Disclaimer: Fool, I'm not trynna here none of the dumb shit. I Do not own anything other than this fanfic and my OCs.
Alicia led Tadao up the front walk, and suddenly, the size of the home he would be staying in loomed over him, like a monolith staring down at him like he was a tiny little ant. He would be staying here? This house looked like it was big enough to house three families alone.
"Are you thirsty?" The woman said, turning her head momentarily to look back at him as she keyed in a PIN to release the door's smart lock.
They were standing under the awning of the porch, which was decorated with quality outdoor furniture. To the left was a two-seater bistro table made of wrought iron, and to the right was a wooden bench flanked by outdoor potted plantery… Tadao was so distracted that he'd forgotten the woman's name, and struggled to remember it for a moment. "...Yes, uh… Miss Alicia."
"'Miss?'" Alicia turned to face him in the doorway, and laughed at his noticeable attempt at being polite. "Oh, gosh! You're going to make me feel like an old lady! Please, just 'Alicia.'" Stepping aside, she let her guest enter the home through the double doors, deep wooden, with panes of frosted glass decorated with ironsmith metal scrollwork.
Tadao entered the home, feeling the rush of cool air hit him from the house's HVAC system, making him realize how hot it actually was outside. On the twenty-foot ceiling of the foyer hung a wood-and-iron chandelier, lit by flame-colored LED light bulbs. Below, he could almost see his reflection in the earthy brownish-red ceramic tile floor. The dining room to the left housed an opulent eating set-up of an eight-chair table. To the right was the living room with a grand piano in the corner near the window, and a sitting area of quality-looking furnishings. Tadao had been so busy looking up, down, left, and right, that he forgot to look forward and bumped into the flower arrangement that sat atop a table in the middle of the foyer. It was a big bouquet of fresh red roses. Tadao stopped to touch one of the petals, noting its waxy, velvety, smooth-to-the-touch texture.
Alicia eyed him curiously, a little amused at him gawking at her home and the features and decor in it, finding his wonderment endearing.
Tadao looked up at his sponsor, a burning question in his eyes. "...Are you the only person who lives here?"
"No, it's me and my two kids."
Wait, what? Just three (now four) people with all of this space to themselves? It seemed so wasteful. A place this size definitely could house at least two more families back home on MacBeth. As he pondered this, Tadao's train of thought was interrupted by Alicia's voice, almost musical-sounding.
"You said you wanted some water?"
"...Yes, actually. Thank you."
She beckoned him to follow her through the foyer and past the curved staircase. The end of the foyer entered into another room, where he could see another dining set-up (why two dining rooms? Did she have a lot of guests?). The room itself was big, took up almost half of the first floor, consisting of that second dining area, a family room, and the most opulent, luxurious kitchen he'd ever seen. The center island was enormous, fronted by counter stools, and over which hung a rack of copper-bottomed cookware, upon which the natural light from the kitchen windows were caught up and ricocheted around the room. Light also bounced off of the stainless steel tapware of the double sinks and the vegetable rinse basin in the island. She must have been a professional cook or something because there were almost two of everything: two sinks, two cooking ranges in the counter, two ovens built into the cabinet next to the double-door brushed aluminum fridge with its freezer drawer.
Alicia approached the aforementioned refrigerator, opening it, giving Tadao a momentary glance of its full stock as she took a bottle of water out of the door pocket, before turning it around and handing it to him.
He stared at it as if it were going to bite him.
"Oh, c'mon! It's just a water bottle!"
Gingerly, Tadao took the bottle, its surface wet from fresh condensation. He read the label, the modern looking logo and design of the translucent plastic. ViveAqua, it read, some fancy, over-priced packaging for something that was otherwise completely free. In any case, he twisted the cap, cracking the seal and taking a few grateful swigs of the liquid. Admittedly, it hit the spot with its cool, crisp, refreshing taste… But it was just water. He was probably expecting some kind of surprise. He glanced over to the sinks, wondering why she hadn't simply given it to him from the tap. And he asked her that too: "...Not that I'm complaining, but why such elaborate packaging for water? Why didn't you just give me tap water?"
Alicia cocked her head back, erupting into a fit of riotous laughter, as if that were the funniest thing she'd ever heard. Tadao looked a little confused at this point. What did he say?
