75 Godiva St | Afternoon

[defenderofdesmoines]

You know that stage of moving where your major furniture is all set up, and you can technically live in your home, and you're considering maybe just that your life is cardboard boxes forever, and maybe they're actually sort of cute? Cardboardcore. Start a new trend.

Anyway.

"What should we actually do with all of these boxes when we're done?" Annie wondered, opening up yet another box of books. For such card-carrying members of Team Himbo, they had, like, way too many of these. Kindles for everyone before the next move. "Make a fort in the backyard?"

Aww. They had a backyard now.

[for the husband!]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie sighed, shifting to lean lightly against him.

"What seems like the most fun to do?" Annie suggested, and with a slight smile, she went onto her toes to press a kiss to his jaw as the answer occurred to her. "Bedroom?"

That was probably their most fun room, in general.

[knife_bender]

"...well we do need somewhere to sleep tonight," Diego said with a grin. "I don't want to share a bed with a cardboard box filled with socks."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, we've slept in worse places," Annie pointed out, trailing her hand down along his arm to take his hand. "Remember that cute little pawn shop?"

Which had been the impetus for moving in together in the first place! Romance.

[knife_bender]

"I remember the bathroom," he said, taking her hand. "I try to forget the part where we shared a room with like eight other people."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'm never forgetting the bathroom," Annie replied, blushing predictably.

Because like, those eight other people had been on the other side of that door. God.

"Oh, man, we're gonna have to tell those guys," she realized as she started winding around boxes back towards their bedroom. "Fingers crossed Homelander doesn't fucking lose it any time soon."

If he did, they'd just have to figure it out without either her or Diego.

[knife_bender]

"Kimiko will be excited," Diego said before nearly tripping over a box and cursing the fact he wasn't nearly as graceful as he used to be. "I'm gonna need the child-proofing at this point."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Kimiko would be excited, which would be a nice contrast to how MM would be initially excited and then probably even more worried about baby-proofing than either Diego or Annie currently was.

"Do you want me to carry you around the boxes?" Annie teased, winding around another box and lifting their joined hands high to avoid obstacles.

[knife_bender]

"As much as I love it when you carry me, I'm already worried about your lower back as it is." He could tell she was starting to get uncomfortable she wasn't even that big yet.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It just kind of sucks when I bend over," Annie assured him, but that was also fair enough that she wasn't going to argue. She knew how much she'd worry about him if their positions were reversed, and she had promised an abundance of caution now that they were out of the woods as far as, you know, potential world-endiness. "But I'll let you rub it later if it'll make you feel better."

Twist her arm more, et cetera.

[knife_bender]

"It would make me feel a lot better," Diego said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "'Course we both might need one after unpacking."

How did they get so much clothing? It's not like either one of them was a fashion plate.

[defenderofdesmoines]

How dare you. Annie had a beautiful orange sweater thing that was bound to start trends left and right.

"We might need a whole-ass spa day after we're really done unpacking," Annie pointed out, turning sideways to avoid a stack of boxes as she led the way into the bedroom. "But I would love to rub your back for you, babe. I'm not like...pregnant in my hands."

Well, she was, but you know what she meant.

[knife_bender]

"The imagery I just got." David Cronenberg nightmare is what that would be. "You know, I've never had a spa day. Unless the cold baths at the insane asylum count."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie turned to shoot him a concerned look. "They super don't count. We'll have to fix that. Maybe I can take you to Summer's space spa."

A pause, a smile, and, "Dolores seemed to really enjoy herself when I took her."

As much as Dolores seemed like she enjoyed anything.

[knife_bender]

"You're insane for taking her to that," Diego said with a laugh. "I love you, but that was insanity."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Some of us thought it was hilarious," Annie pointed out, stepping around a box and leaning over it to give him a kiss, adorably. "But she was mostly into their manicures -- I think you'd benefit from, like, the massages and soaks and stuff, because they're awesome."

And it had been long enough now that Annie both felt comfortable asking Summer for potential use of her portal gun without worrying she was poking an emotional bruised spot, and she herself felt assured she could portal about pretty freely for at least a few more months.

[knife_bender]

"She was mostly into their manicures?" Diego repeated. "Didn't she just have the one arm?"

Aw, her and Five would have been perfect together now.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Well, it's not like they could do her hair, Diego," Annie pointed out, logically. "It probably wasn't even the weirdest thing that staff had seen that day. Space spa's kind of wild."

Really, Diego needed to be taken to space, period, was what she was realizing.

[knife_bender]

It really was kind of weird that Luther was still the only Hargreeves sibling that had been to space.

"Clearly a trip is in order," Diego decided, sighing at the mess in the bedroom. "I hope the plants aren't in any of these boxes."

Because it might be awhile before they'd get to them.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Unless I missed something, the plants didn't get packed and were all carried over on their own," Annie said, more confidently than she felt because oh God, what if one of the plants had been packed up? So much dirt, in addition to the poor plant being in plant distress! "How can we make this fun? Can we make it a game? Ooh, can we race?"

First one to unpack a box gets...something?

[knife_bender]

"Race to unpack boxes?" he asked, thinking on that for a moment. "Does stuff need to be put away in order for it to count?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I think that kind of has to be the point," Annie said, making a little bit of a face because of course that part sucked. "But maybe not put away perfectly."

[knife_bender]

"Okay, I'm game," he said with a nod. "What's the prize? Other than less boxes to unpack, obviously."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And the thrill of victory," Annie added, since they were fooling no one here, and both of them were competitive as hell. "And I don't know. What do you think is worth racing for? Whoever gets more done faster gets first backrub?"

That almost seemed worth it, except that Annie suspected she did not really need to compete for that particular honor, and that Diego would also probably refuse if he won.

[knife_bender]

He would absolutely refuse if he won. But still bask in the feeling of victory.

"Well I can't resist a prize like that," he joked. "Just so you know, I'm not the type to go easy on pregnant ladies."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Better not be," Annie replied, raising an eyebrow challengingly. "I'd throw the results out and demand a rematch if I thought you were taking it easy on me."

Which would result in more boxes getting unpacked, in turn!