The Search

"Ok this is it." April said after another week of apartment shopping.

This apartment was only two blocks away from her old place, closer to work and was beautiful. Had hardwood floors, brick walls, a small fire place, a spacious living room, a slightly bigger kitchen than at her loft and a nice sized bedroom and bathroom.

"Yea? You like it?" Punk asked looking around the empty place.

"Don't you?" she asked him. "It has a gym in the building which I think you'd appreciate that."

"No I like it." he insisted. "It has a doorman which I like for you and it's right near the train station."

"And not far from Nico." she added. "We're close enough to visit but too far for them to annoyingly stop in."

"So let's take it." he said looking around the place one final time. "It's a good size."

"Bigger than your place, smaller than the loft but we don't need that much space." She said to him. "You just don't seem into this."

"I just feel like you deserve something better." Punk said to her. "Something much bigger and not in an apartment building your own real home. I can tap into that money-"

"Don't be ridiculous." She said to him. "Maybe down the line we can look into something more grand but this is perfect for us." she said to him. "I don't want a big place because I want an excuse to be on top of you all of the time."

"No excuses needed." He grinned.

"Also the best part about this building is that it's pet friendly." she said clapping her hands together excitedly.

"Pet friendly?" Punk asked amused.

"Yes can't you just imagine it now?" she started off grabbing his arm so he was looking at the corner of the living room. "Laying on our brand new comfortable couch with a dog at your feet?"

"Never imagined that, no." he smirked.

"You hate dogs?" she asked him.

"Of course I don't I just never had one." Punk shrugged. "Did you?"

"I did when I was six. My neighbor had puppies and gave me one. I kept it hidden in the attic for two weeks until my dad caught on." She told him. "I came home from school one day and Pugsly was gone. My dad literally let him go outside."

"That's horrible." Punk said to her.

"I spent hours looking for him." April sighed remembering. "I did find him and Nico took me to the shelter to drop him off. I was so devastated."

"So we'll get a dog." he said to her without giving it a second thought.

"Really?" she asked.

"How could I not agree after that story?" He asked her. "I want you to have everything you want in life and if a dog is something you want than we'll get you one. Whatever kind you want doesn't matter to me."

"Well not a Pug because that's what Pugsly was." She said to him.

"No kidding." Punk remarked sarcastically.

"I was a kid." She laughed slapping his arm. "Are you sure you're ok with this?" she asked him. "As soon as we sign on that dotted line we're sharing rent for the next year. It's a big commitment."

"An apartment and dog." Punk teased. "Big, huge commitment and yet I have zero reservations."

"I'm so excited!" She squealed wrapping her arms around his neck.

"So you guys want the place?" the landlord asked walking into the apartment.

"Yes!" April shouted before Punk.

"I'll get the paperwork." The landlord said to them.

"I hope this doesn't take long." April said looking at her watch.

"Hot date?" He teased.

"Oh yea. This handsome man riding the train with me today asked me out to dinner." April teased back.

"Seriously?" Punk asked with a frown and she laughed.

"No. Nico wanted to have dinner with me." April said to him. "He has something he wants to tell me. I assume it has to do with why Celeste took off and won't answer my calls."

"Well if you have to get going I can handle the paperwork." he said to her.

"Do you know why Nico wants to have dinner with me?" April asked him.

"I'm not getting involved." Punk warned her.

"You do know." She said narrowing her eyes at him.

"I may." He admitted.

"Tell me." She demanded.

"Nope. I'm not getting in the middle of you and your brother and I am not picking between my girlfriend and best friend." He warned her and she rolled her eyes.

"Sissy." She mocked. "Just remember who the one you're going to be living with is." she reminded him.

April met Nico at the Chinese restaurant that he picked out and sat across from him.

"Is there a specific reason that you wanted to meet here?" April asked him.

"I wanted privacy." Nico said almost nervously. "How was apartment hunting?"

"We found a place!" she announced happily. "We just finished signing all of the paperwork. It's that place you suggested a few blocks over."

"Congratulations." Nico smiled.

"And we're going to get a dog." She sad removing her jacket.

"How the hell did you talk Punk into that?" Nico asked amused. "Punk isn't a dog person."

"No he is not but he is an April person and I told him the story of Pugsly." April said to him.

