Plushies invasion [open to everyone]

A pair of shiny, lifeless eyes were staring at him in a rather offending way. He just couldn't resist. Once in a while... Scratch this, at least once a week, he would find a new, adorable stuffed animal to add to his collection. It was always the same thing; he'd be walking to work, like usual, whistling a popular pop song or something alike-lately it had been "Under Pressure" by Queen. He found it quite catchy-, and one would catch his eyes. He would simply stare at it while passing by it, not stopping, forcing himself not to be fooled. However, each time, he cam back on his steps, came inside the shop and bought one.

Which was starting to be a problem; the stuffed panda he bought today just added to his huge collection.... which was starting to take a lot of place in his workshop. It looked so messy because of the plushies to start with; He had some kind of closet to put everything work related... But he had emptied it all over the place to hide his collection. And... The closet was now full. Anybody could walk in and catch him staring at that... adorable white and black ball of fluffy fabric that begged to be hugged. He looked at the door, listening closely. He was probably alone. he let out a small squeal, expressing how cute he found it, before giving it a hug, a small blush appearing on his really happy looking face, nuzzling in it a little. He quickly put it back down though.

He was too afraid for his social status of "badass guy who is manly and the epitome of Awesome" to actually try sneaking them out. The embarrassment would be too great, even if he had a few excuses (mainly nieces or friend's daughter's birthday coming soon... Even if he didn't have any) Though now he would probably have to do it soon. He sighed, finding this rather annoying, and started to pet the plushie while thinking of a solution.

((feel free to embarrass him thoroughly ♥))

Matthew Williams had shown up to work at a decent hour, decent here being ‘actually early as oppose to allowing his nap during the day make him barely show up on time.’ He was carrying a backpack with him as though he was an honour student who just finished with his classes and had his mind on studying as opposed to some guy who was working multiple jobs and didn’t even have a full piggy bank. It was a bit different seeing the theatre when he did almost as it was something foreign to him simply because a few more lights were on than usual. But that was not what startled the Canadian as he was walking down the hall with the intention to get ready and make do with his disgusting job.

There was this sudden noise. It was short but rather apparent and it sounded quite similar to a yelp or a scream, maybe. Matthew had arrived to a sudden halt, blinking and looking around. What the heck was that? With a short moment of pointless panicked flailing, Matthew’s attention turned to a door that he was not too far from.

Someone’s in trouble! was his immediate thought.

The blond cringed; he was not the sort to go and try to ‘save’ people. He would help a lady who accidentally dropped her groceries and he would help someone reach something from a high up shelf—but, this was something quite different! Someone could have been dying and he was just standing around and considering the odds of that being possible! What was he to do? Was he really about to run in there? How about call the police—something plenty more reasonable?! But Matthew didn’t. He hurriedly grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open.

“Is everything alright?!”

The first thing that came to his mind as he heard the door opening was "Oh SHIT.". Then, as he froze, his hand still on that traitor of a stuffed panda and a small loving smile stuck on his face, the little sentence kept on replaying in his brain in the same annoying way a broken record would.

He had made sure nobody was around, the hall was entirely silent when he did his little squealing/hugging/loving on a stuffed animal thing. He was sure nobody could have heard so how did this one...? He almost wanted to hide under the table and whimper, that was really embarrassing Though of course he would never do that.

A blush slowly crept up on his face as he registered what exactly happened. He looked at the boy, then at the panda, then back at him. He didn't remember him but... he might be an actor, that would make sense. Or at least it made sense in his panicky mind. Without thinking much more, he showed the panda in the other's arms, trying to put on a convincing fan-girl like face.

"O-Of course I'm alright! I finally met my idol. your role in the last performance was soooo awesome. Take this as a token of my appreciation!"

He just... couldn't think of anything better. He didn't really see the actors on a daily basis, just from time to time when delivering props and checking if they worked well. He mostly stayed here, all alone with his plushies... So that guy could very well be one of them, he just never had to deal with him before. And he often saw in movies and stuff that actors got plushies as gifts. He hated it but... if that painful separation with his panda meant he could keep his reputation, he'll do it. Save the appearance Gilbert, you can do it. And he actually was proud of his plan. It couldn't possibly backfire. He kept on smiling awkwardly to the other guy, still blushing. It really... couldn't backfire. Though he seriously couldn't remember ever seeing that one, even briefly, on stage or a poster...

