Two figures arrive at the Woodcrest Chateau Hotel, in the middle of the night. Two people who have done nothing but have emotions and go on a rollercoaster through both sides of the emotional spectrum, in a span of a single day. They walk to the hotel's lobby, side by side, both tired looking, both sleepy. The woman from the pair speaks to the receptionist.

"Good evening, are there any rooms open for tonight?"

The receptionist looks at her desk "Let's see here... I can offer you a single bed room, starting at 249 a night."

"We'll take it."

"Alright, just a few things to sign and will you be paying in cash or credit?"

The man steps up and takes out a card from his pocket "Credit."

After a few minutes they sort everything out and the receptionist gives them a card key. "Have a nice stay!"

The woman leads him by the hand as they go up the elevator. It's near midnight at this point and they have the courtesy of not making any noise. When they finally reach their room, they open the door.

There's a single king bed, a TV, and a couple hotel-esque furniture, they look at each other, with the woman blushing, but then the man just sits on the armchair in the corner.

"Huey!"

"I'm tired. Good night."

"Sleep in the bed with me."

"Seems a little odd."

"Don't sleep in the chair. I'm pretty sure they don't clean those, and you're gonna get back problems, and come on!"

He sighs and gets in the bed with her. They've already turned off the lights and locked the doors, there's nothing else except them and the dim light of a bedside lamp.

Jazmine smiles "See? Comfy."

"I hardly know you, we've been gone for 2 months. And you expect me to sleep in the same bed as you?"

"Stop being so stubborn. We've known each other for years."

"Did you do anything?" He asks.

"Any what?"

He reiterates "...How was it?... when I wasn't there for you?"

They lay together under bright linen sheets, in truth they're tired, they simply want to sleep, and yet something in between keeps them from falling asleep.

Jazmine speaks "I went on dance recitals... stayed at home... did damage control with my parents, I did a little charity stuff... How about you?"

"I... I run an office, in the city... it's uhh- political and charity thing."

She grins "Political? How many far-left organizations are you gonna make..."

"Yeah..."

"Huey... were you lonely?"

"Yeah..."

"Me too." She whispers.

"Jazmine I'm tired... let's just... go to sleep."

"Okay." She gives him a quick kiss and turns off the lamp.


He wakes up to another kiss.

She announces "Gooooodd morning!" He slowly wakes up and opens his eyes to see the sun shining down his face.

"Your breath... did you brush your teeth? Hey! Get off me." Huey says.

Jazmine giggles as she sits on his abdomen "Dummy. I just... I really missed you."

"You're being ridiculous."

"Wake up. I wanna go home."

"You keep saying home when I don't even know where that is."

"I mean your apartment. Our apartment! Not my parent's house!"

"Are you just gonna pretend that nothing happened? That we never went through that at all?"

"Maybe... I just want us to be normal again... I'm tired of being sad anymore. And I'm really really really happy right now. Because of you." Jazmine smiles at him.

"Fine. Get off me, I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Wait. One more kiss."

"Ridiculou-

She interrupts him and she places a quicker fleeting kiss on his bottom lip.

"I'm gonna shower first. I woke up first and It's only fair. Unless you want to join... me?"

"No."

She laughs childishly "See you in 10 minutes!"


They didn't bring a spare change of clothes and the hotel didn't had any vegetarian breakfast that they can eat. They didn't even had a car, so they took another cab and another hour-long bus ride to DC. For the entire time, Jazmine has not let go of him, she clung at him like a kitten, so much so that they were getting people's attention. As they sit in the bus, with Jazmine taking the window seat, she notices Huey eyeing her up and down.

She laughs "What? What is it?"

"Nothing. It just feels weird."

"Why?"

"Cause I can't believe I'm bringing you to my apartment."

"Well you're doing it because... you love me? And because it's our plan to live and study together in the capital?"

"I got pretty used to living alone."

Jazmine gives her a stern look "Did you like living alone?"

"No."

"Then... we're gonna be living together."

"We're not exactly married Jazmine."

She teases him "Hmm.. well like you said, there's a high probability that we're going to get married and have children together so..."

"...be quiet."

Jazmine looks at him seriously, catching Huey's attention, she's never been that serious before. She says "What happened in the past is done. I know we can't just expect to live like nothing happened but... you can trust me, you can open up to me... Huey you don't have to be so stubborn, I'm your best friend. Your girlfriend. I know it's weird and I'm sorry I'm rushing you but... I just want us to be normal... back before... all that mess happened. Okay?"

He sighs "Okay..."

She repeats after him "Okay."