"I knew that would make him crack." Nico smirked.

"So what's up with this secret dinner?" April asked him. "Phil gave me no hints even though he knows why you wanted to see me."

"He's not involved in this." Nico assured her. "Don't be mad at him keeping this secret for me."

"Does this have to do with Celeste?" April asked him.

"In a way." He said shifting in his seat. "Do you want to order first?"

"No I want to know what the hell is going on." April said to him. "Tell me." she demanded.

"Well, it's actually good news." Nico said to her with a smile. "You're going to be an aunt."

"Oh my god!" April cheered. "Are you serious right now?"

"I am." Nico confirmed.

"I can't believe this!" April smiled. "An aunt! Me! Where is Celeste though? She should be here celebrating with us."

"That's the thing." Nico said to her. "Celeste isn't having the baby."

"You cheated on her?" April asked.
"I made a mistake." Nico admitted. "I drank a little too much and was in a bad place-"

"Nico who is having my niece or nephew?" she asked him.

"You remember Amy right?" Nico chuckled and April's face fell.

"You slept with Amy?" April asked him.

"Once. Christmas eve night I did it to piss off Punk." Nico said to her.

"You cheated on your girlfriend because you were mad at Punk?" April asked him. "What is wrong with you?"

"Don't judge me." Nico warned her. "I recall you doing the same thing a few months back."

"That was different." April defended. "I wasn't in a serious relationship at the time I made a drunken mistake."

"I feel bad about it." Nico said to her. "But I'm getting a baby out of it so I don't regret it."

"What the hell are you going to do?" April asked him. "Are you going to be with Amy now? What about Celeste?"

"I want to work things out with Celeste. I don't plan on being with Amy I just don't see her in that way." Nico said to her.

"She hates me." April told Nico.

"She doesn't hate you." Nico assured her.

"Yes she does!" April argued. "She hasn't said one word to me since Christmas and a week ago I was racing for the elevator and she was the only one on it and closed the doors on me."

"I'm sure she didn't see you." Nico said to her.

"Oh she saw me." April said to him. "It's kind of hypocritical for her to hate me whens he slept with her roommates boyfriend."

"I need you to be nice to her." Nico warned her. "She's carrying my child."

"She's the one with the problem and where the hell did Celeste go?" April asked him.

"She's staying with her parents." Nico told her. "I'm trying here."

"I just don't understand why you would do this." April said with a shrug. "I mean you were that mad at me that you ruined your own life?"

"I don't consider having a child being the end of my life." Nico argued.

"You don't love this child's mother, do you even like her?" April asked him.

"You were in this same position April." Nico again pointed out.

"Yes I was and I should act the way you did by throwing a tantrum, yelling and hitting people." April argued.

"This is a good thing." Nico reminded her.

"Sure the baby is good but your choice of mother could have been better." April said to him.

"Actually I'm considering having Amy move into your old room." Nico told her and her eyes widened.

"And you think you're going to get Celeste back?" April laughed. "Fat chance with moving Amy in."

"I need to focus on my child and not Celeste right now." Nico said to her.

"Are you even sure you're the father?" April asked him.

"Would you prefer it to be Punk's child?" Nico asked.

"How far along is she?" April asked horrified.

"About five weeks." He said to her and she was relieved.

"What are you going to do Nico?" April asked seriously.

"Going to try to step up the best I can." Nico said with a shrug.

April had begun packing up her room the next day since it was the end of January and they were moving in the first of February. She still couldn't reach Celeste and had left her countless messages.

"Wow you've packed up a lot." Punk noted leaning in her doorway.

"You knew my brother knocked up Amy?" April asked looking at him.

"I did." Punk confirmed.

"How could you keep that from me?" April asked him.

"I can't betray his confidence same as I can't betray yours." Punk said to her.

"Aren't you mad at him?" She asked packing up her books.

"Why would I be mad?" Punk asked sitting on her bed.

"It was your ex." she pointed out.

"Yea so what? As long as it wasn't my current girlfriend who I thankfully never have to worry about Nico sleeping with, I don't care." Punk said simply.

"He only did it to piss you off." April pointed out.

"Yes and if he would have given me the heads up before I could have told him it was a complete waste of time." Punk said to her. "Amy and I were never serious."

