Sorry for the delay, had a bit of writers block. Enjoy.

Edmund sat at his dining room table; hair disheveled as he pushed his fingers into his thick locks. His eyes narrowed at the papers in front of him, mentally willing them to combust into flame. The sound of the door unlocking caught his attention and he looked away from his work to look over his shoulder.

"Ed it's me. Are you here?" Raelyn called from the other side of the wall.

"Yea, I'm here." He answered, not quite as enthusiastically. Raelyn quickly set her things down and made her way into the kitchen area.

"Hi, how were classes?" she inquired warmly, walking over to press a kiss on top of his head. Edmund smiled at the gesture.

"Same as usual. We did get done earlier than normal though." He explained, turning back to flip through the newspaper.

"I was wondering why you were home already; I was going to surprise you with some dinner since you've been working late this week. Have you eaten?" Edmund blinked in surprise and turned to face her as she puttered around his kitchen.

"Um, not yet. I've been distracted." He muttered. Raelyn turned with a concerned frown.

"Everything alright?" Edmund nodded.

"Of course, just glancing over some houses listed in the paper today." His fiancé perked up at the news.

"Oh, great! Lindy told me about one she passed the other day and I want to see if it's been listed yet." She rambled, standing over his shoulder and looking over the marks he had made. Edmund swallowed, watching distractedly as the flipped the page over to read over the titles.

"Are you sure? I don't think we should jump into anything just yet." He countered. Raelyn shrugged.

"I know, but we need to be keeping our options open. You haven't even seen the house yet." Edmund frowned.

"Regardless, I still think we should wait." Raelyn looked at him curiously.

"But I thought you wanted to try and find one before we got married?"

"Right….I did say that…."

"If you don't like this one, there is one down Pembridge…."

"….I don't know…."

"…it has that cute little backyard. We could set up a garden and maybe cut down on shopping expenses part of the year…"

"….Ray…."

"…..Or maybe just a townhouse….."

"Stop putting all this pressure on me! Can't you just calm down for one minute!" Edmund snapped. Raelyn blanched at his outburst. The two sat in tense silence. Edmund closed his eyes and sighed, setting his head in his hands. Raelyn set the paper down, scooting it to the side.

"I didn't realize I was putting pressure on you." Edmund sighed at her hurt tone, his frustration dimming.

"Just a little, but I'm putting just as much on myself. I'm sorry for shouting." He apologized, looking up at her. Raelyn nodded and sat down at the table next to him, reaching out to hold his hand.

"What can I do?" she asked sincerely, wanting to help alleviate whatever he felt was all on his shoulders. Edmund smiled briefly.

"Nothing really. I'm just stressed out with school. Until I really start working, I don't have a great income on top of having to pay for classes. I want more than anything to be able to pay for a home but…..I don't think we can. This should be a joint effort and I can't hold up my end right now." Raelyn finally understood and she felt guilty.

"Oh Ed. I'm sorry, I didn't even consider how you felt about it. I should have realized how hard finances are for you right now." She apologized, reaching over and grasping one of his hands in both of hers.

"Look, we don't need a house. We just need each other."

"But I want to get one…"

"….and we will. Just not right now." She cut him off insistently. Edmund frowned in displeasure.

"Besides, we don't need all that space anyway. If we get a reasonably priced flat, it'll be less space to clean." Raelyn chuckled. Edmund laughed in agreement, tugging her to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"You're wonderful. I don't know what I would do without you." he whispered, his lips brushing against hers. Raelyn smiled, stealing another kiss.

"Are you still hungry?" she inquired, glancing over to some ingredients she had pulled out for dinner.

"Definitely."

"Great, then you can chop up the salad while I make pasta. After all this is a joint effort, right?" Edmund laughed.

"Right."