Moving In

[very_sharpe]

Thomas stretched after setting down a box of books in the living room. He'd gotten everything out of the apartment, and most of his boxes were in the spare room for now, to be sorted at his leisure. Important things had already been put in appropriate rooms: clothes were in the bedroom, a few boxes of books down here to put away wherever they would fit. His desk had gone up in the spare room; the rats were currently settled in Saoirse's room. He was quite grateful that the little girl liked them and that Greta was allowing them in her house. He wasn't sure he'd ever get her to warm up to them, but they were pets he could share with Saoirse.

He headed back out to make sure there was nothing left on the truck before he sent the driver on his way. That made things easier, at least - he'd hired a couple of men to help him get things out of the old apartment.

"Greta?" he called as he moved into the kitchen. He had a small box of things in there. He'd just sort of packed everything, figuring he would deal with getting rid of things later.

"I got rid of most of my dishes, except the mugs you said you liked, but I wasn't sure about some of these other things."

Comments

[andhiswife]

Greta's own moving-in had been a bit more piecemeal than this, and it's a little overwhelming to have almost all of Thomas's things arrive in one fell swoop. Some had come earlier -- she'd suggested a sort of dry run, him bringing just enough to last a week or so, on the off chance things went horribly -- but not much. And she knows this is the sensible way to handle it (and far less likely to result in back strain), but it's still rather a lot to handle at once.

She's surveying the boxes in the spare room, wondering if there's a more efficient way to arrange them, when she hears Thomas call from the kitchen. A brief, giddy grin lights her face as she heads towards him -- he lives here; it's official -- but she manages to rein it back into a smile by the time she reaches the kitchen.

"Hm?" She absently runs a hand over his back as she moves to stand beside him and face the box in question. "Well, let's have a look, then." It might just be things she has already, but spares might be no bad thing. It's not as if she's already filled every cabinet to bursting, anyway.

[very_sharpe]

"I know you've probably got every kitchen thing a person can need. I brought over the single-serving coffee maker, ah-- there's some nice mixing bowls in here," he said as he opened another box.

"Then there's the mugs here, just a few of the ones the pair of us decided should stay." A few of them were actually nice, stoneware soup bowls that came as a set. Thomas found them at a flea market a couple years ago when he'd been trying to build up his household a bit.

"And I've some little things I wasn't sure if we could use extras of: spatula, mixing spoons, a few other things." A pizza cutter, a set of good knives, a slotted spoon, oven mitts, measuring spoons and cups. "Really, anything you don't want to keep we can give away or sell."

[andhiswife]

Her lips twist into a wry smile at the single-serve coffee maker. She hasn't developed a taste for the stuff, and it's not as if Saoirse will be partaking, so that inclusion makes perfect sense. The machine gets carefully unboxed and set aside on the counter in what will become a 'to keep' section.

"It can't hurt to have spares," she says. "Especially now that we're officially cooking for three." She's made do with what she has so far, but she's spent too long with too little to turn down free kitchenware on the spot. "Or on those occasions when Saoirse's helping out," she adds with a smile. Things are a little more likely to go awry, and she likes the thought of a small, clumsy error being easily fixed.

She's already done a little rearranging to make unpacking easier. Thomas will find that the established mug cabinet already has space set aside for his new additions. The soup bowls earn an approving hum, and Greta holds one up for mingled examination and admiration. "I think I like these better than the ones we've already got," she says, tossing him a smile over her shoulder.

[very_sharpe]

"Most of what I have is difficult to hurt," he confessed with a small smile. It wasn't that he was clumsy, but he hadn't wanted anything he needed to worry about chipping or breaking or otherwise injuring in the course of living and cooking.

"I know you like them. It's rather nice thinking they'll get more regular use now." He watched her put the bowls away and felt a warm sort of flutter. HE'd never had someone to appreciate little things like that with. He'd never really merged households before - not like this, anyway. His wives had all come to Allerdale, and none of them had managed to change it.

But everything was different here, and he was grateful for that.

"I hope all these boxes aren't putting you off. I'll unpack in short order, I promise."

[andhiswife]

"Well, in a household with two dogs and a child..." she trails off meaningfully. 'Hard to hurt' is no bad thing. Accidents can happen at the best of times, of course, but they become more likely as the environment grows more chaotic. Better to have crockery that won't shatter at the slightest prompting and put bare feet or paws at risk.