"So if we ever get married you're not going to tell me things Nico tells you?" April asked.

"Depends on what it is. He specifically asked me not to tell you." Punk said to her.

"Interesting." She said to him casually as she continued to pack.

"You can't be mad about me keeping Nico's secret I knew he'd tell you." Punk reasoned.

"It's fine. I have plenty of secrets myself." she remarked smugly.

"Good for you." he said simply.

"You're not curious?" she asked him.

"Not in the slightest." He said honestly.

"I know stuff about Colt and Cliff." she informed him.

"So do I." Punk said back.

"I know super secret stuff." She said proudly.

"You should keep those secrets." Punk said to her and she rolled her eyes.

"So you think keeping secrets from each other is healthy?" April asked.

"Keeping someone's secret for them isn't keeping anything from you." Punk pointed out.

"It is when the secret is that my brother is having a baby with a woman that hates me." April snapped.

"She doesn't hate you. She hates me and rightfully so." Punk said to her.

"Yes she definitely hates you but hates me more." April said to him. "And I did nothing wrong to her...except for stealing her boyfriend." she added quietly thinking about it.

"You didn't steal me." Punk pointed out. "I broke up with her before anything serious happened between us."

"I have to make her like me." April said to him. "What if she doesn't let me near the baby? What if Celeste feels betrayed by me trying with Amy? What if-"

"Relax." Punk said to her. "Amy is probably just nervous to be around you not knowing how you'll react to this."

"I'm reacting just fine." she snapped and he laughed.

"Yea you're really holding it together." He teased. "A baby isn't a bad thing."

"You like babies?" April grinned looking at him and his face dropped.

"They're ok." he said quickly. "Not something I want at the moment."

"I don't know you seem pretty into this 'baby' thing." she teased walking over to him and sitting on his lap straddling him.

"Other people's babies." He grinned. "I'll give you the apartment, let you decorate, get you the dog but the baby is going to be on the back burner for a very long time." he warned her smiling. "Ok?"

"I guess." she said loosely wrapping her arms around his neck. "As long as it can be on the front burner down the road at some point."

"In the meantime we can just do that thing that results in a baby without actually having one." He suggested.

"You mean bone?" She asked seriously.

"My girl is all class." he laughed and she kissed him.

April pushed her body down so Punk's back was now laying on his back while April devoured his mouth. Punk's hands were running over her back and then dipped underneath her t-shirt. His hands moved up to her bra strap and tried to snap it open.

"Sorry!" a voice shouted and April jumped off of Punk quickly. She turned to see Nico and Amy standing in her doorway. "Closing the door helps." Nico smirked at April as Punk sat up frustrated.

"Hi Amy." April greeted in a cheery voice and she just forced a smile back at April.

"Amy is going to be staying here once you move out so I want her to have a look around." Nico said to her.

"Celeste is coming back in a few days and it's best that I'm gone before that." Amy said to them.

"Celeste is coming back?" April asked happily.

"Yea." Nico said almost as anxiously.

An uncomfortable silence hit the room and April looked to Punk for some sort of reprieve.

"So uh- you coming to the show tomorrow night?" Punk asked Nico.

"Of course." Nico said to him. "Wouldn't miss you wrestling you know that. Also April, I spoke to Bradley from the restaurant and his dog just had puppies if you're interested."

"I'm totally interested!" She said to him. "What kind of dog is it?"

"I don't know it has four legs, a tail and barks." Nico said to her.

"You're getting a dog?" Amy asked looking towards Punk. "Thought you hated dogs."

"Hate is a strong word." Punk remarked.

"We should get going." April said grabbing Punk's hand and pulling him off the bed.

"Where are you going?" Nico asked.

"We're going to pick out furniture." April told him. "We expect to see you moving day by the way."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Nico said to her. "And I'll see you tomorrow night." he said to Punk.

"What do you think of this couch?" Punk asked annoyed.

This was the third shop they had been to in three hours and April still hadn't picked one piece of furniture.

"I don't know." She said to him. "A couch sets the entire vibe of the apartment."

"April please." Punk pleaded. "I need to train just pick a couch."

"I can't just pick one." April said to him. "I've never picked out furniture before."

"I get that this is really exciting for you but just pick out whatever you want." He insisted. "As long as it's comfortable its good."