His life flashed before his eyes. It was not a very fulfilling life.

Matthew had expected a brunet woman out on the floor with her head cracked open and the weapon somewhere nearby and possibly the attacker staring at him. He was denied, thankfully, of this image. His vision was soon filled with an awkward stuffed panda face and his head was beginning to ring. Matthew was not quite sure what was going on right at that moment, but it appeared that no one was on the verge of dying.

“Um. . .” Matthew looked at the odd man over the panda.

There was no say that he was expecting a white haired man, either, really. It was quite a sight to see; a man with white hair without looking a day past twenty-five or something. But people bleached their hair quite often these days, so it was not an impossible thought. The red eyes were also something else altogether; Matthew was not sure if he was to be feeling intimidated by a rabbit-human crossover.

But his train of thought was pushed into a different direction. Eh? Last performance? Matthew fought back a frown; it had not been the first time something similar to the current situation has happened. When he began working at the theatre, there were a few accidents where he had been confused with someone who had a better off job at the theatre. He allowed himself to consider that the mistake was honest if someone was running or the like, but he did not feel he looked like the other worker at all. It was slightly upsetting, though it was really silly.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You’ve got the wrong guy.”

With a glance at the panda, he gave it a soft pat before he slowly held it out to the other.

Well, so much for a plan that would not backfire. Now he looked like a pansy AND an idiot. Good job Gilbert, couldn't do more awesome. He still had one other solution. He pulled the other boy in better to close the door -he didn't need anyone else to come and see that... that whole mess he just got into because of a stupid panda that was too cute for its own good-, turning around to face him again, pushing the panda back to him. He couldn't just take it back like that...

He had to think fast again, the little broken-record-like-oh-shit back to haunt him not helping him out. He just couldn't come up with anything. After a while, he sighed, giving up on trying to hide it or anything; he had been caught in the act, there was no point denying it now, especially since last thing failed epically.

"Look, I don't know who you are but I'm sure you like pandas. Everyone like pandas. So you keep this, and you never ever talk about seeing me with it."

This sounded like a great deal. And he could sneak one of his many stuffed toys out, at least. Now that it was over with, he allowed himself to give the other another better glance. He didn't remember seeing him around at all, must have been another worker like him, probably responsible of the lights or something alike, something he never really had to deal with. Used to scaring people off and conscious he probably looked really, really odd and suspicious now, he grinned a little, trying to make up for it. Though it probably wouldn't be very efficient.

Why was the stranger trying so hard to get rid of the panda? Matthew could not understand the situation, frowning as he tried to think. Maybe there was a bomb in the panda. However, while the man looked rather suspicious, he did not show any signs of being all that clever. Matthew looked down at the panda again, allowing the other to push it back at him for the short moment in which he was trying to figure out what he needed to do. It did not feel like a bomb was in it, but bombs were all crazy and two thousand years ahead of time—the bomb inside the bear possibly could have been invisible and have no wait to it whatsoever! He would not put it past scientists to do that kind of stuff.

Matthew held the panda back out once more. He would not be able to accept it, bomb inside or not, even though it was rather cute. While he did not own any plushes to begin with, there was no shame of owning at least one. But that would be defeating the purpose of whatever Matthew was trying to do—what the hell was he doing?

“Um, I don’t know, sir. . .” he said, slowly. “Um, how about you. . .Keep the panda and I never ever talk about seeing you with it?”

He stared at him for a little while. Well, now the blond guy was the suspicious one. He was offering him a cute panda for free, and he didn't want it. That in itself was already weird... But he also would keep his secret for free? Without asking for anything? That was definitely odd. He frowned a little, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You would keep it secret... without asking for anything? That's not normal. What do you really want out of this?"

He could probably give him what he wanted, his job paid him well enough. Well of course he couldn't give him a villa or something equally as outrageous, but he could always try to find a better compromise.

Beside the kid oddly didn't look like he belonged in after all; was he a fan who decided to visit his idol...?
"What are you doing here anyway?"
Well, if he wanted to know he'll know.Which was why he asked. And he wouldn't take that panda back until he got clear answers about his real motives.

