told me I was... trash..." He lowered his head so that his bangs overshadowed his eyes.
Tomo frowned and slowly slid out of his seat and went over to Omi and wrapped his arms around him.
"You're not trash. Human's made us to be like humans, and then throw us away when they get tired of having us around. Or think we don't have feelings because we're not human. We might be slaves, but we have feelings too, and none of us are trash." Tomo said and smiled. "So please don't be sad. I don't like to see people sad." Hoshi got out of his chair and went over standing on the other side of Omi also hugging him.
Omi stiffened at first, afraid that they were going to persecute him, but as they only hugged him, reassuring him, he relaxed, and smiled. Kali flicked her fingernail. "Humans are trash, if you ask me." she said. "Who asked you?" Loki wanted to know. Schuldig laughed. "Children, behave yourselves.." he warned. Omi tentatively put his arms around the twins and hugged them back. It was never something he'd experienced himself before, but he'd witnessed his master and his many girlfriends doing it.
Tomo and Hoshi smiled, they leaned up and each kissed one of Omi's cheeks before going back to eating. Nagi smiled at them.
"They are really nice, when they want to be. Once you're done eating, I can show you your new room if you like. And I was going to go shopping with Loki tomorrow for some new cloths, for the twins. I think you should come with us, and get some for yourself." Nagi sugested and looked at Schuldig.
"Unless you still need to work on him?"
Omi's face turned as red as a tomato. "I..."
Schuldig shook his head. "He's free to go. Just take the monsters with you... I'm not babysitting." He made a face. Omi was still spluttering. His entire life/existence he'd had three pairs of clothing, and one pair of shoes. One pant/shirt set he'd had with his first master, and the other two, with his second. They'd been the clothes he was wearing when he was kicked out. Belatedly, he realized that he really did need new clothes. "I..O..okay..." he said, and ate. "But I... Where do you shop? How do you shop?"
Schuldig frowned. "Man, you've really been sheltered, haven't you? Slaves are allowed to buy things like food and clothing, if they have a note from their master."
The twins bounced in their seats. "YAY! New clothes!" They said togeather.
"You two better behave. You know how to act in public." Nagi scolded. "And if you do behave, I'll try and buy you ice cream." This made the twins cheer louder.Nagi shook his head and looked at Omi.
"Schuldig will provide us with the 'masters note', and you can pick out any cloths as you want. And you can get up to five shirt/pant sets." Nagi said, and before the twins could say anything. "And no, you two are only getting two sets because you havn't gone through your old cloths yet to find out what still fits, and what doesn't."
"FIVE...?"
Nagi nodded. "Yeah five. To start out with." he smiled. "Trust me, if you look at Hoshi and Tomo's cloths, five is no big deal. They have two dressers full, plus a few things haning up in their closet."
"What am I going to do with all those clothes?" he asked, looking a little bit pale.
"..you wear them. Laundry is every Friday, so you'll need clean cloths for the rest of the week. Oh, and night cloths, we should also get you a winter jacket."
"What's ... laundry? Night clothes? Why do I need clothes at night? Jacket?" Omi looked around, bewildered.
Nagi frowned, feeling bad for Omi. He remembered when Schuldig had first found him. There had barely been anything left worth saving. When his old master threw him out calling him trash, that's exactly where Nagi wound up. Schuldig had found him in a junk yard, and nearly Nagi's entire system needed replacing, or something fixed. Nagi had been lucky that his memory was still intact. But he still didn't know how long he had been in the junk yard.
"Laundry is when you wash your clothes so that they don't stay dirty all the time, and so that they don't smell bad from being dirty. Night clothes are what you wear to bed when you sleep so that you're not sleeping in your dirty clothes. And a jacket is something that will keep you warm when you go out in the winter or cold weather."
"Oh..." Omi said, feeling a little bit stupid. "I..I'm sorry... I never had any of those things before." he explained. His face turned slightly red. "Do..do I NEED all those clothes?" he asked again, not sure what he would do with five complete sets of clothing. Maybe if he got them all the same, he'd feel better about it. It wouldn't seem like he had more clothes than he'd ever needed before. Although, looking down at the clothes he was wearing, he did need at least one new set.
Hoshi blinked at him.
"It's nice to have a lot of clothes, that way you're not wearing the same clothes all the time." Tomo nodded his agreement. "We can help you pick out some clothes if you want." Nagi smiled.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to not having a master." Nagi reasured him by putting a hand on his shoulder.
Omi looked up at him nervously as it sank it. No one was going to tell him what to do anymore. What was he going to do? He'd never NOT had a master. Someone had ALWAYS wanted him for some reason. And no one had ever said, 'do as you want to' it had been 'do as I want you to' since he'd first opened his eyes.
"I... " he nodded. "alright... you can help me..." he said.
Nagi smiled.
"Alright, go on and eat up. You need to get your strenth back." Nagi said and started eating his soup. Hoshi and Tomo lifted their bowls and drank their soup.
Omi sighed, and drank the rest of his soup up. He was nowhere near his full potential again, but he was rapidly getting there, mostly thanks to the caring of these others like him. Omi settled down after putting his bowl in the sink, and thought that maybe, just maybe, freedom wasn't as bad as he'd originally thought.
The twins came bouncing over to him. "Omi!" They both called. "Come on Omi, we're going to show you around the house, then show you your room!" They said excitedly.