She can feel his eyes on her as she nudges the bowls into place, and when she glances over, the look on his face pulls her up short. He looks happy -- more than that, really: like he's mirroring her own anticipatory excitement, and her heart leaps in her chest. It was bold of her to ask this of him, and she'd taken extra care to make sure he truly wanted it, and that he wasn't just going along with it out of bewilderment, or fear of disappointing her (or even habit -- an appalling thought, but not one she could entirely dismiss). Now, though? There's no doubt that he's enjoying this, and it warms her heart to see it so clearly.

"Not in the least," she assures him, leaving the boxes in favor of wrapping her arms around his waist. "I don't expect it to be instantaneous. And there aren't so many that we can't get around them. Besides," she pushes herself up onto her toes to press a brief, gentle kiss to his lips, then grins, "I like having all of you here."

[very_sharpe]

"No, but I can make it a bit more livable-looking sooner than later," he said as he leaned to meet her kiss. "I like being here. And I should rather not subject any of us to the box forest for longer than we must endure it."

He wanted to feel settled. It had taken him ages to feel at home in his apartment, partly because it lacked... everything, really. It was just a blank canvas for him to build on. But Greta had already nested here, already created a warm and lovely home and Thomas wanted to integrate himself into it as soon and as seamlessly as he could.

"Some of it might have to wait for a workshop," he admitted, eyeing some of the boxes tucked into an unobtrusive corner. He was still terribly pleased that Greta didn't seem to mind the idea of him building something here. It might take time, but it was the thought that counted.

[andhiswife]

Greta hums in amused acknowledgment, idly stroking his back as she takes in the current state of the place. She'll stand by what she said before: it's not so bad that getting around it will be bothersome. The biggest risk is probably one of the dogs crashing into a box while playing. But she wants Thomas to settle in, too, and it'll be undeniable relief to just have it all finished.

Which might be a while, if she stretches the definition to cover the building of a workshop. There's something else that won't happen overnight.

"Well, we can start on that whenever you like," she says. "There's plenty of yard for you to work with." She's not entirely sure how big of a workshop he has in mind, but as long as she has room to garden and Saoirse and the dogs have room to run around, it should be fine. "And it'd be less grass to mow," she adds, giving him a fond pat before releasing him, a little reluctantly, and returning to the boxes on the counter.

[very_sharpe]

"I know, but I don't want to take away too much from you or Saoirse. And, honestly, I should get someone to help me that knows what they're doing a bit more. Or maybe I can find one that's sort of... pre-fabricated and I can make improvements."

The wheels were already turning in his head as he tried to sort out how much room he might need to do what he wanted to do. He didn't want something as large as the workshop behind his actual storefront, but somewhere that he could tinker without putting the house in danger would be nice.

He'd have to put more thought into it, and he'd have to run his thoughts by Greta. Thomas found that he rather liked that idea, very much in fact. He smiled almost shyly and tipped his head down.

"I'm looking forward to it, actually. Is it silly to have little fantasies about you just calling out the back door to tell me it's dinner time?"

[andhiswife]

"They do sell little garden sheds." She's seen them in the garden sections of the some of the bigger box stores, though she's never been tempted to buy one. How is anyone supposed to get something like that home? Maybe it could just get delivered, or maybe it arrives in more portable pieces that you have to assemble. Either way, there wasn't much of a draw; she's never been short on storage.

It might not be a bad starting point for a workshop, though. "You might have a hard time turning around in one, though," she points out with a wry smile. "It'd need some adjusting. But I'm sure you could work something out." He builds things for a living, after all.

She grins outright at his little fantasy, having already come up with similar ones, herself. "Or sending Saoirse out to fetch you? Or coming to pester you when you've been holed up so long that I fear you've lost track of the time?"

[very_sharpe]

"Yes, precisely that," he said with a soft smile. The idea of Saoirse coming out to fetch him from the shed. Maybe she might like to build some things with him, or give him ideas for new things to try. She was a clever little girl, after all, bright and creative.

He smiled at Greta and leaned close to kiss her temple.

"I love you," he said quietly, like it was something he wanted to keep precious and safe between them. It was a feeling he didn't dare have for so long, it felt like something he had to protect now.

