"It's the motherload of fine shopping, Krieg!" the two girls cheered, eyes sparkling with glee. "Fall Fest sales! Up to 60% off!"
"I'm down for a discount," Krieg said, smiling at his friends.
He did like thrifting. That's how he was able to help his family survive. He just didn't realize that there was a thrift superstore. Honestly, Krieg was more excited than the girls. He just had to play it cool and be masculine. Otherwise, he'd be squealing like them. Oh, what the hell.
"I can finally buy my boys some clothes!" Krieg cheered, racing the girls inside. The smell of incense and wood stains hit Krieg's nose like an angel's wings. He was home. "I don't know where to start!"
"Ellie, let's take him food shopping. He can get tea and coffee makers for home and school," one of the girls suggested.
Ellie gasped with delight, zipped over to Krieg to take his hands into hers, and said, "Oh my God, you have to try Zenvada's teas. They're fabulous! Plus, the babies will love it for naptime and bedtime."
"Okay, I'll take a sample, but I need to order the furniture today for sure," Krieg said, holding up a finger. "I can't hold off on that. Sleeping on the floor will give us colds and stiff limbs."
Ellie and the other girl squealed before pulling Krieg forward to Zenvada Tea Company's store. It looked like it sold more tea sets than brewers, which was cool because Krieg liked the idea of having one, and it had a nice collection of tea flavors. He just wasn't sure if the teapots and teacups were child-proof. For school, he'd definitely invest in a set for his cram hours. Trying a sample, Krieg took a couple of sips and just about hit nirvana and shook its hand. It was so good! He ran back in and bought a cannister of that particular flavor for like $46.79. It was 60-count. Worth it! Following the girls to a store called Bohemix, they suggested he shop around for rugs just to get the color scheme and idea for how he wants to furnish his new apartment. Once he had the vision, they would come back for accent pieces like pillows and the like. Krieg found he liked more natural colors like olive greens, animal prints, browns, golds, burgundy, and a pop of real color like bright blue. With that in mind, the girls brought him over to the first furniture store in sight. There weren't very many, according to them, and it was only four that he'd be seeing.
The first store was called RestorativeScience. Sure enough, he spotted a daybed frame that was perfect for his size and a bunkbed frame that was fun for his brothers. Gin would love the slide and pillow stairs while Pearl would adore the puzzles on one side and the rock-climbing wall on the other side. Their bedroom would just be a haven for them! It was a little beat-up, though, and could use some re-staining; otherwise, it wouldn't take but a few minutes to clean it up and get it looking new. The wood was sturdy. The price tag wasn't bad at all either. $432.57 for a bunk bed with stairs, a slide, climbing wall, and... was that storage underneath? He didn't have to buy a wardrobe set?
"Hey, man, can I order this?" Krieg asked quickly, catching a salesman off-guard.
"Uuuuummm, yeah, actually. We'll fix it up to make sure it's in practically new condition and deliver it for a fee. Did you have any specifications you wanted done to it? Like changing the color of the paint or the feet?" the guy asked.
"Buddy, all you gotta do is stain it and fix it up for me. I'll pay full price. What's the fee?" Krieg asked. It was sold in his book.
"Yeah, come with me to the desk. I'll show you the whole nine," the guy said, leading Krieg to the computer and catalog. He then pointed out the paint colors available, stain colors available, treated woods for the storage cabinets on the bed's frame, and feet styles. As they worked together on the bed's final design, the guy said, "Alright. You're in luck, my guy. I was going to break the frame down and make a sofa out of it instead. No one wanted it."
"Why? Is it... questionable?" Krieg asked before signing on the dotted lines.
"No, no! We're just not a big-time furniture store like everyone else. We take frames like that one and display it as is, so that throws people off when they're so used to seeing something freshly brought in from the manufacturer with the fancy pillows and cushions already there, but what they don't know is that we actually restore it to their standards. It's like an auction really. We sell it to you at the price we think it'll be worth after restoration. If the bed frame was brand-spanking new, you'd be looking at over $1000 dollars plus tax. We don't tax our products since they're old or discarded junk anyway. In terms of its condition, we don't sell you the product as is. So, if the climbing wall, for example, had rocks missing or rusted bolts, we replace the rocks and repaint them all or we replace all of the bolts altogether. The frame even goes through inspection before we fix it. If there's a rotten piece anywhere, it gets replaced with similar wood and as close to the same quality as it had. That's our standard and our policy. So, you're getting something that would typically cost you thousands of dollars for just a few hundred."