Well, Matthew was entertaining the idea of getting away with his pathetic life. But when the other spoke again, it had the blond realise that he was not particularly dangerous. That man wanted that panda and was ashamed to admit it—Matthew could blackmail someone he did not know because of one little thing! It was an outrageous idea, but it was quite true enough. With his arms getting tired, Matthew lowered them while trying to hold the panda to show he was bringing it no harm.

“I just think that you would like to keep the panda, sir, because, well, um, I think that would make you happy, right? But, um, please—don’t…I didn’t mean for it to sound bad.”

It was then Matthew blinked. Hell. What the hell was he doing there? Well, he was there to try to start work early and that did not quite go as he had meant for it to be. He really did not know his coworkers, if that was what he was able to call them. Rather, they only worked in the same building. They did not have to know each other. While it had not been directly stated that the odd man did actually work at the theatre, Matthew was simply assuming. But that was how people got killed.

“Um, I work here.”

As he thought before, there was no point denying it. He had to admit that guy was smart... Managing to see through him like that. He definitely was more intelligent than normal people. But he had another priority right now. he frowned some more. That was ticking him off, quite a lot. "Sir"? What, did he look like he was old? Yeah he had white hairs but come on, the guy had glasses already, he couldn't be blind and not notice how young he was. He let out a groan to emphasize what he was about to say.

"Cut that crap out. I'm not sir or anything dammit, do I look that old to you?!"
Once that fact was put straight, he allowed himself to stop huffing indignantly to take the panda delicately. He lifted it out of the other's arms to go and open his closet, trying to fit the panda here, in between a fluffy giraffe and some sort of giant ball of fluff that vaguely looked like a sheep. He swore rather loudly as the closet decided the new addition was too much and started evacuating all the previously carefully squeezed in stuffed animals, emptying about 30 of them at his feet. Which was when he remembered the other guy. He said he wouldn't talk... He gave him a wary look before carefully stepping around his beloved collection.

"What kind of job? Also making props for them?"

If he was a janitor, he could maybe ask for a bit of help here. hey, that's what they were here for! cleaning. And he was good at cleaning himself but he could use some help here.

There was no implication that the odd man was old; Matthew was simply doing his best to be polite! Did the stranger prefer to be referred to as ma’am? But he hurriedly shook his head, feeling that he was finally a bit afraid. The man did take the panda, after all, but it did not mean that he did not rip off their heads after! Whatever there was about him, it was not entirely pleasant. The man had a loud voice; it was as though he wanted to hear himself talk.

He did not show any signs of leaving the room when the panda left his possession, shifting the straps of his backpack against his shoulders. His calmness was interrupted by the sudden rush of colour, causing Matthew to jump. Had that been a bunch of poisonous somethings, Matthew would have died right on the spot. But it was all a mere exaggeration, the toys not entirely close to touching him. He bit at his lip. Maybe the man was a hoarder and simply ran out of space to do it at his own house. That was simply too bad.

“Eh?”

Well, that voice did not fail to startle him again. Matthew glanced down at his feet and then at some wall before he looked at the stranger, rather hesitant with replying. He was even lower than that guy on the job ranking—Matthew had to have been rather pathetic to land such an unskilled job.

His reply was nearly at a whisper, “I’m a janitor.”

At least he had the taste not to laugh at his plushie collection. He appreciated that. he strained his ear to hear what he had to say. Damn the guy was quiet. Was he sick...? Sometime when he got sick his voice wouldn't come out. Though he looked fine, so he didn't know. he still managed to understand what he said. Good news for him.

"Great. Can you help me out with this?"

He preferred to ask though. By not laughing and saying he wouldn't tell anyone, the guy earned some respect. Enough for him not to push him around and order him to do stuff. Probably not enough for him to ever want to do anything to help him out. Beside if he refused he'd still get him to help, respect or not.

He also looked a bit like he would be scared. It was nice to know he scared someone. It felt like he had some power on people. Though in this precise moment he didn't want to scare him; no benefit.
"Instead of 'sir', use Gilbert. And be careful when you handle them okay?"
He pointed to his numerous plushies. They were precious to him after all...

