((Crossposted over at the Plaza de Troyes Sorry if you're reading twice))


The gate and the stone wall surrounding the house was nice but Kate knew they?d have to beef up security. Something she vocalized when she unlocked the gate and pushed it open, "We'll have to upgrade the security I think."

Luckily Lucien agreed, he glanced over his shoulder at the neighboring properties, then followed her through the gate. "Definitely." His attention turned to the grounds as he closed the gate.

Once they were through the gate she started walking up the drive, crushed gravel and shells crunched under her shoes as she moved. The sound made her smile a little, for some reason it always reminded her of a home, somewhere safe, where she could live. It also worked as an early warning system should someone make it past the wall and the gate.

"But having a wall and a gate helps." She glanced around as she walked. "I'm guessing most of the yard is behind it, which is smart, the house is far enough away from the gate to save it from any explosion there but close enough to see things."

They absently discussed what surrounded the property, most of the older neighbors in New Haven were straight up houses on plots of land (large and small), there were businesses but neither of them had much concern about businesses or factories butting up against the outside of the wall.


His attention turned from the grounds to the manor as they approached it. "Keeps it real private which is nice." He turned his gaze up at the porte cochere at the front door and a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. Then he tried one of the large ornate knockers on the door.

She watched him knock on the door with a smirk. The sound of it echoed through the house. "Guess it really is empty eh?" Laughing she set the key in the lock and turned, pushing the door open. "Welcome to your new potential, possible home?"

He swept one arm out indicating for her to go in first. "Welcome to *our* new potential, possible home."

"Yes, that." She was still struggling with the whole ?our?, ?we?, ?ours? thing. The smirk changed into a smile as she stepped in. The darkness inside the entry way had her blinking when she turned back to the door to look at him.

She watched him when he stepped through the entryway, her eyes sharpening as she looked around for the light switch. When she found it and flipped it on, the sudden blaze of light took them both by surprise. Lucien had it worse than she did as he had been looking right up at the fixture when she hit the button, she almost laughed when he blinked and covered his eyes with a hand. 'Light's work," he remarked as his vision adjusted and refocused.

She laughed as they took in the ornate design of the entry. This was another possible sticking point with getting a house with someone, decoration. The island house that was being built, she never worried about because she?d told Lucky that it was his to build how he wanted and she meant it. He?d asked her what she liked and what she?d want in a perfect house and she?d told him but she didn?t expect or demand those things. Buying an exisiting house together and one that had such strong interior decoration could cause an argument.

As usual she jumped in with both feet and just asked, "Do you like the whole ornate design thing? If we bought it I'd like to keep it all in the style of the house but gold and gilt and over the top crystals and stuff aren't really me. Well unless we're talking the ballroom"

His attention moved over the entry foyer, then followed the stairs up to the second floor. He noted the details and finishes, then glanced down at the flooring beneath his foot, tapping the toe of his shoes against it. "I like cleaner less fussy asthetic." He grinned attention returning to her. "So getting rid of the gold and gilt except at the ballroom is fine with me."

If she?d been holding her breath she would have let it out in a rush at that moment, they agreed, they were in general agreeing. This was good, this was what everyone wanted in a relationship, espically when you were buying a house with someone. So why was she feeling scared?

The fear is what pushed her to make the next statement, whenever she got scared she started to focus on the negative, start an argument, push a little. Even though she was trying hard not to fall into that old trap (and until this moment hadn?t really felt the need to) she found herself doing it, "We're going to be doing some major construction if we get this place won't we?" She followed his gaze to the stairs, walked over, and started up them.

He didn?t bite or argue as he started up the stairs behind her, his gaze moving farther up, past her, "Maybe, maybe not." A grin crooked, accompanying a sidelong glance. "I think with whatever place we find, we'll be doing some major construction work. Afterall, need to make it feel like home."

He was right and even though that seed of fear was still there she didn?t keep pushing, she stopped and thought it through, he was right. "True. We'll have to make it secure too and I'm always having to add the shades for the daytime." At the top of the stairs she stopped and looked up and down the hall there. "Bedrooms I"m guessing. We could used them as offices and stuff."

His attention turned down the hall and the doors and rooms there. A grin crooked at the corner of his mouth as his attention returned to Kate. "Lot of bedrooms and rooms."

She stepped into the hallway and turned to face him, still thinking about the rooms. "We could knock down the walls on an entire side and make a big Master." She?d always liked having a large bedroom and a large master bath. Even when she lived alone she always sunk a large portion of her renovation budget on the master bedroom and bath.

His arms snaked around her waist and that grin tugged wider. "If there isn't a large Master bedroom, we definitely should. We could take up the whole floor."

She couldn?t help it she tilted her chin up so she could give him a wicked little smile. "Yeah but that really reduces the number of rooms to initiate you know."

His hands slid down lower over her and a brow quirked thoughtfully. "Hmm." Glance stole past her down the halls to the numerous rooms, before returning to her. "Good point, Princess. In that case, we ought to initiate all the rooms first, then knock them all down."

She leaned up and kissed him with a laugh, ?You are a bad bad man Bear.?

He smiled against her kiss, his hand caressing over her backside then giving it a squeeze as he kissed her back. "Yes, yes I am." Another kiss was pressed to her lips, then he leaned his head back. "Shall we see if we can find the Master bedroom? Or should we go downstairs and see about the kitchen and wine cellar?"

His squeeze to her backside had her jumping a little but that was nothing compared to what he?d admitted to. She blinked once, twice, and then a third time before she exclaimed, "You finally admitted it!" She?d been calling him bad for months and he?d always, always denied it, him admitting that he was being bad, even in this one small way was a victory for her. She didn?t push her luck though, quickly moving on to answering the second half of his statement, "Ok, I think we know we have enough room to do what we want up here to at least make the room we want right?"