"If you're not into this you can go." April said to him. "I can't just rush into this. Last time I rushed into something I ended up with my dress torn and a horrible man inside of me."

"Ew Ape." he groaned disgusted. "Don't say shit like that."

"I'm just trying to be careful." April insisted. "I don't want to make anymore mistakes."

"It's just a couch." he reminded her with a laugh.

"It's our first couch." she reminded him. "I want this to be special. I want a couch we both love."

"As long as you're on it at the end of the day it's all good." He said to her. "This is only one couch of many. We'll be getting other couches."

"You think so?" She asked.

"Yea I mean we're not going to stay in that apartment for the rest of our lives." Punk pointed out. "We'll eventually get a house one day."

"You think so?" she smiled.

"Yea of course. A house to fill with more dogs for you and maybe a kid or two." He shrugged.

"You do want children!" She cheered.

"Very far into the future." He added seriously. "And I don't think we could have one even if we wanted one now because every time we try to have sex someone walks in." he joked.

"That is true." April sighed. "That won't be for too much longer though soon we'll be in our own place."

"Without any furniture." He added.

"Fine." She said to him with a sigh. "I won't leave here until I pick out everything."

"Great." Punk groaned and she glared at him. "No, really I mean it." he added.

"I promise you'll be out in time to go train." She assured him.

Almost two hours later furniture was ordered and all they had to do was actually move. He held her hand in his own as they left a nearby pizza place.

"You don't have to walk me home." She smiled. "You can just go train, you're going way out of your way."

"I'm a gentleman." Punk reminded her. "In two weeks we'll be heading to the same building."

"Do you think that living together is going to take away some of the magic?" She asked him as the stopped in front of her building.

"No." He scoffed. "I wouldn't be moving in with you if I thought that."

"Hey man." a voice greeted as Punk's lips were just inches away from Aprils.

April looked and saw a man in a running outfit, headphones and clearly very built.

"Shouldn't you be training?" he asked Punk out of breath.

"April this is Alvin who I'm wrestling Friday night." Punk reluctantly introduced his girlfriend to the much younger man he was wrestling Friday.

"Hi." April smiled shaking his hand.

"This is your sister?" Alvin asked in awe. "Thank god you two don't look alike."

"No I'm his girlfriend." April spoke up when Punk didn't.

"For real?" Alvin laughed. "How old are you?"

"That's not really your business now is it?" Punk asked placing a protective arm around April's waist.

"It's just weird." Alvin chuckled. "I thought you were seeing the redhead."

"I don't rundown my social life at the gym." Punk shrugged. "It's not your business."

"Are you going to be at the fight Friday night?" Alvin asked April.

"I will." April confirmed.

"After I knock your boyfriend out I'll take you out to eat. I hope you haven't gotten too used to the early-bird specials." He teased but Punk took a threatening step towards him. "I'm just kidding." he laughed looking towards Punk taking a step back. "I look forward to our match, see you there." he said winking at April then took off on his run.

"Don't let that bother you." April said to him.

"Oh no, guys hitting on my girlfriend never bothers me." He mocked.

"I mean the age joke." April said to him. "I know it bothers you. You're only 33."

"Going on 34." he added.

"You're not that much older than me." She reminded him.

"Whatever." Punk said to her. "I've got to get going." he said giving her a quick kiss.

"Hey." She pouted grabbing him by the wrist before he could walk away. She grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss that melted his lips right off his face. "I love you." She reminded him and he gave her one more sweet kiss before fully pulling away.

"I love you too." He said resting his head against hers. "Want me to walk you upstairs?"

"I might not let you leave no matter who is up there." She warned him.

"Fair." he said to her with a smirk. "I really can't wait to be walking into our place together."

"Two more weeks." she reminded him. "Then we can have sex again." She grinned.

"Yea-" he started then stopped. "We can't have sex until we move?"

"Unless you get everyone out of the loft for an entire night before than." She said to him.

"I can do that." he assured her.

"Alright go train and kick Alvin's ass." she smirked opening the apartment door.

"Will do." he said and waited for her to be inside before walking away.

When April entered the loft she stepped inside and her phone began to ring and saw it was Paul.

"Hey Paul." April greeted.

"April we have a huge problem with your book." Paul warned her...