So it's been a while…I don't even know if people will read this, but I suddenly got the urge to write again. Life's been pretty busy since I last updated, so I haven't had much time for writing, or never really felt like it because of all the assignments I had to do.

I do want to thank those that continued to fave, follow, or review this fic. It means a lot. I read through the reviews a night or two ago, and it certainly helped get me back into the mind-set…gave me that push.

A lot has happened between the last chapter and the show. I didn't want to jump too far ahead, so I decided to base this one after the season 11 finale when Jo asked Alex to chip in and buy the loft with her.

Hope you enjoy this…but please go easy, it's been a long time since I wrote anything. :P

This was happening. Today was the day. Sure, they had bought the place a couple weeks back but tonight they'd finally be spending their first night in their new place. They were moving forward and taking the next step in their relationship. Putting their roots down.

"Okay, that's the last one." Alex grunted as he placed the last of the boxes on the floor. He straightened his back and rested his hands on his hips, taking a moment to catch his breath before his eyes met his partner's. "We did it."

Jo made her way over to him, a smile instantly forming now they were officially moved in. "We did it."

Both looked around the space they now called home, savouring the moment. By no means did it look good, but at least it no longer looked like a crime scene, as Alex had so graciously put it the first time she showed it to him. Boxes littered the loft, forming small piles here and there in a way to separate his stuff from hers, and in terms of furniture the only pieces they brought with them was the couch and bed.

"You got a lot of crap, you know that?" Alex playfully nudged her shoulder with his. "For someone who used to live in a car." He added.

Jo rolled her eyes and lightly swatted his chest, scoffing at his comment. "Okay, here we go. You sure do know how to ruin the moment."

"At least we won't need to worry about buying new furniture any time soon. Some of those boxes could definitely serve as a footstool or table. Heck, we could even stack them up and make a wall around the bedroom."

"You done?" she shook her head, trying to hide the smile.

"…or a fort. You think we'd have enough for that?" he turned into her, pulling her to him as he rambled on.

"God, you're mean." She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

His lips found hers for a quick kiss. "You hungry?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist without hesitation.

"We could order some chinese? I had a quick bite with Steph before we left." She pecked his lips once more before disentangling from him, and made her way to the couch. "I did get us some beers to celebrate though." Jo fell back into the couch and twisted the cap off her bottle, kicking her feet up on one of the nearby boxes.

Alex followed suit and dropped down next to her, grabbing a beer for himself before clicking tips with her. A moment passed before he spoke, "Not gonna lie, I'm getting a real deja vu vibe right now. Only difference is you called me your brother and a douche last time."

"Still a douche." She smirked over at him before taking another swig from her beer.

He laughed. "Can't say I didn't deserve that."

Her fingers played with the wrapper on the bottle, resting it between her legs as they stared out the window in front of them. "Hard to believe that we're done."

"No more roommates."

"No more interruptions."

"Just us."

When the silence fell amongst them, Jo gently squeezed his leg before resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad we did this."

"Me too." Alex kissed her temple and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into his side until there was no space between them. "If it means anything, I considered us living together for a long time. You even helped me set up when I bought the place from Mer, so it kinda feels like we've already done this."

"I did too. But at the same time it never felt like my home. I know we talked about this before…it's just comforting to know that when we go to bed tonight, it'll be in our bed."

He nodded, "I get it." His fingers played with the ends of her hair as they both sat there for another moment or two in silence.

Jo let out a small laugh as she lifted the bottle to her lips.

"What?" he smiled.

"I just realised that our living conditions aren't that different from when we were at your place." When she looked up and saw a flicker of confusion on his face, she added, "You never were good at keeping the kitchen stocked with food."

"Takeout and beer, princess." He laughed, taking a drink from his beer.

"You know, I can't wait to get our kitchen sorted. You're going to be so impressed by my cooking skills you won't want to see another takeout carton again."

"Somebody's confident."

"You bet your ass I am. Wait until you've tried my homemade pizza." She sat up straighter and set her empty bottle down on the floor, tucking her leg underneath her and throwing the other across his lap. "To die for." She poked his chest lightly. "If you're lucky I might even let you in on what goes into my secret sauce."

"Secret sauce?" he chuckled. He couldn't help but flicker his eyes to her lips when she ever so slightly narrowed the gap between them.

"You say that now." She pursed her lips at him, and lifted her eyebrow. A knowing smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

"Since when can you make pizza, anyways?"

The hand that was resting on his shoulder began to play with his hair at the back of his head. "A girl can't give away all her secrets, now can she?"

He couldn't help but gulp at the intensity in her eyes, "Oh, so there's more? How many secrets can a girl possibly have?" His hand dropped to the small of her back, thumb stroking the bit of exposed skin where her t-shirt rose up.

"You'd like to know, wouldn't you?" She teased. A small shiver ran through her from his touch.

"It's only fair." His hand moved to her side and gently squeezed it.

They stayed like that for a moment, neither wanting to break eye contact. Jo's gaze flickered to his mouth, subconsciously causing her to pull her bottom lip between her teeth. Her breath caught in her throat when she felt his fingers sneak under her shirt to skim up her side. When she noticed he still held his bottle in the other hand, she took it from him and placed it next to hers on the ground, before pushing herself up so she could position her legs to straddle him. Her hands pulled his face to hers, eagerly meeting his lips for a deep kiss. Hands began to roam, and their breathing quickly became laboured, but neither were willing to press pause. Their hearts were thumping, and could easily be felt through the layers of clothing between them.

Alex hugged her close. When it became too much, he pulled back enough to draw in a breath. He studied her face, tucking in a loose strand of hair behind her ear as he did so. She slid her hands from his neck to his chest, and quickly pecked his lips once more.

He couldn't believe how lucky he was, how everything turned out for him and Jo. When she asked him to move in with her, into this place- fighting for them…he wanted to marry her right then and there.

When she caught him staring, feeling the intensity of his gaze, she couldn't help but blush. "What?"

He gently squeezed her to him. "I love you."

She drew in a long breath, and clutched the front of his top at his words. Leaning in, she whispered "I love you, too." before bringing her lips back to his.