She looks at the bus window and looks at the scenery, the highway in the East Coast is just asphalt and cars for miles and miles on end. On her mind are things she needs to do, she's gonna have to get a tuition refund from Chicago, she's gonna have to find her letter of acceptance for University of Maryland, and she's gonna have to call her parents and tell them the news. As she lists out what she has to do for the day, she feels a warm touch on her right hand.

She looks up to see Huey's hand on hers. He says "We split the rent... and we're sharing a single car."

Jazmine blushes "Thanks... I'll be a good roomie. I promise."


They enter the building, passing the asian landlady, passing all those different doors, until they reach their apartment. Huey turns the key to the door but he pauses.

"It isn't locked." He says.

"Sorry." Her cheeks warm up from embarassment.

He sighs "What did you do?"

"I... uh... I went to your apartment, but you weren't here so... I ran and-

Huey opens the door.

"You left the lights on."

"I was panicking!"

Huey takes a look at his surroundings, scanning the area, he notices Jazmine's distinctive pink bags already on the floor. "So. You decided to move in without telling me?"

"I'm sorry! Are you... angry?"

"No. Just lock the doors next time."

"Sorry! I'll unpack right away!"

Jazmine picks up her bags and walks to the bedroom. She notices a clean and tidy queen-sized bed and a small desk in Huey's bedroom, it looked quite similar to his old bedroom in Woodcrest however she notices a lot of file cabinets and bookshelves in the corner of the room.

Huey calls her from outside the room "Where are you going?"

"I'm unpacking Huey!"

She drops her bags on the bed and she starts unzipping, she has a ton of stuff she needs to sort out, plus she's thinking of getting more of her things that's still in her parent's house. As she tries to find space for her clothes she opens the top drawer of Huey's dresser.

She blushes, it's full of his underwear.

"Hey!" Huey shouts.

"Wha- I'm sorry!"

He scowls at her "Jazmine... stop unpacking."

"I- uhh... yeah..."

"Clean yourself up, or get a fresh change of clothes. Do whatever you have to do. You have 15 minutes. Then I'm taking you for shopping."

"Shopping?" She quickly gets excited.

"For furniture."

"Yay!"

"15 minutes."


As she showers Jazmine gets really bothered with the lack of body washes and beauty products.

All he has is soap and shampoo!

This entire time he's been using Irish Spring soap!?

Doesn't he have a body wash? How is his skin not drying up?

Huey?! Where's the hair conditioner?!

She finishes her second shower for the day and dries herself with Huey's spare towel. She feels uncomfortable walking around the apartment while wearing nothing but a towel on so she decides to dress inside the bathroom. After putting on sweatpants and a long button up shirt. Then she goes to work on her hair.

"You ready Jazmine?" He says from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Almost done!"

After a few more minutes, putting her hair into her usual Jazmine style, she takes a look in the mirror and puts on just a bit of makeup.

"So... how do I look?" She smiles.

"Good. Let's go."

"Okay." She blushes, she noticed Huey eyeing her up and down.

As they get to the building's parking lot, Huey leads her to a black SUV, it looks pretty modern and when she gets in the front seat she can't help but sense a new-car smell.

"Are we going to a fancy furniture place?"

"No."

"How about a mall?"

"No."

"Where are we going Huey?"

Huey starts the car and reverses from the parking lot. "We're going to Walmart."

"Oh."

He asks, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"I don't like Walmart furniture."

"Fine. We'll compromise."

"How about... IKEA?" She suggests.

"IKEA it is." He relents.

"Yay, Thanks."

Jazmine is getting a feeling that she's gonna enjoy living with Huey.


After a 10 min drive around the city, Huey makes sure to point out some of the more interesting facts in the city, he tells her the proper places to protests, how far away the hospital is from their apartment, which areas she should avoid. She listens carefully, making sure to ask questions and nod.

"People in DC are used to a lot of motorcades."

"Motorcades?" She asks.

"When the president or someone else has to travel, there's a big clump of cars that have to pass by."

"Ooohh. They have like diplomats and politicians right? With a bunch of police escorting them?"

He nods. "Yeah. Around 30-50 cars. Near Pennsylvania Avenue. Traffic gets shut down alot."

"Have you seen the president? You don't like him right?"

"I don't. And I don't think I've seen one of his motorcades."

"How can you tell?" She asks.

"You can tell if there's ambulances in the motorcade. If there's one then it could be the VP or the president."

"Gee- how do you know everything Huey?" Jazmine looks at him impressed.

"You read."