He took another assessing glance around then nodded. "Yes. Plenty of room up here."

She ducked out of his arms and quickly turned so she could race down the stairs. "So far so good then right?"

He chuckled as she ducked out of his embrace and moseyed over to the stairs after her. "Yes, so far so good."

She slid to a stop on the main floor, turning in the entry way and looking at each doorway and hall determining where the kitchen would be. "I"m guessing it's this way cause usually the sitting room is to the right, sometimes a music room to the left and then like more important stuff straight ahead." She pointed in each direction as she called over to him, she?d spent a lot of time in a lot of different houses, from different periods, different styles, different countries, if there was one thing she knew it was how to navigate older style homes.

His amused chuckle sounded and drifted down towards where she was standing as he followed her down the stairs. He glanced in the directions she indicated then nodded to the left. "Let's start this way."

She followed his glance to the left. "Music room eh? Should have known." he got another quick kiss as she took his hand.

Warm fingers wrapped over hers to give her hand a squeeze as he headed that way. "Can't be a home without music."

"Or a kitchen." It was well known that she baked, that she always put in a state of the art kitchen wherever she lived and as much as she loved music and dancing she loved her kitchen more. She looked around as they walked. "So what are you thinking so far Bear?"

He looked around the spaces as they walked through them, taking in the details of the architecture. "A kitchen is another must." Gaze swept over the room once again and he nodded. "I like it." A smile ghosted beneath the beard. "It has a home feel to it."

"it does have great bones, which is the important part." She nodded. "Even the rooms that might not totally work look like they'll be easily repurposed."

The smile bloomed further as he spotted the kitchen and he started that way with her. "Here's the real test?

She nodded and started chewing on her lower lip, this was the big test of the place if the kitchen was too small and couldn?t be expanded, if it was going to ruin the rest of the house modernizing it then that was that. They?d have to look for something else. "Yeah, it said modern kitchen didn't it? Question is how modern?"

"If it isn't to your liking, or we can't remodel it to your liking, then this place won't work." it was a releaf to know he was thinking along the same lines she was, even if she wasn?t voicing her thoughts.

"Yes, it wouldn't do to have your pastry and bread lifeline ended because of a subpar kitchen." She couldn?t help but smile as she said that.

His face scrunched up at that suggestion. "Perish the thought." He stepped aside when they got to the kitchen, peering into the space. "Well...what do you think?"

She stepped in with him then released his hand and took a few more steps into the kitchen. "Would we use a dining room or do you think we could repurpose a sitting room for it? Or we could have dinner parties in the ball room and have the tables moved out later." She slowly turned. "we could make it much bigger then, have an eat in kitchen."

He slipped his hands into his pockets when she let go of it and stepped into the kitchen after her. He looked around, working out the spatial requirements and impacts of each of her suggestions. "Did you want a formal dining room or a eat in kitchen?"

"I've never used a formal dining room here in RhyDin." Her head cocked to one side as she thought for a second. "Well I did a few times when I had to have meetings with certain people but for the most part now I don't do that in my home but out at the Castle. At the townhouse I ate out or in the kitchen."

"I have a formal dining room at the townhouse, but, I've rarely used it." Another assessing glance around the space. "How about opening it up over here?" he queried indicating the far wall, "and create a eating nook there?"

She turned and looked where he indicated. "Yeah, yeah that would work." She nodded. "If we're adding and changing, I like at least four ovens an island, and lots of counter space for the baking."

He took a step back toward one of the walls to get a better view of the space. A nod as he glanced over at Kate with a grin. "Could wrap counters along here."

She nodded again. "I think we're good in here then, if we make the changes. Even without the changes it's still a nice kitchen, I just like more room ya know?"

Once again he nodded. "Can't skimp on the kitchen, bedroom or the wine cellar."
"Speaking of which, should we check that out? Wasn't it connected to the tunnels?"

"Yes, the door to it should be here in the kitchen, though at this point I think we're both pretty happy and the wine cellar is just going to be gravy"

"Should we check out the grounds then?" he queried tipping his head to the door that lead out back,

"Is it going to work for you? IS there any room you want to see or turn another room into?"

He shook his head. "There's plenty of space and I like the way the house sits and addresses the gate. And if there's something that needs to be changed," he knocked on the wall, "it doesn't look like that's going to be a major ordeal."

She paused and looked at him, that earlier seed of fear starting to sprout a little. "So are we buying the place?"

He looked around the kitchen, then back at Kate. "Do you like the place?"

"Yeah, I actually do, it's nice, it's big, sturdy, and really the modifications we want to make are fairly minor." She looked around the kitchen. "You?"

He nodded. "Yes." A grin crooked. "Then it's set. We're buying the place."

Her eyes widened a little at that as the fear sprout turned into a nice, tight bud. "Holy crap."

A brow quirked at her reaction. "Something wrong?"

"No, no, just we're making this decision together, we're agreeing, and we're going to buy it together. It's....." She paused and looked at him, bud now blooming into a flower. "Not normal."

He walked over to her, closing the distance between them. He reached out to take hold of her hands. "Are you alright with that?"

She answered as he took her hands, his touch finally starting to slow down the express train to the fear and freak out forest that she had going on. "Yeah, we've just only been together...." her hands squeezed his a little as she shook her head. "Yes, it's wonderful."

He lifted her hands and pressed a kiss across the back of each one, before letting her hands go and reaching his arms around her to embrace her. He smiled. "Yes, yes it is." He leaned down to brush a kiss to her lips.