Azrael Maximoff View
After Joe had shown us around the compound and the apartment we wanted, we accompanied him to his office to sign the documents and paperwork to make it official.
The apartment had two bed rooms, three bathrooms, a spacious living room, and a cool man cave. It was a bit more expensive than what we previously wanted to look for, but we agreed on this collectively.
The sleeping arrangements were already set. Two people per bedroom, one person gets the living room, and one person gets the man cave. Since I was the sole reason we've ended up in this situation, I was given the master bedroom.
Since everyone acknowledged Laura and I's somewhat relationship, we'll share that room together. Speaking of relationships, everyone knew about Pietro's crush on Hisako except the clueless Hisako herself.
So I deemed that Pietro and Hisako will share a room. Wanda volunteered for the living room because she'd be the closest to the front door and would be seen as the first line of security. Chris was more than happy to be left with the man cave.
'I really need to talk to Laura about.. this high school relationship we've got going on.' I knew how I felt about her, but this felt so complicated. I do like her, but we haven't had a good chance to connect.
Our feelings for each other were started off of instincts and power, not love.
'I'm going to spend some time with her. I need to know if she's ready to actually do this.' I thought with a sigh. Love is complicated.
After Chris signed all the papers and what not, he received information about everything we needed to know.
"How many keys do you need to the house?" Joe asked. Chris was about to answer, but I nudged him. He glanced at me, as I thought about who would and wouldn't need a key. There was no need for everyone to have a key, plus those girls Hisako and Wanda are quite clumsy.
Losing a key could be critical, who knows who's watching us? Well, no one is. My and Laura's senses are pretty strong, but there are definitely some higher beings that I probably couldn't detect.
'Pietro can phase through physical objects, so a key is useless for him. Wanda can unlock the door using her telekinesis. Laura is mainly around me, so if I have a key, she won't need a key, but she'll get one just in case. Hisako has no ability that allows her to enter the house without a key.
So me, Laura, Chris, and Hisako will need a key.' I confirmed in my head.
"|Four|" I mentally said to Chris, who lightly nodded and turned his attention back to Joe.
"We're gonna need four keys, Mr. Goldmill." Chris said with a smile. Joe nodded and went over to a drawer. He pulled out four identical keys and put them in Chris's hand.
"Enjoy the apartment Mr. Allen, Mr. Bellic." Joe said with a smile. Chris smiled back on my behalf as we both walked out of the office. These apartments were three levels, and we were all the way at the top on the third level.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Pietro's number. Hearing him pick up, I spoke into it.
"The apartment number is 15. The door will be wide open."
[Got it.] Pietro said, hanging up the phone. As soon as we got up the stairs and opened the door, we stepped aside and a gray blur went in and out the house multiple times.
Eventually, Pietro, Laura, Hisako, Wanda, bags with the rest of our money, and our laptop were all in the living room. Chris followed inside shortly after. Then I walked in, locking the door behind me.
"Wow, this crib is nicer in person!" Pietro exclaimed. I immediately could tell he was about to run around and study the home from top to bottom.
"Pietro." I sternly warned. I didn't want to pay for any damages that Pietro might cause to the apartment, plus we have neighbors and him causing a disturbance could cause issues.
Pietro hung his head sheepishly.
"You're no fun Ezzy." Pietro mumbled. Wanda lightly laughed and pat his back.
"And you're no genius Pietro." Wanda walked off leaving Pietro more dejected than before. Everyone started to explore the apartment and the rooms they would be inhabiting.
"I can already imagine all of the sick American posters I can have in this room!" Pietro exclaimed. I couldn't help but smile at his childish behavior now. I haven't seen him act like this since we were truly children. I left him and Hisako to decide on the future design of the room.
I entered the man cave and saw Chris in a trance, visibly drooling in the idea of his own custom man cave. I chuckled and decided not to bother him, instead letting him day dream as long as he wanted right now.
I then went into the master bedroom where Laura stood, observing it as well. Even though she's never had the comfort of having the opportunity to customize her own bedroom, she still had an imagination.
"We can design it however you want it to look, Laura." I told her, deciding to stand next to her. Her gaze landed on my eyes and she stared at me.
"I'd like that." Laura said, a grin escaping her mouth. My eyes flickered to her lips for a split second, before reverting to her eyes. In that same amount of time, she closed the gap between us and kissed me.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and I put mine around her waist. We stayed like this for minutes, before releasing each other reluctantly.
On the inside, I was confused. She had never been so affectionate before, she was mostly reserved and rarely showed emotion, but now she seemed gratified and happy.
Maybe it's because this is one of the only times she truly has felt free. She's experiencing the same experiences as normal people do, things like buying a home and living with your loved ones.
I put my palm on her face and rubbed her cheek. She kissed my palm and focused again on what she wanted the room to look like.
I left the master bedroom and finally settled on the floor in the living room beside Wanda. This apartment was unfurnished so we had to buy furniture, but that wasn't really an issue for us.
"You really did it Azrael. You showed me and Pietro that Strucker was not as he seemed. You showed us in general that not anyone is as they seem. And now I know how you really seem." Wanda started. I looked over at her in confusion.
"You're not the same little brother that I used to tease and joke around with as a kid, but you're a great person who came back from the dead, and the first thing you wanted to do, was save us from the clutches of Strucker. Thank you." Wanda finished, resting her head on my shoulder and closing her eyes.
I looked ahead with a smile on my face, greatly anticipating what the future holds from here, because right now, it seemed like I was experiencing life as good as it gets.
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