MHA #6, Wednesday Afternoon

[arboreal_priestess]

They hadn't gotten home until almost dawn yesterday morning, trying to plan for the Covenant and what they could do to keep Baltimore safe from them. And Verity, more dispirited than she was willing to let on, had just fallen facefirst into their--her bed the moment they'd gotten into the bedroom, barely taking the time to kick off her shoes and remove her holster.

Even now, it was afternoon and she was struggling against waking up. Liam was a warm presence beside her, offering comfort just by being there. What would she be doing now if she didn't have him, she wondered? Trying to bring people together all by herself? No one to hold her when it all got to be a bit too much? It was bad enough those rare nights he went back to his place and she didn't follow along; imagining not having him at all was...awful.

Without saying anything, she rolled over on her side and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his side.

[For the modded one, please!]

Comments

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity very nearly took it all back and smothered him with a pillow.

"No, I mean...not just the bed. The house. In general."

Wait no.

"Not like I'm going to Mrs. Rochester you!" she added quickly. "But what if...what if you just...stayed. Here. With me."

Verity, how were you so bad at this?

[firstofitskind]

Probably because she'd spent most of her life doing her best to keep her distance, rather than invite people in to her life?

"Oh," he said, voice going soft. "I think I would-I'd like that," he said, after a few beats of silence.

[arboreal_priestess]

Yeah, but you didn't have to say so, jeeze!

"You already have a key," she said quietly. "And a drawer. What if you just had...more? Your stuff could fit into the office."

[firstofitskind]

And truthfully, he didn't even have all that much stuff. Some clothes. A couple dozen books. A few other trinkets.

"Yeah," he nodded. "This place... it's been home for a while, I think," he admitted. No offense to the guys over in the House of Bachelors, but he hadn't been a bachelor in a long while.

[arboreal_priestess]

Well, he had some furniture. That they'd bought at Ikea together and therefore was too important to leave behind.

"Yeah," Verity said. "And...I like that. More than I thought I'd ever like sharing space with anyone."

Sure, it helped he wasn't about to sing hosannas at her in the morning or leave traps for her in the shower, but a lot of it was just liking Liam.

[firstofitskind]

That was true! Maybe some of it could even replace a few pieces of the furniture Verity's- their- apartment had come furnished with!

"Sharing with you feels right," Liam agreed. "Comfortable. You know?"

[arboreal_priestess]

She nodded. "You're in my space but you don't feel like an intrusion," she said. "You feel like you belong here."

[firstofitskind]

"I've lived places," Liam said. "But I never really had a home before."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Well, then, you willing to make a home with me?" Verity asked softly, giving him a hopeful smile.

[firstofitskind]

"There isn't anything else I'd like more," Liam replied, beaming back down at her.

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity's relief was palpable. "Well, part of your share of the rent is gonna be paid in bringing me coffee, you know that, right?"

[firstofitskind]

"I think I can manage that," Liam mused. "Although yo do drink an awful lot of coffee."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Yeah, but now you can try to supplement it with, like, your so-called 'real food' or whatever you go on about," Verity pointed out, though with heavy airquotes.

[firstofitskind]

"Hey, you're the one who invited me and my 'real food' to stay," Liam protested, poking her shoulder playfully.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Yeah, but not, like, breakfast," Verity pretended to whine. "Oh god. How much cupboard space are you going to need for tea now that you'll be living here full time?"

[firstofitskind]

"Not even that much," Liam replied. "I'm not some sort of tea snob with a collection. Just a couple boxes of different kinds."

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity nudged him. "Well, that's no fun to complain about," she declared.

[firstofitskind]

“Well,” Liam mused, “I think that place with all the lotions and soaps does fancy teas as well. Maybe I should go buy like a dozen more as a house-moving present to myself.”

[arboreal_priestess]

"Better," Verity said with a nod. "By which I mean, utterly terrible and don't you dare."

She sounded very serious.

[firstofitskind]

“I have every right to put whatever I would like in our cupboards!” Liam declared dramatically.

[arboreal_priestess]

"This is a terrible plan and I regret everything already," Verity groaned, flopping over onto the pillows.

[firstofitskind]

"Liar," Liam retorted, grabbing the pillow he'd been resting on and leaning over to thwap her lightly with it.

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity squawked at the pillow, giggling up at him. "Nuh - oof - unh!"

[firstofitskind]

"If you were wearing pants, they'd be on fire," he informed her. Maturely.

[arboreal_priestess]

"God, you sound like a six-year-old," Verity scoffed.

Before bursting into giggles. Also maturely.