A/N: This is for Jolex Weekend Day 1 "New Beginnings". Sadly I won't be able to participate in the other days (for multiple reason – first of all I will be at the Jersey Shore, secondly none of the other fanfiction prompts are really speaking to me anyway, and thirdly I'm currently unable to gif) but I wanted to at least do one day. Hopefully you enjoy this one-shot – it takes place post-season eleven finale.

The title and lyrics come from "Home" by Phillip Phillips.

Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's Anatomy there would be a lot more Jolex.

Hold on to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you're not alone
'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

It takes months to make their little crime scene look even remotely inhabitable.

First they have to clean the place out, then replace the windows and put in new floors. They discover a family of rats living in the spot where the wall is missing a brick, and when she finds it Jo lets out such a high-pitched, girly scream from shock that at first he doesn't even think it came from her. Finally, once they're sure nothing in the loft could possibly give anyone a disease, they can actually start putting their own things in and redesigning.

"Can I get a little help here?" Alex calls out as he tries – and fails – to singlehandedly get the last of their living room furniture into through the door. The smaller stuff – like the lamps and the coffee and end tables – had made it through fine with the right maneuvering, but there's no way he can push this couch through by himself.

Jo pauses from her work touching up the brick and walks over to help. Her hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail at the nape of her neck and she's wearing one of his old University of Iowa T-shirts so she doesn't get any paint on her clothes, and she looks beautiful in a sort of effortless way. "You got the couch from Grey's!"

"Of course I did." Alex says. "You bought it for me. Now grab the other end of this."

She smiles visibly and obliges, and with two people they can easily get the couch through the doorway and into the loft. Eventually they'll hire someone to break the loft up into individual rooms but for right now they're keeping it as a studio, with only one divider to keep the bathroom private. The living room is to the left when you first walk in, with the sleeping area across from it, and the kitchen on the other side of the entryway. The bathroom is behind the kitchen, where it is simultaneously not too far from the bed and not visible from the other areas.

"Mer actually really wanted to keep it." Alex explains, running his hand down one of the back cushions. "But I had to put my foot down on that one."

Jo raises an eyebrow. "So you finally learned how to say no to her huh? That's good." She's half teasing, but secretly part of her is relieved.

She tries to turn and go back to her work but Alex grabs her waist, pulling her back so her body is pressed against his. "Hey." He says. "I'm sorry, okay? I told you, I'm always on your side. And Mer promised to work harder to get along too. You're my number one priority, I promise."

Jo smiles and turns back to press a quick kiss to his cheek. She's never been anyone's number one priority before. "Thank you."

Alex grins. "Don't mention it. You want some help with that painting?"

"Please." She hands him her second paintbrush – the walls are fine now that their little rodent friends have been removed, but the bricks are chipping so she's going over them with red paint. "Should we have painted the walls before we put the living room furniture in?"

Alex shrugs. "I think it's fine. When we get to that side of the room we'll just put a tarp over them. Now hold on - you've got a little paint on your nose."

Jo touches her face, but she feels nothing. "Where?"

"There." Without warning he taps her on the nose with his brush and she looks at him, open-mouthed, as she feels the splotch of paint adhere to her skin.

"Oh my God." Jo gasps. She tries to wipe it off but only makes it worse, smudging the paint on her nose and also getting it on her fingers. "You did not just do that." Alex smirks, pleased with himself, and suddenly Jo wants nothing more than to wipe that smug look off his face. Without thinking twice, she dips her brush in the paint tray and smears right across his mouth, causing his eyes to widen.

"Okay." Alex says, a determined look on his face. "Now it's war."

Jo laughs loudly as her boyfriend grabs her and pins her against his chest with one arm. She squirms as he runs his brush down her face and onto her throat and she can feel the paint dripping down her neck and onto her chest. She breaks one of her arms free and manages to loosen his grip, succeeding in flicking some paint at his face as she runs back to the bucket for reinforcements. "Josephine Wilson," Alex says. "If you touch that I swear –" But he is unable to finish, because before he can a fresh brush full of paint is flicked at his face. He wipes his eyes but only gets more on his cheeks because paint is on his hands too and Jo practically cackles. She's still laughing as Alex throws her over his shoulder and spins her around.

By the end there's paint all over both of them – on their faces, on their shirts, in their hair. "Truce?" Jo asks once her feet are firmly back on the floor. She's laughed so hard that she actually has tears in her eyes and now her mascara runs, mixing with the paint on her face.

Smiling Alex walks forward and grabs her, leaving two red handprints on the back of her yoga pants. "Okay, truce." He agrees and they kiss, getting more paint on both their lips. "What's that saying?" He asks, an eyebrow raised suggestively. "Make love not war?"

Jo rolls her eyes playfully. "Well, we both need to get cleaned up. And since we just got the water turned on maybe now would be a good time to check out the shower. Join me in two minutes?" He nods in agreement and she walks over to the bathroom, casting a look at him over her shoulder. A moment later he hears the water start running.

Alex puts the brushes back into their place and he smiles to himself. He's so glad that they bought this loft.

He walks into the bathroom to find his girlfriend waiting for the water to heat up, wearing nothing but paint. She opens her mouth to tell him to join her but before she can he grabs her face and kisses her. She smiles. "Love you." She says – speaking the words she'd once been so afraid to say so casually, like it's no big deal.

This is the beginning of a whole new life for them.

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble—it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found
Just know you're not alone
'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home