They reach their destination and in front of them is a large blue and yellow building, IKEA is popular furniture in America but for Jazmine she almost feels like on a date. She can't believe that two days ago she was bound for Chicago and getting ready to start a life without him. She was ready to leave everything behind and was on the brink of giving up. She was prepared to just study, get a job, and start a family, without him. Yet she never gave up on him, they never gave up on each other and when Huey gets out of the car and gets a shopping cart, Jazmine clings onto his arm and walks beside him side-by-side.

"Jazmine... how can I push the cart if you're gonna stick to me like a magnet?"

"Fine. We'll push it. Together."

He sighs "Not everything you do has to be a sign of affection."

"Maybe I can get on the cart and you can push me!"

"You're 18. Not 10."

"Then let's push the cart together. It's cute."

"Fine."

She places her hand on top of his as they push the cart. When they go inside the store they look around the hundreds of furniture choices, some look really pretty, some look minimalistic, some are too expensive. Jazmine feels like a little kid trying touch and brush her hands on all the different tables and cabinets, she can't believe that they're actually picking furniture for their apartment.

Huey tries to get her attention "We're only buying a dresser. For your clothes."

"What about that coffee table! We don't have one!"

"No."

"Look how cute that chair is! An armchair wouldn't hurt right?"

"It's okay."

She gasps "A bookcase! This is enough to fit all your books!"

"I can just put my books in a box."

Jazmine says to him "Huey. If I'm gonna live in your apartment then I need to decorate it too. I'm paying half the rent so that means we're co-owners.."

"That... doesn't work like that."

"Yes it does! What your apartment needs is a little Jazmine magic. Some... 'jazzy pizzaz." She smiles at him.

"Okay fine. Whatever. Just remember, we have a budget."

"Thank you Huey!" She gives him a tight hug and then she runs off to the home decor section.

For two hours, Jazmine puts down a pile of stuff in their shopping cart. There's little pots for plants, some random decorative vases, a couple paintings that's literally just a bunch of black lines and a white background. She also picked out a wall shelf made out of wooden squares, and of course a dresser. She actually found a dresser that looked similar to Huey's, in her own words she found the dresser's "twin" which made Huey's eye roll.

On top of that, she bought a coffee table, a bookcase, a bright-looking bean bag chair, two lamps, and a bunch of other stuff. Much to Huey's dismay they were way over budget but he gives up trying to restrain her. He understands that he has to give a girl her chance to decorate, she should have the chance to make their place feel like home to her too.

After another hour trying to put everything the car, then driving, and then dragging everything to their apartment, they can finally sit down and look at all the boxes of furniture they need to assemble.

"Phew! That's the last of them." Jazmine sits down on the couch, feeling content with her choices.

"I'm gotta make some tea, I have paperwork to do."

"Oh right! You said you have an office downtown right?"

"And I haven't checked in for 2 days."

"You should... take me there sometime." She asks him with puppy eyes.

"Of course. I need..." Huey pauses for a second. "I need help on some stuff."

"I'll help. Hmm... maybe I can be your secretary!"

"I don't need one."

She asks, feeling sad. "Do you already have a secretary?"

"No. It's not that. I just don't need one. I can handle it myself."

"Oh." She frowns.

"But... I was thinking of making you, co-founder?"

"I-I- We- Of course Huey!" She closes the gap between them and hugs him.

"Don't think I'm just giving you a job because we're together. You need to work twice as hard as you did in Woodcrest."

"Okay!"

"And we have to study in university on top of that."

"You'll help me!"

"And I don't pay myself a lot. Our paycheck is gonna be pretty low."

"I don't care about money!"

"Fine then. Congrats. Co-partner." He offers his hand out to her.

She gives him a handshake and tries to talk in a professional voice "Glad to be on board... Mr. Freeman."

They embrace and she giggles. Melting in each others arms. Then when they lock eyes, Jazmine can see those maroon-coloured eyes looking back at her, the void that frightened her was gone, she sees color in his eyes again. Maybe all this time it was just her imagination but she truly believes that color had returned in his eyes. She notices there isn't a scowl on his face, she notices his fast-paced breathing, and his warm hands on her hips. She can't help but smile thinking that her boyfriend, her love, Huey Freeman is alive again.

He leans in, signalling her to move as well. Then they hug each other tightly until their foreheads connect. She lets out a small giggle again.

She whispers "I love this."

He asks "You're happy?"

"Absolutely."

"I really missed you." He confesses again.

"I missed you too."

"You smell really nice."

She giggles again "It's Irish Spring. Your soap."

Their foreheads were touching each other, their noses were inches apart, their bodies closed the gap.

Huey whispers to her "I'm sorry if... this isn't some mansion... or some big condo in the city... it's just a small little apartment in a low-income neighbourhood... but I promise we're going to live someplace else... somewhere better."

"There's no rush Huey... I'm happy... just as long as I'm with you... then it's my home... Our home."

