Simple Pleasantries (Tomomi / Giddeon)

It was a fairly nice day, the sun bright and with only the odd cloud providing just enough shade to stop it from being blinding. The streets of Vista Square were bustling, and generally the hustle and bustle of city life was fairly enjoyable at this moment.

And walking along the path in a method to avoid bumping into people was Tomomi. He wore his usual attire when on the job, with a hygiene mask covering his lower face, and latex gloves for his hands. Black bags in one hand and a litter picker in the other. He wore a plain white t-shirt with a picture of a puppy on it, with rather generic faded jeans, and walking boots on. Perhaps the most odd features were his posture which was seemingly jittery and on constant edge, his hair which was like a perpetually wind swept mop all around, and his jacket, which he allowed to sling over his shoulder rather than wear like a normal person.

"*Urp*" Gidd covered his mouth as he let out a small burp. He was currently enjoying his afternoon in the square eating at a local restaurant, soaking in the sun at an outdoor table. The menu had a variety of meals, including steak, seafood, wings and the like. Gidd having a basic pallet for the culinary arts, ordered a burger with fries.

Thoughts of him embarrassing himself from earlier lingered in his mind. "Urgh, I was a moron..." He rambled to himself. Taking the last bite of his burger, Gidd got up to pay for his meal and left with the remainder of his drink in hand.

Not really having much of anything to do at the moment he aimlessly walked around the square, taking sips of his drink occasionally and taking in the sights. Once he was done with his drink, rather mindlessly, Gidd threw it towards a trash can, though unbeknownst to him, it bounced off the edge and hit the ground.

Another day of working. At least, it was, and then the usual happened. Someone threw their rubbish towards the bin without looking, and missed. Tomomi sighed, walking over to pick up the empty container as he debated whether to let the person know. So far, every time he'd tried it, he'd been met with hostility... But, still. It was a part of his job to keep the streets clear, and if they did it without meaning to, then Tomomi would be able to make that job easier without being on constant clean up.

So, he walked at a brisk pace to try catch up with the stranger, shoving the drink into his black bag as he called out. "Um! E-excuse me! I, um... Y-you missed the bin when you were putting the... Um... A-anyways, please be more careful!"

As he finished speaking, Tomomi gulped, hoping with fingers crossed that this person wasn't the sort to be aggressive at him.

Gidd was snapped out of his trance by someone speaking to him. He turned around and saw a young man, around Gidd's age. Based on their apparel, Gidd was able to deduce that they were cleaning up the area. After grasping why they had stopped Gidd, he bowed his head and apologized. "I'm terribly sorry! I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize I had missed the bin!"

At the sincere seeming apology, Tomomi had to do a second take. He'd expected to just be yelled at again, or maybe to be told that he must have been mistaken. This was one of the few times he was actually apologised to, and the surprise was quickly evident from the look in his eyes.

"A-ah, um... T-t-t-there's no problem, I just wanted to, um, let you know. Um... T-t-thank you for not shouting at me, and um... P-please be m-more careful when you put your litter in the bin? S-since, um, if there's rubbish in front of the bin, it might dissuade people from using the bin due to the presence, which leads to a downward spiral of um... Litter build up... O-oh, um, sorry, that's um... None of your concern though, so, um, forget that, sorry." He replied, bowing his head in apology in return out of nowhere.

Gidd started feeling a tad guilty for putting the stranger in this situation. He was clearly nervous about the whole thing based on him apologizing back, as if the stuttering wasn't a clear enough sign. But now that it was being called to his attention, Gidd did see an awful lot of litter in the square that simply escaped his notice beforehand. Much more that a single person could reasonably clean up.

"Umm... Do you need any help out here? The square is pretty big so it seems like alot of work for one person. And it's the least I could do for adding to that work load."

At the offer to help, Tomomi rubbed at the back of his neck. Oh no, did he make this person feel bad? That was not what he meant to do!

"A-ah, um... I-I appreciate the offer, but um... I-I'm afraid that, due to insurance, and health and safety regulations, I cannot allow you to help, but, t-thank you very much for helping! It's just that, unless I provide you with the safety equipment like this mask, the gloves, and one of the pickers, then it's too, um, dangerous to allow you to help, but, um, like I said, I um, I do appreciate it! And, um, as for how much there is, it's, well, fine, I mean, my shift goes on until the work load's done, so, if it takes all day, it takes all day. They'll be cleared eventually. B-besides, um, you must be going somewhere right? So-so, I'd hate to um... Take up your time..."

"That's perfectly fine I didn't have anywhere to be. It's a shame that you can't accept any help though." Gidd nervously scratched his head. Although the stranger told him he was fine, he still felt guilty for his carelessness "Still I do apologize for making your job just that bit harder! Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

At the stranger asking if there was anything they could do to make it up to him, Tomomi thought for a moment, before stopping his work, offering the stranger a grin - not that it would be obvious due to the mask over his lips - and nodding his head. "There is something you can do..."

Pausing, Tomomi gave a thumbs up. "Have a nice rest of the day stranger! That'll make it up for me, okay? Oh, and if you ever see me around, feel free to say hi! The name's Tomomi!"

"Oh, ummm... thanks. I hope you have a good day too." Gidd gave Tomomi a thumbs up back. "Oh and my name is Gideon. Gidd for short. I'll probably see you around as well, I come by here often."

With that settled, Gidd turned around to go along his merry way. "Well I'll see ya. Sorry once again about the trash thing."

"Gidd, got it. Well, see you around Gidd!" He declared, grinning more and waving, before continuing to work away, like a good litter boi.

It was nice to not be shouted at for doing your job.

[Exit]