"Are you up for helping me try to sort the spare room? Are you sure you don't mind me using it for a bit of an office? I feel like I'm taking over."

[andhiswife]

Greta leans into the kiss with a soft, satisfied hum. His words might not be set to music, but there's still something about the way he says them -- as if they're meant for her ears alone -- that gives them a similar, comforting weight. She doesn't need a melody to believe him, anymore.

"Oh, good," she says, opening her eyes and smiling up at him. "Otherwise, my loving you would be awfully inconvenient."

She starts towards the spare room with a hum of agreement by the time he's finished his first question, but glances back in surprise when the second one lands. "Of course I don't mind. Someone ought to use it."

She's kept some of her own crafting supplies in there, but she rarely works in the room itself. In part, it's because she never went far enough towards making it not a nursery to banish the memories of when it was one, and even with Saoirse and all the children at the Gardens in her life, it had still made her a little bit sad. A workshop, on the other hand, is a clear departure from the room's original intent, and she thinks it's exactly what the space needs.

So she gives him a reassuring smile, and adds, "Besides, I hardly think one room constitutes 'taking over.' This is your home, too."

[very_sharpe]

"I don't need to take over all of it. A quiet place to do his books and sketch, though usually he could do his drawing anywhere. Accounting, however, took a certain amount of focus and the idea of having a little retreat did give him relief. So did the fine-tuning of his design work, especially for complicated pieces.

"I know, but-- well, it was your house first. But I suppose I ought act like I live here and not a like a prolonged guest."

When they made it to the spare room, Thomas put his hands on his hips and just sort of looked it over. He had a secretary desk set up in the corner, but close to the window so that he would get the light.

[andhiswife]

"You need a workspace," she says simply, as if that's all there is to it. And until he can get a shed up and running, he might as well use a room that wouldn't have much use, otherwise.

She could add that it was the Poldarks' house, first. It's tempting, if only to make the point that she's made it her own, because it's what they would have wanted, and so it makes perfect sense for him to settle in in a similar fashion. But he doesn't seem to need that much help reaching that realization, and all she has to do in the end is say, "Exactly." Taking his arm, giving it a brief squeeze, she adds, "You're not a boarder. And even if you were, I'd expect you to have a room that was all yours."

The desk is the only object in the room that seems to have found a place for itself, and Greta nods at the pile of boxes that occupy a good chunk of the floorspace. "We could get these over to the corner opposite the desk, so you won't be tripping over them. Starting with the ones you won't need to get into right away?" She knows a few of them will keep longer than others, and she doesn't want him to have to dig for the more immediate necessities.

[very_sharpe]

"Yes, I think that's the way to go about it. Here."

He pulled the secretary desk open, revealing all the nooks and crannies for filing and organization that were, currently, empty. They did have little labels, though: invoices, custom orders, supply orders, payroll. The boxes were equally meticulous in their labeling - the last thing he wanted was to bury something important and not find it for months.

With Greta's help, moving the boxes went quickly, and they managed to organize the pile in such a way that even if he did need to dig, it wouldn't take terribly long.

"Would you mind filing these as I hand them to you?" Like a little assembly line, he figured it would just go faster rather than both of them trying to poke around. He knew what was in all the boxes, and Greta was perfectly capable of reading a label on a desk file box. "I'd like the desk at least sorted before I call it finished for now."

[andhiswife]

Greta has seen the desk before, which is the only thing that keeps her from exclaiming over it, now. But she likes how cleverly it's put together (and leave it to Thomas to acquire furniture that's as complex, in its own way, as some of his creations), and how organized it is. Bookkeeping is one of the aspects of business ownership that she doesn't especially miss, but she can appreciate that he's at least going about it in a manner that ought to minimize frustration -- and mistakes.

"Of course," she says, plunking herself down in the desk's accompanying swivel chair and glancing over the labels, familiarizing herself with what goes where before they begin. "Should be easy enough, from the looks of things."

And it is. They settle into a rhythm after a minute or two, and Thomas was careful enough when he packed them that there aren't any surprises. Before too long, the desk's myriad little cubbies are full, and Greta sits back with a satisfied little smile. "There we are. You could get right to work. Not that you ought to," she adds, getting to her feet. "If anything, I'd say you've earned a break."