Prompt: Let's move in together!


Musa sipped her coffee happily, bobbing her head along to the music pumping through her headphones at what Tecna – and likely the rest of her friends – would call unreasonable levels. Her eyes scanned the door numbers until she found the address Riven had texted her. It was a small apartment building – small by central Magix standards, anyways. A mere four floors, each, it seemed, with its own large balcony. Many of them had flower pots hanging over the rails, some had bikes and almost all of them had tables and chairs. A cement walkway lined with wildflowers led up to the main door. All in all, it was a quaint, ideal-looking building, especially for its proximity to downtown. Hell, it had only taken her twenty-odd minutes to walk there from work.

Riven wasn't there yet, so she waited for him on the bus bench in front of the building. She has to admit that when he'd told her he was looking for a new apartment part of her had hoped that he would ask her to move in with him. She chose not to bring it up when he didn't. It had only been a year since they'd gotten back together and they were in such a good place, she didn't want to risk jeopardizing that over something Riven might not be ready for. Until he was, she was happy to be a frequent guest.

"Hi" a voice said, slipping her headphones off her ears. How many years had she spent listening to him speak, and she still got shivers from the deep treble of his voice? He could make her weak with one word – he often did. Musa slid the headphones off, pausing her music before getting up and giving him a peck on the lips.

She didn't have time to respond, or even greet him, before he was grabbing her wrist and dragging her down the walkway. He rang one of the doorbells, the one for the superintendent, and waited patiently for the door to open. Riven started to ask about her day, but didn't get far before the door was opening beside them.

"You weren't kidding about being punctual" a balding man with dark hair and a friendly manner joked. Riven never kidded about being punctual. He'd gone to military school and joined an elite training force after graduation. If there was one thing he would always be – other than sarcastic – it was punctual.

Musa watched in shock as Riven joked animatedly with the man. The therapist he'd started seeing during their year and a half apart must have been a miracle worker because this friendly man talking to the super was a far cry from the angry, antisocial Riven she'd fallen for. And yet, she loved him all the more: he was the best parts of her Riven – loyal, funny, intelligent – just nicer, less shut off.

"You must be the girlfriend" the man, who introduced himself as Bill, commented, finally noticing that Musa was along. Musa had a cult following in the music industry, but she'd not yet broken into the mainstream scene. Sometimes she thought she didn't want to: she liked the remaining anonymity that not being a mainstream artist allowed her.

"Yeah, this is Musa." Riven wrapped his arm around her shoulder and beamed down at her with a smile that made her want to melt into a puddle of goo.

Bill led them up to the fourth floor and let them into the apartment, before excusing himself. Riven, it appeared, had already visited but told Bill that he wouldn't sign the lease without his girlfriend's approval. Musa felt her smile become more of a beam upon learning that; like she was 18 again and Riven was doing one of the few boyfriend-y things he ever did. Considering her opinion on his apartment is something that the Riven of old would never have done – even if she would end up spending a significant amount of time there.

The apartment opened onto a spacious bare living room almost twice the size of his current one. It was all white walls and wood floors, with huge windows and open spaces. The living room in his apartment now was a tad cramped with just a couch, a TV, a coffee table and a work desk. This one would look sparse. On the left of the living room was an open kitchen and dining room. It was large enough to fit a proper table, had an island and a large counter. The bathroom had a huge counter too, large enough that even Stella's beauty product collection wouldn't use it all. It had a tub and a shower instead of one of those tub-shower combos. The bedroom, though, was the best part. It was the same size as the living room, with a walk-in closet (Stella would be jealous) and access to the balcony.

"So, what do you think?" Riven asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked over to her. Musa stood in the doorway between the living room and the bedroom and looked over the place. It was fantastic; significantly better than his current apartment. Hers too for that matter. "It's great, but…"

"What?"

"It's so much bigger than your current place. How are you gonna fill it?" Musa asked, eyes still fixated on the living room. She was trying to visualise how he could fill it – maybe a single seater to go with his couch? He could finally get a bookshelf for the six million books he owned…

"Yeah, about that…" Musa's eyes shot up to Riven, who stood awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. He was nervous – he always rubbed the back of his neck when he was nervous. "I was sorta hoping that you would maybe, uh, move in with me? I know your lease is only up in a few months, but you could move in then? Or maybe sublet your place and just move in here with me right away? Or…"

"Yes." Musa's reply came without hesitation. Riven smiled widely, relief painted all over his face. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." She stepped into his space, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat slowing to a steadier pace. Riven's arms wrapped around her, enveloping her in his warmth and she nuzzled herself further into him. "In that case, I think the apartment is perfect."