"... Can I marry the genius angel who thought of making a business like this?" Krieg asked with a serious face.
The salesman laughed heartily and gave Krieg a final tab. It was just an added $100 from the sales price. The delivery fee was only $15. Whoo! It'd be in within five days, so Krieg was stoked and went on his next journey. Clothes for the boys, starting with the fabled underpants. As Krieg followed the girls to Baxay (pronounced "back-zee" as in no backsies), Mihawk, Zeff, and Moria followed them incognito-style. Which was them mostly wearing sunglasses and pretending to look cool or look distracted by something. The girls were excited to go to Baxay with Krieg since it was connected to the teen and adult underwear stores, Reivia and Reezer, respectively. Krieg must've picked up 80 pairs of underpants for Pearl alone before he realized he was impulse-buying and put everything down to regroup and review the sales going on. It was a 3 for $5 sale, so he got two sets of 3 for Pearl and two sets of 3 for Gin. One step at a time. Just get underwear for a week. They don't start school again until January due to having to be in therapy part-time. He could work with this. Deep breaths. Oh, look how cute! Pajama sets!
"I'm going to be SO BROKE if I stay in here..." Krieg complained, taking another deep breath. "But it's 2 for $10!"
Snatch. Okay, so maybe he had a slight problem with bargain shopping at thrift spots. SLIGHT. BUT! But, he stuck to just getting $20 worth for each boy. That was easy-peasy. Now, they don't have to wear his old shirts and their tight, ill-fitted underwear anymore. That's good, right? Yes! He just saw slippers for them in a basket. He had to get out of there. Running to Reezer, he let out a sigh of relief. He could buy packs of underwear for himself finally. Puberty sucked, especially for his size! As in... "size" size. He had a small butt, so it wasn't a big deal for him, but his length caused him many a problem. Walking up to a chart to figure out what size he actually was, Krieg was actually surprised by how custom-fitted everything was. You had to measure your waist, which was the traditional method for sizing, but you had to measure your thighs and the jewels. For briefs, you had to measure the butt. Krieg preferred boxer-briefs. More comfortable. Taking the measuring tape provided at the fitting room, he followed the instructions and went to work getting his size. The girls were looking at lingerie in the adult section.
"Please don't make me go in there with you," Zeff griped with disgust.
"You wear underwear just like everyone else," Mihawk reminded, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, but I'm not trying to get in the new guy's pants," Moria complained, equally disgusted.
"No, you're trying to get in Kaido's pants," Mihawk snippily remarked. "Silver lining: he's not interested. And I'm not crushin' on the new guy! He's probably got a small one anyway. The baggy clothes are compensating for it, obviously."
"Ugh!" Moria responded, rolling his eyes and throwing his arms up in defeat.
"And if he's... packin' then what?" Zeff asked, sneering at the idea of having to know the size of another... boy.
Mihawk didn't get that far in his thoughts. What would he do once he found out if Krieg was... a well-developed boy? He doesn't do the swoon thing. More importantly, why was he buying children's clothes? He's a tall guy. Maybe that's just for relatives' children or something. Could be little brothers or cousins of his own. Oh, he was coming out. Diversion. Pretending to be looking at the size chart, Mihawk took notice to the finer detailing of undergarments. Definitely better than Fruit of the Loom. The natural waist wasn't the only measure of a man.
"Hey, Krieg! Didja find any man-gerie?" Ellie asked.
"What if I feel more comfortable in a thong? Is it so wrong to enjoy this booty coming out to feel the AC?" Krieg joked, making the girls laugh. "How else will my boys know that the sun rises out of my ass before some skank comes along and they think the sun rises out of their ass? Lemme have my single dad problems in peace!"
"Aaahhh!" the other girl squealed, hugging Krieg as they laughed together.
"No, I didn't find any lacy, red thongs for my butt," Krieg replied more seriously. "Finally found underwear in my size, though. 6 for $12 deal is right up my alley."
"Oh?" Ellie said with an impressed look on her face. "You've got some weight on it. We gotta protect him, Ames."
No way... Mihawk thought, turning slightly to eavesdrop a bit.
