milliways_sawyer | (no subject)

(no subject)

Sawyer walks in the door balancing a small stack of paper carefully in one hand and carrying a bag of groceries in the other.

... and immediately trips over Duke. The dog and the man glare at each other as if the other is to blame.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's just a few feet further away, sweetheart."

"The longer it takes me to get to their rooms, the longer they'll be crying in the middle of the night."

"Fair enough. This one's out."

He pushes that floor plan away and looks at another. "What about this one? It's got a balcony and a fireplace."

"Ooh," she pulls it closer and checks the price. "I have enough in savings to pay that deposit. And they allow pets."

Which is good since Peony's already found her way into Claire's lap and is settling down for a nap.

"Alright, that goes into the 'Possible' pile." He hands over another. "This one don't have either of those things, but it's a lot bigger."

"Put it in the maybe pile," she nods. "Space is good."

She holds up another plan and pats his arm excitedly. "This has nothing useful at all in the way of raising a family, but it does have a jacuzzi."

Okay, so maybe she won't be as good at this as she should be.

"Yeah, 'cept you don't know how many other people's been in that jacuzzi doin'... what folks do in jacuzzis." Sawyer's chooses odd times to be squicked out by things like that, but this is one of those things that get him.

"We'd clean it first!"

He still wrinkles his nose. "Maybe pile it.

She puts it at the bottom of the pile.

"This one looks nice, and it's close to both our jobs."

She turns the paper over to read the other side. "And it has a community pool on the roof."

He glances over the paper. "Looks good to me. You like it better than the place with the balcony or worse?"

"I don't know," she frowns. "I really like the balcony. But the kids would like the pool. . .if we're still there in a few years. Which do you like better?"

He shrugs. "We can always go to the pool at the Y or somethin'; they don't have balconies there, though."

"Mmm, the balcony one is better then. And it looks like it's off the master bedroom."

She smiles as she lays her head on his shoulder. "That would be nice."

He nods and leans his head against hers. "Want to go with that one, then?"

"Yes, I like that one. It seems more 'homey' somehow."

She takes a sip of her tea and manages only a small grimace this time.

"I can go at lunch tomorrow to sign the lease. Is that good for you?"

A pause and then says carefully. "We didn't ever really discuss that. Do you even want to be on the lease?"

He thinks for a moment. "We're more likely to get it if we have both incomes to show, so I think I ought to be on the lease. Just..."

She squeezes his thigh. "Just. . .?"

He glances down at the stack of applications. "Just... make sure you put me down as 'James', okay? This whole life we're plannin'... I don't particularly feel like startin' this off usin' his name."

She likes to think she knows him pretty well, but he can still surprise her when he wants to, and this is one of those times. She pulls away just enough to study his face for a moment.

"Okay," she nods with a small, touched smile. "Do you want. . . should I. . .I mean. . . Do you want to be called that, now?"

He shrugs. "If you feel like it. Babysteps, y'know?"

"Okay," she says again and cups his face, running a thumb over his bottom lip.

Experimentally, "James."

He reaches up to catch her hand and kisses her fingers gently. "It'll take some gettin' used to."

"Yeah," she smiles. "Babysteps. But it's nice."

She moves her fingers over slightly so she can kiss him.

"And it'll be easier to explain to Seth why I named him that."

Apparently, Duke is jealous of all the attention not being paid to him. He tugs at Sawyer's pants leg.

Sawyer nudges the dog with his toe. "Not now, pup. You'll get your turn."