Then he leans in, kissing her lips, gently, sensually, and with a moan from them both. They both have so many errands to run, she has to call her parents, he has to call his office, and she has to buy bath products other than that soap. Yet instead of doing all of that, she couldn't resist, she's arching her back, her knees weaken, and she falls on his arms while he holds her up.

Then they slowly fade away, their rush of hormones firing off like crazy, she blushes at how dirty she's becoming, she hasn't felt so much love and she hasn't loved this much for months. Her day has been nothing but affection and kisses and love, they've become gluttons and addicts for each other. They feel like a married couple on their honeymoon and their wedding vows were made yesterday.

And after a couple more breaths, they dive in each other's lips, feeling another high.

"Mhmmm Huey..."

In what seems like hours of making out, Jazmine can't help but notice that she's in Huey's bed. She was devoid of all her surroundings, she was too deep into the kiss, her eyes too close until she notices herself on his bed, their bed.

She pulls away and her cheeks turn into a bright pink.

"I... uh... I should assemble the furniture..."

"Yeah..." Huey rubs his left eye, avoiding eye contact.

"Then... maybe uh... unpack my stuff too."

"I'm gonna go... make some tea."

She sits up, still on their bed "I'll make my own tea too."

"Sure." Huey gets off of her body and stands up. He offers his hand and he helps Jazmine stand up too.

She awkwardly laughs "Heheh... I- uhh for the second there I thought we were gonna..."

"Yeah."


After a few more awkward looks, a couple hand brushes, a couple weird moments where everything is quiet and he would scowl at her and she would smile at him. It's finally come to the realization that Jazmine is living together with a person of the opposite sex. It's an adjustmennt about her life that she really hasn't put much thought into. She still has a lot to learn, lessons they both have to do, and things that they have to discuss about.

So when she and Huey finish assembling all their furniture and they sit on the couch inside a more comfier and decorated apartment, it is about evening and they're gonna have to think about making dinner.

Jazmine's stomach grumbles, slightly ashamed that he can hear it "So... takeout? Again? How bout veggie dairy-free pizza?"

He reminds her. "We already had takeout for lunch."

"Hmm..." She thinks.

"We're gonna have to cook."

"Oh umm... I'll uh... what do you want to eat?"

"Something simple." Huey says.

"Okay... I'll uhh... cook something up..."

Jazmine stands up from the couch, moving past the newly-built coffee table. She prepares to go the kitchen and make Huey's dinner.

"Where are you going?" He asks.

She turns around and looks at him "I'm making... dinner. Isn't that what the woman's supposed to do?"

"Woman? What the hell do you mean?"

"Aren't women supposed to cook? For their male partners?"

Huey scoffs and gives her a confused glare "This isn't 1950s America."

"But that's what my mom always does... in our house. My dad works and she cooks for us."

"Do you want to be like your mom? It's called being a housewife Jazmine. Confined to a kitchen, bowing to the every whim of man, subservient to the patriarchy?"

She looks visibly uncomfortable "Ermm... no."

"Then..." Huey stands up. "We'll cook. Together."

"Really?"

"Why not?" He assures her.

She smiles as they walk in the kitchen "You know... that's actually kinda cute."

"Why?" He asks as he rolls his sleeves.

"Oh I don't know... just you in general. Helping me and stuff."

"What kind of progressive activist am I if I don't practice what I preach?"

She leans against the counter and faces him "Let me guess... you're gonna wash the dishes?"

"We'll take turns! Look if you want to set some house rules then do it after we eat okay?"

"Not okay. Let's do it now." She takes his hand playfully and starts playing with his fingers "How about... laundry?"

"We'll wash our clothes together. The washing machines are in the basement and it costs a dollar per batch."

Jazmine thinks for a bit. "Hmm... how about bedtime?"

"Sleep at 10. Wake up at 6."

She bargains with him "No deal. I want to sleep at 11."

"10:30 and we wake up at 6:30."

She nods her head "Deal. How bout bathroom? Who gets to go first in the morning?"

"You take way too long. I'm going first."

"Fair enough." She admits that she takes way too long with her hair.

He has his own terms "You don't have to wear so much makeup... around me."

"Why? What's wrong with makeup?"

"It's your choice but... you look prettier without it."

She blushes "A compliment from Huey Freeman? Wow."

"I like your natural look, but you can do whatever you want. I don't judge by appearance."

Jazmine squeezes his arm playfully "If you want to say I'm pretty just say I'm pretty."

"You're pretty. Okay happy?"

She smirks "I'm pretty okay? Or I'm pretty?"

"You're pretty."