Omi stood up, and followed them. "Alright.." He said, lokoing around. After a few moments, his eyes were wide, and his mouth was open. "This house is bigger than my masters..." he said. "And I thought my Master had the biggest house ever..."
"There are a lot bigger houses out there. This one has to be big because there are so many people living here. Me, Schu, the Twins, Loki and Kali." Nagi said. "And Schuldig always has room for more." He smiled. The twins glared at Nagi.
"We're giving him the tour No one invited you, Nagi." Hoshi said and Tomo nodded.
"And you can't tell me where to go in my own house." He said poking Hoshi's nose. Hoshi pretended to try and bite his finger.
Omi smiled at Nagi, a little shyly, and chuckled at the twins' antics. "H-he... was only trying to help..." Omi said quietly, not used to speaking out. "And I'm glad he is. But... you two are still giving an excellent tour."
"Really" Tomo asked, smiling brightly.
"Maybe we should be tour guides!" Hoshi said. "Yeah! I would make a good tour guide." Tomo said and Hoshi smacked him.
"Not just you, me too."
"Nuh-ah. I'd make a better one."
"Would not."
"Would too!"
"Would not!"
"Would too!"
"Would not times infinity plus one of what ever you say!" Hoshi said and stuck out his tongue. Tomo gaped at him eyes wide. "That's not fair!" Hoshi giggled. Nagi shook his head.
"You two, go take your bath." Nagi said and glared at them so they wouldn't protest. The twins hugged Omi before running off. Nagi watched them go before looking back at Omi. "If they ever get on your nerves, just tell them to stop, or go do something else." He smiled.
Omi shook his head, his hair falling into his face. "They couldn't get on my nerves... Really. I think they're ... funny." He said. His face was slightly red. He still wasn't used to people actually touching him. His coding still registered him as 'trash' because that was what his master had told him, and he couldn't understand why people would want to dirty themselves with him. But at the same time, he liked it that they hugged him. He liked it alot. He almost wished that it was Nagi that would hug him, but he would never ask the other boy to do that. Omi yawned, covering his mouth, and looked around.
"Are you tired? I can show you to where you'll be sleeping, and you can borrow some of my clothes, or Loki's I'm sure one of ours would fit." Nagi said smiling. He let his eyes wonder over Omi as the blond boy looked around. Omi was deffinitly very good looking, but then again, no one had ever made a bad looking slave. Some where just more attractive then others.
Omi thought about it. He was exhausted, but he really didn't want to inconvenience anyone. "I'm fine.." he lied quietly. He'd run on much less rest than what he'd had before. He smiled softly. "Show me the rest of the house?"
"Okay. But if you get tired let me know, we're trying to get your energy level up where it's supposed to be." Nagi smiled. "Can't do that if you don't rest." Nagi said and took Omi's hand. "You know where the kitchen is. That's the living room, the workshop is in the basement, Schuldig is usually in his room, or down there. So if you ever need something fixed just asked him." Nagi said.
Omi heard every other word or so, distracted by the fact that Nagi had taken his hand. /What's it for/ he wondered. /Why? What purpose does it have/ Belatedly, he said, "O.okay.." He wandered around, looking at everything, and memorizing the things Nagi told him. Yawning again, he realized that he probably should have gone to bed when Nagi had first asked if he was tired, but he was too well mannered to ask if he could sleep.
Nagi glanced at him. He could tell that Omi was getting tired, so he led him upstairs and pointed out the bedroom's. "At night, if you ever need anything, you can come to mine or Schuldig's room." Nagi said pointing them out. "The twins sleep there, Loki is down the hall, as is Kali. And this, this is your room." Nagi said opening the door. It was a nice room, a dresser in the corner, a twin bed by the window, a walk in closet, and a seperate door leading to the bathroom next to the room.
Omi gazed around. This room was HUGE. "Who else sleeps here?" he asked. He had a vague idea that the answer would be something like 'no one but you,' and he didn't like it. What was he going to do with all that extra space? It was actually somewhat frightening. "O..Okay.." he said, not waiting for a response. Feeling like he was walking into a cavern, he walked into it, and sat down on the bed. /I can't possibly sleep on this./ he thought. /This is a bed for masters.../ He didn't say any of this out loud, just smiled and waited for Nagi to leave. "G..goodnight..."
Nagi smiled at him. "Wait here I'll be right back." He said and left the room coming back a few seconds later with some night clothes. He went over and put them on the bed next to Omi before standing back.
"I hope you like it here and decide to stay. And remember, if you need anything, I'm right across the hall. And so is Schuldig." He said, and his hand twitched. He wanted to give Omi a hug to reassure him that things would be fine for him here, but he didn't know how Omi would react to him hugging him. He seemed to get a little tense when just the twins hugged him. "I'll see you in the morning then. G'night."
"Go..good night..." Omi said, looking down at the nightclothes that Nagi had brought. He smiled up at him. "Thank you, Nagi..." He said quietly, and shut the door as Nagi left. He poked around the room a bit, and discovered the closet. Relieved that there was a room the proper size, he debated about the sheet, the pillow, and the comforter, and ended up with the sheet. Leaving the night clothes and pillow and comforter on the bed, he curled up in the back of the closet, using the sheet as a pillow, and was asleep almost instantly.
Sometime later that night, he awoke feeling cold, and pulled the sheet over him. It was a nice feeling, having covers, and he went back to sleep smiling. He would definately stay. He had no where else to go.