A Safe Place ||SBI x GN!Reader||

A (Permanent?) Living Situation

Looking both ways before crossing the street out of pure habit, they limp-walked across the cobbles. They nearly cursed out loud when their shoe got caught on a rock, wondering why in the world the city was designed with cobblestone streets. Normally they were flat and almost smooth like pavement, but this particular area had terrible streets.

Once they arrived at the other side, they took a pause to survey the area. The alley had remained virtually the same, with the exception of a newer dumpster and the removal of the boxes [Y/N] was familiar with. That didn't matter though, as now they had a full plan for how to enter the apartment.

Hobbling over to the dumpster, [Y/N] was hit with the disgusting smell of rotting food and other nasty crap, even through the lid. They wrinkled their nose in response, but that didn't stop them from executing their plan. Taking the handle and dragging the dumpster a few meters, they positioned it directly under the old steel fire escape. Since fire escapes are designed to be used from people coming down, not up, it was impossible for them to access the ladder leading to the stairs from the ground. However, on top of the dumpster, they would have just enough height to unlatch it.

Ignoring the rancid smell, [Y/N] hauled themself on top of the closed dumpster. It was relatively sturdy, so they tried not to think about what would happen if they fell through the lid. That would be disgusting. Bringing themself to their feet, they found that on the tips of their toes, they were just tall enough to reach the latch. They said a silent prayer to themself that this latch actually existed, and that they wouldn't have to break a bed frame instead.

With a harsh pull, the ladder dropped. It made a terrible sound, like what you'd imagine the sound of a car being smashed to a billion pieces would sound like. They immediately froze, terrified that someone had heard it and was in the process of walking to their window to see what in the world that could have been. [Y/N]'s eyes were wide as they waited, their heart beating through their skull. Ten seconds... thirty seconds... a minute...

After nearly a minute and a half passed, [Y/N] began to relax. Chances were, if someone was going to catch them, it would have already happened. Now, they were free to begin their ascent. Making sure to favor their left hand and right leg, they began to climb the ladder. It didn't take long for them to reach the first platform, but by the time they had done so, they were out of breath. Apparently, climbing a ladder using only half of your limbs was tiring. Who knew?

[Y/N] didn't let their exhaustion stop them though. They knew that they were pretty much in the clear, so long as they didn't make too much noise while walking. That was easier said than done though, as the fire escape was in poor maintenance because of its exposure to the elements. Even with their plan of distributing their weight on both the stairs and the rail, it still made noises with every few steps.

All [Y/N] needed now was an exact goal in mind. Which room would provide the least visibility from the outside and not alert the occupants inside that a room that was normally empty was suddenly being used? While the answer may not seem clear and first, it almost immediately presented itself to the teen. All they needed was an empty apartment facing the alley located above another empty apartment. While the answer was clear, finding an apartment that met the requirements was going to be a pain in the ass.

As far as they could see, all of the apartments on the first floor were empty, with either curtains, blinds, or light visible from the outside. In some cases, they could even catch a glimpse of a sleeping figure. Not wanting to be a creep, they quickly moved away from those windows. Again favoring their non-injured limbs, they began climbing the first flight of stairs up to the third floor.

This floor seemed much more promising. Without even having to search much, they established that two out of the 6 apartments facing the alley were empty. They had nothing obstructing the window, allowing [Y/N] to see that they were completely devoid of any furniture. Keeping the room locations in mind, they climbed the second flight of stairs.