"Oh, no I'm sorry, I-" Alicia took a moment to regain composure. "...Okay, see, here is one of the biggest secrets… Well, not really, but secretly: there are two things you need to know about Corneria City: parking is terrible, and the tap water sucks."
"It does?" Tadao was a little perplexed by that last statement. It… comes right out of the faucet. A lot of people where he came from didn't even have electricity, let alone indoor plumbing, and his sponsor was so privileged that she could complain about the quality of something that's almost free… to the point where she'd willingly pay exorbitantly out of pocket for an alternative.
Alicia noted his expression. Smile faltering a little. She figured that all of this was very new to him, a big culture shock, considering what she knew about his upbringing. She'd read his dossier when she was selected as his sponsor and knew about his life on MacBeth, the period in his life when he was in the Venomian Army, and all that followed that. She had to take a step back at that moment… Unlike the comparably opulent lifestyles of a typical Cornerian such as herself, Venom was - and likely still is - a socialist entity, devoid of excess, variety, and options. Something like a bottle of fancy water with a pretty label, while the norm for Alicia, might be kind of confusing for Tadao. He did have somewhat of a point…
Switching gears for a little, Alicia asked, "Wanna see your room?"
Tadao smiled. "Sure!" The rest of the home was huge, and he wondered what the second story would be like.
Alicia led him to the opposite side of the room to an alcove past the lounge part of the greatroom. There was a second staircase that led up to the upstairs hallway, and dropped off directly in front of a door. To the right, down the hallway, Tadao saw another TV room with more colorful furniture and decor. Two living rooms?
Opening the door, Alicia led Tadao into the bedroom, replete with its own queen size bed with a mahogany wood frame and a plush, white quilt and an overabundance of pillows. There were matching end tables on either side. On top of the tables were nice-looking, classic bedside lamps to offset the modernity. Across from it was a dresser, its surface decorated with assorted tchotchkes, such as an artificial orchid and a few "conversation pieces" (whatever they were, Tadao couldn't tell, and neither could Alicia when she bought them). An abstract painting hung above the headboard, with a splash of swirling red, grey, and black to give some color to the room's mostly muted pallet. While Tadao entered the room and looked around, Alicia scooted past him, walking to the window to pull back the blinds to let more natural light in, and give a view of the streetscape.
Tadao's eyes widened as he took this all in. Even his commanding officers didn't sleep in beds this extravagant, and they couldn't even have imagined having all of this massive space to themselves. He was surprised by the room's executive size, the nice view…
"There's your bathroom," Alicia said, pointing to a door next to the bed.
He couldn't help but let his jaw hang open, at the mention of having his own en-suite bath! He was used to sharing water closets with upward of ten or twenty other men. The bed alone was incredible extravagance, let alone the added bath!
Alicia thought this was adorable; she enjoyed seeing his expressions to all of this opulence. She watched him enter the bathroom, looking around the space at his own bath tub, toilet, and shower. There was another door in the bathroom. Curious, he opened the door, emptying out into that TV room with the colorful furniture.
"This… This is incredible." Tadao turned around, facing Alicia to ask her, "...Why did you want to be my sponsor?"
Alicia honestly thought about his query. It almost caught her off guard, and she pursed her lips. To be honest, she hadn't given it a whole lot of thought lately, never coming across a concrete reason as to why she wanted to do this. She does remember when she was attending the training seminar for this program, where she thought about how she wanted to be a mother to people who needed the help. She'd had foster children, hosted interplanetary students, adopted a couple teenagers and brought them up into upstanding adults. Alicia's not saint, not even close, but she makes an honest effort much of her life, she'd always been empathic, ever willing to give the shirt off her back, as goes the instilled values of her parents. While they did practically spoil her sweet as a child, they taught her virtues like hard work and treating others the way she'd like to be treated. It was how she was, and how she'll always be… But that was a mouthful to explain. She shrugged. "I'ono. Just wanna."
Tadao stared, utterly surprised. "...I think that's the first time, in a very long time, anyone has reached out to help me… Just because, without expecting anything in return. That means a lot to me." He smiled. Finding his way around Corneria would be a challenge, he thought. He really stood out with his scales, not to mention the mohawk of spikes running down his back and conical tail. Nothing like the fur, pointed ears, and muzzles of Canids and Vulpines that inhabited this world. He really hoped that everyone else he met along the way would be this friendly.
Author's Note: Yasssssssssss! Thanks for making it this far! More to come!
~Naza