"He's a trophy boy," Ellie whispered, emphasizing Krieg's "situation" by making her hands into walls and spreading them out to form visible distance.
Mihawk snapped his head to the size chart to see what that meant and let his jaw slacken with shock. Trophy was one size below Mongo, which meant Krieg may not have been a mandingo but he was in fact packing, and now Mihawk can't unlearn any of that information. However, Krieg wasn't finished with his shopping trip, so Mihawk followed him a bit more to learn something else about the new kid. Krieg left out of the store with at least two big bags, but he was happy to continue on with his friends. Mihawk had never seen Krieg so happy, even when they formally met at the library. Seeing him be a regular teen was sort of enviable. Elites have to be such larger-than-life examples all the time. It was... refreshing to see one just be himself and not care about everyone's view of him. For the most part, Krieg was a cutie and the other students were interested in him. That's why they were hounding him about the bracelet. He didn't have to wear it, honestly. It just told people that he'd be down for grabbing a cup of tea from what that smaller bag in his hand was saying. He finally threw his sample cup out and looked depressed at the fact that he had to. At last, Mihawk could see Krieg's take with interior designs. This way, he'd know what to expect out of Krieg's dorm room. You know, in case...! Well...! In case he had to drop off a stapler set! Yeah..., that's it.
"Think nanny will let me switch out the light fixtures in the apartment?" Krieg asked, interested in one particular store that was selling them. "I kinda dig the ones in there."
"I think you can cover them, but I don't know about full-on replacing them. What about a computer desktop for you, Krieg? You could probably use a desk lamp or even a floor lamp for the TV room if you use that den," the other girl suggested.
"Actually, that might be a bigger project for later, but I would definitely see about the lighting in the apartment and then come back. You'll have a better idea of how you want to work it then," Ellie said, clinging to Krieg's arm playfully and directing him to another furniture store. "Oh! There's that kitchen place I was trying to find. Danusia!"
Tugging the teen with her, Ellie showed Krieg around and let him visualize how he wanted the small kitchen and dining area. Krieg preferred having a breakfast nook and play area for his brothers while they waited for dinner, so something like a restaurant booth where Connect4 could be played against the wall, and a regular table for dinner but one that could also function as something else. There was a window seat that could act as extra seating. He'd figure that part out, but he definitely needed that booth. Speak of the devil, found one booth and table set for $562 flat. Know what? A nice ottoman/coffee table would suit Krieg just fine with the window seat. There was one for $114.75. Sold! He could still sit with his brothers and make sure they ate before eating himself. Perfect. Since the furniture stores shared the same policy, he just had to pay that extra fee to get it delivered and brought up to standard. That was close to $780 well spent. He'd have to pick this up tomorrow, though. It was getting later than he'd like, but at least the kiddos now had proper underwear and pajamas to sleep in. He finally had underwear himself..., but he definitely needed his own pajamas. One last stop and he was done for the day.
Mihawk watched Krieg go to a store called Reycrew and looked at his friends for second thoughts. It looked like a strictly casual wear clothing store. Krieg had been buying an unusual variety of things but why?
"What do you think?" Mihawk asked.
"Besides the fact that we're spying on a guy who's pretty regular outside of school, I think he's just shopping," Moria said, folding his arms. "What were you hoping he'd look for in here? It's a cheap, hippie spot."
"What about the tea he bought? I didn't see the flavor, but he bought some," Mihawk said.
"He likes things with a fresher taste, so he's probably going to be very good at business. Maybe Crocodile can talk to him?" Zeff offered, shrugging at Mihawk's observation. He needed more than that to uncover whatever secret Mihawk thought Krieg had. "What's on your mind, licorice stick?"
"I need more information on him to get a proper read. I can't tell if he's a fighter or not, and I can't tell what he actually likes besides cheaper stuff. He's got his own money from the looks of it, but he's budgeting it, so it's not a lot. He lives with children, so the clothes are meant for them. He's studied in the library, dorm room, computer science study room, and engineering study room so far. Where will he venture next? Maybe I can get an angle from there," Mihawk said more to himself than anything.
"How about behind you?" Zeff warned, eyes widening.
"That dorm room is taken," Mihawk replied, turning for a second. He spotted Krieg approaching him and panicked, "Cheese it!"
DASH!
"What the hell was that?" Ellie questioned.
"Probably the sickos that's been following me from school. They're annoying!" Krieg growled.