Simply because Matthew was working as a janitor did not mean he was someone’s housekeeper. The two were different in many ways than one, such as housekeepers being allowed to wear nicer outfits than the one Matthew kept in his backpack. There was also the possibility that that housekeepers made more than Matthew did. It was a sick thought. But Matthew nodded in response to every the man, ‘Gilbert’, had to say.

"Okay."

He inched over to the mess and crouched down, reaching out for one of the plushes. There was no desire to provoke Mr. Gilbert, so Matthew could only treat cleaning up the stuffed toys as something much bigger. Like, his friend’s sister’s daughter’s uncle’s dog had swallowed an alien egg and Matthew had to get it out in order to save the world! Or, more alone the lines of picking up some random guy’s toys because he can’t do it all by himself. Matthew stood up, moving over to set the plush upright on the table before he went to do the same thing all over again.

Gilbert was pleased, to say the least. The guy knew how to deal with this; he had answered simply and set to work immediately. That was nice. he watched him a little before crouching down himself and picking up some of his stuffed toys, trying to put them back in a delicate balance in his closet.
He felt a slight tiny bit guilty though. That guy was here to do his job, and win money out of it. He didn't especially think Janitor was a fun job either, so making him clean up his mess wasn't the best idea ever.

Though overall he enjoyed the distraction and the company. Even if he wasn't really talkative, it was better than working all alone for hours on some gun they needed for the next show as an example. And he could always strike a conversation while they cleaned up.
"What's your name? Don't want to call you Mr Janitor."

After all, he had an excellent memory when it came to faces. And he was in a good enough mood today to want to remember his name as well. That guy was lucky he didn't pick a fight as soon as he saw the plushies...

Matthew continued to fail to understand as to what the issue was with owning plushes. There may have been the extent that Mr. Gilbert was taking it. He was wondering, yet was not about to ask, as to why the man was holding the plushes in his workspace. Maybe the guy felt a little homesick and that was his method of coping with it. Or maybe he had a fetish of—oh, let’s not wander there! That guy was not clever enough to be a criminal.

He straightened one of the plushes so it was not tilting to the point where it was threatening over. When Matthew pulled back, he cringed. There was still a mental debate on Mr. Gilbert’s level of friendliness. Part of him would not mind being known as simply a janitor; it would be harder to find him if the man truly wanted to kill him after work hours. It was actually rather considerate that he was being acknowledged at all. But, ah, that was silly. He was only picking up his stuffed toys, seeing that was what he was good for. Matthew was not truly anything if he was not needed to clean.

“My name is Matthew,” he said as he straightened up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

He kept on picking up some toys himself, only pausing to try to fix the name to the face in his memory, which explained the ten seconds he spent staring at him. Once that was done, he went back to his task like nothing happened. Matthew was a common name, nothing really interesting. With his presence and face, Gilbert had expected something funny like... Vladimir or Bob. He especially liked bob, it sounded short but weird. But no, he had to be boring and have a common name. Though he was sure he could find a way to open him up just enough to have a good idea of what he could use as entertainment in the guy.

Which of course wasn't part of his work, but was way more interesting to do. After all, he was paid to stay in the theater a certain amount of time and finish props. He usually was fast doing it which left him loads of free time. If he could use some of it to actually harass him until he got a funny reaction, he would.
"So, I never saw you here before, how long have you been working here?"
Then, thinking about his plans to get a new toy, he had a brilliant idea.
"Feel free to drop by whenever."
It sounded like a casual, friendly invite, which made him believe it was all good. Yup, perfect.

“Not for too long.”

If he was being stared at, Matthew did not take notice. He was too busy with his ‘work’ with the will of not dying in that room. Sure, he had not much to live for, but it was not as though he woke up that morning with the thought of ‘hey, it’s okay if I die today!’ Mr. Gilbert was showing signs of being moderately normal, yet Matthew was not about to be a fool and take a risk. Forget the bomb in the panda, that guy seemed like he could possibly kill by just using his hands.

He did freeze for a moment, not sure what to make of whatever Gilbert said. Matthew forced himself to keep moving, picking up another plush. The floor was almost clean of him and he would soon be able to leave.

“Oh, okay.”

Matthew really wasn't a talkative guy it seemed. It was a shame, especially when Gilbert wanted to talk a bit. He sighed, before crouching straight in front of him.
"Hey, not going to eat you, you're allowed to talk. Especially if I try to strike a conversation, you're not helping."

