farmgrown | (no subject)

It's perfect, when she finds it - this hut snugly nestled in among the others, seemingly unoccupied for a fairly long period of time.

But Annie isn't going to just move in without doing the official stuff first, verifying its availability with the appropriate people before deciding to claim it as her own. Even if she doesn't get a roommate out of the bargain, she falls in love with the place almost instantly. The back windows (and the bedrooms, more importantly) face the large waterfall, creating this constant soft rushing sound that's neither too loud nor too distracting - just enough to add a sense of white noise and a steady cool breeze that filters in when the windows are open. The whole place needs a little work, but she's not going to write it off just because there's some elbow grease required. She knows a thing or two about DIY projects, and sprucing up the hut will give her something to do within these next few weeks.

It seems only fair that she should make Auggie her first houseguest, technically speaking - she hasn't quite moved all of her things over from the Compound yet, but then again, she doesn't have very many possessions to begin with. But this is as nice of a housewarming party as she's ever likely to have, and she can't think of anyone she'd rather introduce the new place to, so she's the one leading the way down the path towards the waterfall, her arm casually linked in his as she directs him up the first few steps onto the porch.

"I would've totally grabbed a bottle of champagne if there were any," she openly laments, reaching in front of him to open the door, letting him walk in ahead of her. "We can just pretend." She braces her hands on her hips, glancing around. "It still smells a little musty in here, but I opened all of the windows, so that should help."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You say that now, but if I catch you putting your feet up while I'm sweating my ass off, we will have words," Annie replies, resting her hands against the porch railing as he joins her outside, a faint smile quirking up the corners of her lips.

"Maybe between this, and school, and whatever else - I'll finally start to feel a little less of the cabin fever vibe," she adds. "Or island fever, more accurately." She nudges his hip with hers. "And you were pretty good back-up to have."

"So I'm not allowed to sit on the porch with a drink like you were just imagining yourself doing? Or is that only allowed when the builders are around?" he asks, mock-disappointed, though he drops the act quickly with a laugh. "No, I promise, no slacking. I don't want to be kicked out before I even move my stuff in."

He smiles at her admission, hoping that he eventually finds even more to do himself here. Classes, the sparring with Eden he does, and this at least gives him things to be occupied with. He nudges her back and asks, "Were? Still am. There just hasn't been any reason to use the skill recently."

"How about this: we'll both do a fair amount of sweating, and then we can enjoy our ice-cold drinks together after the work is done for the day. Sound fair?" Annie asks, looking over at the sad state of the chairs resting on the front porch. "Yeah, we're definitely going to have to commission someone to make us some new furniture, or I'll be embarrassed to show anyone this place."

She grins at the returned nudge, her hand cupping underneath his elbow before she links her arm through his, curling fingers against his bicep. "Watch, you've said that now and there will be a reason for you to use it soon, knowing this place."

"Deal," he replies. Even before Annie mentioned the furniture, he'd already guessed how bad off anything actually left in the home probably was. If the dust is any indication, he's doubting there's been anyone taking care of things for a while. It makes him wonder if the beds'll even be usable. Something to check out later, he guesses.

Auggie chuckles quietly at the thought that maybe he'd just jinxed them. "Would it be horrible if I said I wouldn't mind if that happened? Nothing too bad. Just....interesting."

"I'd only say you were mildly horrible for admitting that," Annie replies, her tone just barely tinged with teasing as she releases a sigh - more of a deep breath, a relaxed sound, settling in to look out at their view and partly wishing, however selfishly, that he could somehow be able to see it with her.

"Given where we are, I'm guessing it's not going to take very long for your wish to be fulfilled. Just give it time," she quietly says, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Good thing it'll stay between us, right? Wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea about me," he replies, letting out a quiet laugh. Glancing toward her when he feels her head, he nearly puts an arm around her shoulder but thinks better of it at the last minute. Instead, he exhales much like she did, admittedly still surprised a little himself that he actually thinks this might work out. It's Annie, after all - they've always gotten along well, and isn't that really half the battle when it comes to roommates?

Of course, he'd mucked up things a little the first time she'd brought the idea up, and the thought compelled him to add, "I don't know about you, but I'm already looking forward to living in a place that isn't practically a box."

"We'll see how long it stays that way," Annie murmurs, almost as an absent thought when really she couldn't be more deliberate in her teasing. She gives his arm one more brief squeeze and then moves to extricate herself, slipping away from his side and heading towards the porch steps, but not before waiting for him to follow so she can lead him down.

"Why don't we come back tomorrow morning and tackle everything then? 'Cause right now, I'm thinking it's closer to the hour where we should have a beer to celebrate this monumental day in our friendship."

"You know, you read my mind," he chuckles, following her a moment later, his hand lightly clasping her elbow as they make their way down the stairs. He doesn't actually need her to lead him, but it's a habit at this point he sees no reason to break. "To the Hub, then?"