Chapter 8
I pulled the last shirt out of my drawer and put it into the box. It had taken almost an entire week of doing nothing else but at long last, the flat was packed. Adrian and I had taken some time in finding the perfect house but had finally found a nice one in the centre of the Moroi Royal Court. We put an offer in straight away and then just had to wait for the flat to sell. Fortunately, we had a few takers; a comfortable apartment in the centre of Palm Springs was a desired thing but there were so many on offer that yours wasn't always snapped up. However, we had eventually found a buyer who was thrilled and excited about moving in.
"Almost done in there?" Adrian leaned his head around the door.
"Just finished up."
"Perfect." He walked back away again without an explanation.
"Why?" I called, following him into the kitchen.
"I made lunch." He grinned, gesturing to a collection of sandwiches and nibbles.
"How did you do all this?"
"Leftovers, stuff lying around in the cupboard. Figured you wouldn't want to take it all to Court with us."
"Adrian…" I laughed, taking a step towards him. I slid my arms around his waist and kissed him. "It looks delicious."
I took a Pringle from the pile, still holding onto him with one arm, but when I bit into it, there was more of a bend than a snap. "Yes, well they were leftovers. God knows how long they've been open."
"You are crazy." I rolled my eyes and decided to finish the crisp anyway.
We took a break from packing, moving the picnic to the floor by the couch and feeding ourselves and each other until we couldn't eat any more.
"We need to finish…" I said, looking around the room at what still needed to be boxed up.
It was half twelve and we were supposed to be leaving by two at the latest. I was going to drive the Ivashkinator whilst Adrian drove the truck with the majority of our furniture and belongings. We had booked into a small hotel half way between here and Pennsylvania, hoping to split the journey into two more manageable chunks.
"We're nearly there." Adrian smiled, attempting to reassure me.
"You finish up in here, I'll take what's left of the kitchen," I instructed, jumping to my feet.
"Yes, ma'am." Adrian saluted and I pressed my lips to his. It was so tempting to stay on the floor with him forever, eating and kissing.
I, reluctantly, pulled away and went to survey what still needed to be done in the kitchen. Luckily, there wasn't much. I threw a few utensils and pots into a half full box, I was long past caring about my neat systems, and sealed it up.
By the time the house was packed and the van loaded, it was half past two. Amazingly, we were only half an hour behind schedule. Adrian and I stood in the now empty living room. It looked massive without the plaid couch, the canvases and the art materials spread across the floor.
"I'm going to miss this place." I sighed.
"Really?"
"It was our first home together, the place where you first told me you loved me, where we first kissed, where Hopper used to run around crazy, there are so many memories here."
"Along with the time you almost got bitten by a Strigoi?"
"Thanks, Adrian," I replied dryly.
"Sorry, I know what you mean though."
We stood quietly for a few more moments, me leaning against Adrian's chest. He was only wearing a thin white tee-shirt and I could feel his heart beating fast against my back. I would have given anything to stay in that moment, in that flat, but unfortunately we had to go. The new owners were waiting in the lobby downstairs and smiled kindly when we handed over the keys.
It was getting dark when we finally arrived at Court the following day. That was a good thing though, it meant that the day was just beginning. We parked outside the house we had chosen to be ours and got out of our respective vehicles, grinning.
I dug the keys out of my pocket just before Adrian scooped me up in his arms. I screamed, surprised at the action.
"I'm supposed to carry you over the threshold, aren't I?"
"Technically, that is a tradition carried out after a wedding." I pointed out.
"You and your technicalities, Sage." Adrian laughed.
It got a little difficult when Adrian had to lean down for me to unlock the door, but he did eventually carry me inside. He set me down just inside the door and we examined what we saw. It was just as I remembered; cosy and homely. The large hall led to four other rooms, one of which was the living room, one the kitchen and then a dining room, whilst the last was a small bathroom. Stairs went upstairs from the end of the hall, where there were three bedrooms and another bathroom. There was also another spacious room upstairs which Adrian intended to use as his studio, which meant that the living room wouldn't be taken up by paints and half completed canvases. It was a perfect little home and it was ours.
"Welcome home." Adrian grinned.
I turned around and kissed him.
"As much as I would love to stay here and christen that new bed upstairs, we promised we would see our friends at some point and we also have truck full of stuff to bring inside."
"Never thought that I would see the day when you were the responsible one!" I laughed.
"Hey, I can be responsible sometimes."
"Sometimes." I teased, leaning into him.
"Once we're married, I'll be even more responsible." He kissed the top of my head.
"Once we're married," I repeated, smiling softly. "I love the sound of that."
"Me too."
We carried everything inside and placed it in the corresponding rooms of the house. Thankfully, it was all over in a matter of hours.
"Remind me, where are we meeting Rose?" I yawned. The plan was to meet Rose and Lissa who would keep us awake longer so that we could get used to the flipped time schedule at Court. I knew that it wouldn't be hard for Adrian, he had grown up with the crazy system but I was a little apprehensive about living the rest of my life, literally, in the dark.
"Said we'd meet them at the palace." Adrian was also starting to look tired and I knew that we were going to sleep like the dead tomorrow. Well, the undead. I groaned out loud, receiving an odd look from Adrian. "What? You got a problem with the palace?"
"No, I just made a vampire joke." I sighed, I was ashamed of my brain but knew that it was just a sign of how tired I was.
Adrian chuckled and kissed my nose. "You're going to fit right in."