Once that was done, he picked up the few last of his beloved fluffy toys, putting them back in his closet. Well, that went quickly. And, even if he hated to admit it, it was all thanks to the other. Not that he didn't work on cleaning himself, but Matthew had been more efficient this time... He hated to thank people though, it made him look weak and like he owed them, which was stupid. They were repaid by the simple fact the awesomeness that was him talked to them. Though this time he really had to thank him a way or another.

He glanced at him, then back at his closet. Maybe did he just not like pandas... He had many animals here. Beside he really did have too much of them. And it was the perfect way to repay him without directly say thanks, perfect plan.

"Which one is your favorite? I really have too much so I don't mind if you take one."

More like talk him to death. Or maybe scare him. Because Matthew did get scared. He had not been expecting the other to get so close, resulting in him jumping out of surprise. He nearly dropped the plush, but got a good grip on himself before too long so he was able to set the plush to the side.

The upside to things was the fact that he was done with the mess.

Matthew did not hate Mr. Gilbert or find him to be an annoyance. Rather, it was not the best place or time for small talk—even if Matthew rather partake in that—and he had his own paycheck to work for. With the work finished, he stood awkwardly with his arms by his sides. Maybe he was being ungrateful; after all, he was alive and he had all his teeth in his head.

“Pardon? Oh, um, no, I couldn’t. Thank you for the offer, though. Just make sure you take care of them.”

He apparently found one funny thing about the other. It seemed like standing too close to him suddenly would cause fear and discomfort. Which was a good thing to know, and he took a good note of it, meaning he'd remember it for a long time.

He also noticed they were done, so he probably would have to go back to work, alone. Because even if he enjoyed the company it'd be mean if he kept him too long. It was not awesome to get people fired from their job, especially when they earned a bit of his respect.

Though the fact he refused to take one meant he'd have to thank him using words. He sighed, then noticed how his hair looked soft. He always had a thing for petting people... So he reached out and ruffled his hair a bit, a bit curious about what kind of reaction touching would trigger. He sighed, decided to just do it to be over with it, and took a small breath. His pride didn't like it but he had to.
"Thanks for helping. And when I said you could drop by, I meant it, I'm expecting you to come every now and then."
He grinned to make it more convincing, before going back to his work. They were done now so why not.

Of course, most of the stuffed toys refused to fit in the closet anymore, so he currently was surrounded by an otter, a weird looking duck and a big chick. Which seriously didn't fit with his current work, some kind of weapon for a play with a murder, he wasn't sure of what it was and didn't care at all.

Mr. Gilbert claimed not to be an old man, but he sort of was acting like one. Matthew furrowed his brow when he felt the hand come down on his head—which was no fair with them being basically the same damn height—and make some weird shuffling noise fill his ears because of his mess of hair. He probably should have run right then, but that would not be very polite at all and Matthew was continuing to attempt to be such. So he did not flinch or step away, merely standing and blinking. He brought his own hand up to his head with the other was done, trying to pat his hair down.

“Oh, um…”

So he supposed he needed to get the hell out right then. They both had things to do. And it was right then when Matthew felt that he had to say something reassuring or something. But it was more than likely not necessary, he could have pretended he did not hear the other speak to him and just walk out. That would be lying! Matthew was caught with being honest to Mr. Gilbert and being a bastard to make sure he did not end up dead.

“Tomorrow, then.”

He seriously thought Matthew would run out of the room as soon as he had his back turned, seeing how he didn't seem really willing to stay for a talk and jumped when he mentioned eating him. Since he was so quiet, he also thought he'd leave without a word. So he was surprised in a good way when he heard him state he'd come back tomorrow.

"yeah! see you tomorrow!"

He gave him a little while after turning around to grin at him again, before turning back to concentrate on his work. He could do it from time to time, when he felt like it. And at least tomorrow he'd have someone over to keep him from getting too lonely. Though he didn't feel lonely; being alone was awesome after all. And he had his stuffed toys with him, even if it was terribly embarrassing if people found out. He poked the nose of a small red fox not far from him as he thought that. Some of them even talked when you pressed on their belly... And he could see all of them right now since he didn't close his closet.