"See? Now that wasn't so bad. And... I'll stop wearing eyeliner and all that extra stuff. Now what are we going to cook?"


"That was actually pretty fun." She says, with a mouthfull of food in her mouth.

"Sure."

"We bought new stuff, we unpacked all my clothes, we did some interior design, and then we cooked and having dinner together!"

"Yeah. Fun I guess..."

She punches him playfully "It is fun. Stop being so sarcastic!"

They are sitting together on the small two-seat dining table that Jazmine had picked out in IKEA. They sit on opposite sides. On their plates is spicy bean hotpot with a side of white rice, it's like a vegetable chilli, with beans, diced tomatoes, and diced peppers. It is actually Jazmine's recipe, which she learned online, and she had fun showing Huey the directions on how to make it.

Huey asks her "Do you want to visit the offices? Tomorrow?"

"Okay. That sounds fun."

"Then... we're gonna have to enroll you for University of Maryland."

"Alright."

"Then we can go shopping for groceries."

"Okay. Walmart or maybe Target."

"Fine."

She adds "And I get 30 minutes in the Home Decor section."

"Fine." He relents.

"Good. I want more knick knacks to place around the house. Like picture frames and maybe a straw box for the coffee table. That would look cute."

He looks around their apartment, at their front door is a smal coat rack stand that she had bought. As his eyes drift to the living room, Jazmine had moved all his posters of black activists away and replaced them with paintings and shelves. His workout area and punching bag was moved to their home office, and as his eyes move to the couch he sees teddy bears, potted plants, and assorted decor sprinkled around everywhere.

She added in a bean bag chair too, it's also alot brighter with the new lamps she got, and underneath their couch and coffe table is a soft wooly carpet. He feels slightly at peace, their apartment looks like their houses in Woodcrest combined. Their styles merging together to create a design that feels like home to both of them.

Jazmine notices him looking at her work "You like it? I like the teddy bears, it's a nice touch."

"It's nice. Feels like home."

She lets out a small grin "Thanks. I was going for that Woodcrest-y style you know?"

"I can see that."

"You like the bean bag chair?"

"Thanks for not picking a bright color."

"Yeah." She chuckles "You'd probably throw it away if it wasn't dark brown or gray."

They finish their plates and conclude their meal. Huey stands up and grabs her empty plate "I guess I'll wash the dishes."

"Okay. Thanks Huey... and I'll do dishes tomorrow then."

"Yeah. You're welcome."


The Freeman-Dubois household contains one bedroom, one home office, a kitchen, a bathroom, and an extra closet at the entrance. So confusion and awkwardness goes awry when 10:30 comes around the corner.

They're both in their sleepwear, both a shirt and pajama pants. Thankfully both of them didn't get a habit of sleeping naked, which is a relief in Jazmine's case considering she is going to be sleeping next to him.

"So." Jazmine says, as they stand together in their bedroom.

"So what?"

"We're gonna be sleeping together."

"No big deal."

"Stop lying Huey, it's a big deal."

"Fine. Kinda a big deal."

She suggests "I'll sleep on the right side?"

"No. I'll sleep on the right. It's closest to the door."

"Okay." She gulps, shuffling her body and laying on the left side of the bed.

"We already did this at the hotel. Why are you being weird about it today?"

"Cause we're in our home. It's just different."

Huey lays next to her, on the right side of the bed.

"Are you gonna share the blanket?" He asks.

"No. Get your own."

He sighs and stands up. "Fine."

"Wait! I was just joking! Come back Huey. We can share..."

They lay together in bed, just like the hotel room, it is just the two of them in bed with the dimming light of a bedside lamp.

"Let's sleep then." Huey turns his back towards her, his head facing towards the doorway.

"This is weird."

"Only if you make it weird." He replies.

Jazmine has her head on the pillows, her head looking straight up the ceiling. "Huey?"

"Yeah?"

"We're doing this."

"Do what?"

"We're sleeping together in a bed, we're living together in an apartment, we're going to work and study in the same places..."

"What's wrong? You're unhappy?"

"No! No! Not that! Of course not!" Jazmine feels offended, her life is perfect and she doesn't want it any other way.

"Then what do you mean?"

"I'm saying. After all these years, I'm going to live with the boy next door. I'm going to spend my life with you and... it's crazy how I got so lucky... I feel like the happiest girl in the world. And... everything is just so... perfect."

"You're getting emotional again."

She smiles to the ceiling "I know."

Huey turns towards her and they both lock eyes "I'm happy too."

She childishly bops his nose "Boop. Let's sleep now." Jazmine turns off the lamp and she curls up in his arms.


Follow and Fav please, story rating turning to M (big surprise)