Kyle's spent most of his life living in a series of uncomfortable places. Burned out buildings. Abandoned and scavenged autos. Spider holes. If the place was suitable for hiding from metal, he'd hunker down there for the day. Even after joining the Resistance his living conditions were hardly vast, him and three other men bunking in a single room barely large enough to fit their cots. So to him, Sean's apartment is positively spacious. He enjoys pacing it the first few days, walking from room to room and just taking them in.
And then there's the view. He's passed whole hours admiring that view, just standing at the window while Sean was out and silently taking it all in, so silently Sean thought he had left until he came to the bedroom looking for one of the pulps. Kyle has been enjoying those too, once Sean introducing him to them and explained what their purpose was. Few books survive in 2029, let alone books written just to entertain. Reading's not something he has gotten to do very often, and to his surprise he enjoys it. Climbing out onto the fire escape, he can take one of the pulps with him and just lose himself in it all, the words on the page and the images in his head and then the sights smells and sounds all around him.
As roommates go, Kyle is singularly unobtrusive. He sleeps quietly, neither snoring nor sleep talking, with only the occasional fitful night that might disturb Sean. He always asks before touching any of Sean's stuff, always knocks before using the restroom, and never takes long in the tub.
But he does ask questions. Oh, but he asks questions. About everything -- Ireland (not Eyer Land; Sean had shown him the correct spelling in a newspaper and he had memorized it carefully), Britain, the Irish War (wars actually, as there's been more than one), the great War, the pulps, and just about anything else that catches his eye. Compared to 2029 the world of 1924 is impossibly complex, alive in a way he never imagined and so beautiful he could weep at it. It's a good thing he took Sean's proposition, because even after six weeks he now realizes he knew basically nothing.
He knows guns, though. Even the guns of this day, antiques by 2029, he's handled before. Any firearm's a good salvage after all, and a good soldier knows how to use good salvage.
So Sean introduces him to his boss, Kyle proves he's handy with a gun and knows how to lift, and just like that they put him to work. And it's quiet work to his relief, quieter than he was expecting, even if there's a couple of odd stragglers he and Sean have to scare off. He's already used to night shift work, in his era that's the only safe time to come out. And then they ride the trolly home and usually make in time for the opening shops, and that's the best part. It's like seeing the neighborhood come to life in front of him.
After a week of mostly-regular meals Kyle's no longer wolfing down any food that hits his hands, at least not right away. He waits to eat his sandwich so he can eat it with Sean, the two of them passing through the apartment they share and climbing out onto the fire escape to enjoy the cool morning air. He stares out at the view attentively, gladly taking in the morning even though he's seen mornings just like this from this same fire escape before now. He likes seeing the people come and go, and luckily for him Sean does too.
"Whatever we can find," Kyle tells him, unwrapping his sandwich but not tucking into it just yet, opting to savor the smell of it instead. "Most of it doesn't taste as good as this. Or smell as good."
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And then there's the view. He's passed whole hours admiring that view, just standing at the window while Sean was out and silently taking it all in, so silently Sean thought he had left until he came to the bedroom looking for one of the pulps. Kyle has been enjoying those too, once Sean introducing him to them and explained what their purpose was. Few books survive in 2029, let alone books written just to entertain. Reading's not something he has gotten to do very often, and to his surprise he enjoys it. Climbing out onto the fire escape, he can take one of the pulps with him and just lose himself in it all, the words on the page and the images in his head and then the sights smells and sounds all around him.
As roommates go, Kyle is singularly unobtrusive. He sleeps quietly, neither snoring nor sleep talking, with only the occasional fitful night that might disturb Sean. He always asks before touching any of Sean's stuff, always knocks before using the restroom, and never takes long in the tub.
But he does ask questions. Oh, but he asks questions. About everything -- Ireland (not Eyer Land; Sean had shown him the correct spelling in a newspaper and he had memorized it carefully), Britain, the Irish War (wars actually, as there's been more than one), the great War, the pulps, and just about anything else that catches his eye. Compared to 2029 the world of 1924 is impossibly complex, alive in a way he never imagined and so beautiful he could weep at it. It's a good thing he took Sean's proposition, because even after six weeks he now realizes he knew basically nothing.
He knows guns, though. Even the guns of this day, antiques by 2029, he's handled before. Any firearm's a good salvage after all, and a good soldier knows how to use good salvage.
So Sean introduces him to his boss, Kyle proves he's handy with a gun and knows how to lift, and just like that they put him to work. And it's quiet work to his relief, quieter than he was expecting, even if there's a couple of odd stragglers he and Sean have to scare off. He's already used to night shift work, in his era that's the only safe time to come out. And then they ride the trolly home and usually make in time for the opening shops, and that's the best part. It's like seeing the neighborhood come to life in front of him.
After a week of mostly-regular meals Kyle's no longer wolfing down any food that hits his hands, at least not right away. He waits to eat his sandwich so he can eat it with Sean, the two of them passing through the apartment they share and climbing out onto the fire escape to enjoy the cool morning air. He stares out at the view attentively, gladly taking in the morning even though he's seen mornings just like this from this same fire escape before now. He likes seeing the people come and go, and luckily for him Sean does too.
"Whatever we can find," Kyle tells him, unwrapping his sandwich but not tucking into it just yet, opting to savor the smell of it instead. "Most of it doesn't taste as good as this. Or smell as good."