Jack

I was woken up by Alex dotting small kisses over the bridge of my nose. He smiled as he watched my eyes open, not once deterring from the simple actions. He was hovering over me, holding himself up, hands splayed either side of my head. I reached up and hooked my arms around his neck, giving him my own lopsided smile.

'Morning.' He said in between kisses.

'Shh,' I whispered. 'You're ruining the moment.' Alex chuckled, the sound coming from low in his throat. Becoming more adventurous, I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him down on top of me. His bottom half dropped like a rock, barely managing to keep himself from bashing his skull against mine. He very slowly lowered himself down, so that we were chest to chest. His body was warm, and my nerves tingled all the way from my head to my toes. He filled my senses. But wasn't overwhelming.

We lay there for several minutes, inhaling each other's scent.

'Time to get up.' Alex mumbled against my lips. It was nice, not kissing, just letting our lips touch.

'Really?' I murmured in reply. I didn't want to get up.

'Yeah, we've got unpacking to do and,' Alex got up off me and leaned over to grab his phone, checking the time, 'it's nine forty. Come on. Poor May must have been up for ages.'

Oh, that's right. My sister. I thought, slowly climbing out of bed and putting on jeans and a shirt while Alex walked out to find May and see if she was in the shower. As I slipped my shirt on, I heard a high pitched shriek from May, and Alex's booming voice shout, 'Sorry! Sorry! Oh shit, sorry!' Somebody came thumping down the hall and I heard a door close. It must have been May. I walked out of my room and saw Alex standing in the hall, red-faced.

'What happened?' I asked, curious. I seemed to have forgotten the saying "curiousity killed the cat", because had I known I wouldn't have asked.

'Uh, well, um. May was in the bathroom and I went to go in and we smacked into each other and she lost hold of her towel... Um.' He looked so embarrassed, promptly turning and stalking down to the kitchen. I bit my lip to keep from laughing and followed him. I suppose it probably wouldn't have helped the situation as he was only in boxers.

When I reached the kitchen, Alex was already boiling the kettle, preparing three cups for morning coffees.

'May will have a tea,' I said, before noticing that he had already put a bag in one of the cups. Alex only smiled at me, but the light had gone out of his eyes. I knew what he was remembering. My absence. I bit my lip yet again, but this time it was not because I was trying not to laugh.

The kitchen was quite small, but it gave off a homey feel. There was a small alcove that would be dedicated to a smal dining table, and the lounge room was directly opposite the eating areas. A hallway branched off, and I knew that that led to a bathroom and bedrooms. There was another separate hallway, but I had no motivation at this exact moment to find out what it led to. The front door was next to the lounge room.

After Alex had finished taking up the small space, I moved into it to make breakfast, We may as well eat something slightly fancy for our first breakfast in a new house. Fifteen minutes later and May was out of her bedroom and she and Alex were both avoiding each other's looks like the plague, I presented them both with a single pancake each. May rolled her eyes, smiling slightly and drizzling honey onto the pancake.

'Did you get any bananas while you were out yesterday?' Alex asked May, spreading butter on his own pancake. May paused as she was about to take a bite, the fork halfway to her mouth.

'No, I don't think so. Why?'

'It would have made your meal healthier.' I turned back to the pan while they bickered, smiling. This was a good first breakfast.

- - -

I spent the afternoon wandering around town. May had sent me out to find decorations for the house. Alex wanted to spend more time with his parents, and May herself was doing a bit more unpacking. I didn't know what she meant exactly by decorations, but she had sent me a list of things to get. Candles, picture frames, and other assorted things. It was going to be a nightmare trying to find things that suited May's taste as well as matching the house's colour.

I came back, my arms laden with shopping bags. Almost everything I had sent May a picture of she had responded with a 'yes' and then sent me a grocery list too. She had made sure to put bananas as the first thing. When I arrived back at home, May wasn't anywhere in the house. I dumped the bags in the sparsely filled living room and wandered around. The extra hallway bugged me! so I ventured down it, finding a sun room connected to a small garden.

The garden itself was overrun with weeds, the cobbled walkway barely noticeable under the dark green. Bushes struggled to flower under the shelter of the taller trees, who were badly in need of a trimming. I had no clue what any of the plants names were. Except for the daffodils. May was standing amidst it all, the cool breeze making her hair dance and the ankle length skirt kick up to around her knees. She seemed peaceful, and I could see the hairs standing up on her arms, her tank top not providing much warmth.

I walked out to join her, and she crossed her arms, self consciously covering her scar.

'I feel free here.' She said, I crossing her arms and spreading them wide. No shoes or socks adorned her feet.

'Freedom isn't going to get the house set up or the groceries put away.' I said bluntly, watching May turn around in horror.

'You didn't unpack?' She shouted, rushing inside. 'You had frozen items in those bags!'

'So?' I said, walking in leisurely after her.

'So? What if they defrost, Jack?'

'We stick them back in the freezer?'

'No,' May had reached the kitchen by now and stopped dead in her tracks. 'It would need to be thrown out. You can't refreeze defrosted foods. It doesn't work very well.'

'Lucky I was here to put away said groceries, huh?' Alex smiled, closing the freezer door.

'Yeah, good job.' I said lamely, feeling a bit stupid.

'My parents gave me a bottle of red wine, want to celebrate our new house?'

- - -

We decided that the perfect place to celebrate was outside. Alex and I dragged a fold out table to the uneven cobblestones while May lugged folding chairs, setting them up precariously around the table. She also grabbed the wine and plastic cups, which was all we had available at the moment, as Alex grabbed crackers and cheese. I tried to find the most stable spot for the table.

'So,' May began once we were seated, 'Alex, you toast. You suggested this.'

'Okay, uh. To our new house, new country, and new beginning.' He raised his glass, giving us a half smile, with a look in his eyes that said, was that good enough?

I tapped my cup with his and May'a and took a large gulp. 'To a new beginning.' May and I echoed.

Notes

Title cred: Alive In The Lights - Memphis May Fire

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