The Graduation

Chapter 5- Unpacking

27th of May, 2023

10:37am

Tired from going to bed so late, and from packing everything the day before, Alex flopped onto the large bed in the corner of the room and felt the springs below her bend to support her. She glanced at the pile of boxes and bags still standing in the corner of the room and heaved a loud sigh, before summoning enough willpower to stand up and continue the amazing job of unpacking. Books got flung onto shelves, clothes into the baskets in her wardrobe and her bed ended up overflowing with blankets, pillows and knickknacks that had no place. Alex stared around at the mess of a space before sinking to the floor, head resting on her knees in defeat.

"Now this is what I call a bedroom. Not a bed in sight. I mean, that could be one, under that pile of stuff. Oh, nope. That's just another pile of stuff"

"Oh shut up, it's not like your room's any better." Alex glanced up through her eyebrows at the figure standing before her.

"I'll have you know that my room is spotless, except for a few clothes, and cups, and blankets, and... ok it's a mess." Kaiden sank to the floor next to her, grinning, before dropping an arm around her shoulders and gently kissing her rosy lips. Alex couldn't help laughing at the look on his face when she broke off the kiss, to pick up a box to unpack. Stubbornly, she shoved the box into his arms, and told him to unpack it. She unfortunately had forgotten the contents of the box, specifically the stolen item placed at the top of the pile of clothes.

"You would look great in some of these," Kaiden said, pulling out a hoodie that was sitting at the top of the box. She looked at him and rolled her eyes, seeing what he had pulled out. It was his hoodie. The one she had 'borrowed' from him months ago. "Hey, I was looking for this just yesterday! I was prepared to search the entire academy for it, thought I'd forgotten it there when I visited you," he said, chuckling.

"Finders keepers," she responded stubbornly. She snatched it from him, and slid her arms into the sleeves. When her back was turned, he tried and failed to sneak up to her, and take it off her. Grabbing the bottom of the jumper her Meyrian reflexes chimed in and she grabbed his arms. The result was him lifting her a foot off the ground, but his mission for the jumper was unsuccessful. He dropped her to the ground, and she landed on a pile of clothes scattered on the ground, before glancing up and grinning, rolling her eyes. "Like I told you, it's mine, don't take my stuff." He helped her up before returning to the box the stolen jumper had been found in and started putting away her shirts, whilst he chuckled at his girlfriend's stubbornness.

Slowly but surely boxes got unpacked and the piles of extra items lying on the ground shrunk. Kaiden kept finding things that he didn't know she had, and in some cases, didn't know she had stolen, but that was all forgotten once he found the photo box.

Inside were about 20 or so little printed pictures on white backgrounds. Alex loved to take them, she called them - ahhh, what was it... um, oh right - polaroid's. The group of pictures had the smiling faces of all their friends and family. Kaiden sat down on the bed and shuffled through the plastic-like slips. Most just showed slightly blurry pictures of the Akademy and of half of Alex's head as she, unsuccessfully, tried to take selfies. A few were of Freya and the group's adventures there, one showed Declan in a phone booth looking very interested and another showed the time Jordan had become obsessed with a game he'd found on Alex's cellphone. Finally, Kaiden came across a sealed envelope with a small scribble on the front 'I love you Kaiden James'. Inside was a photo that Kaiden hadn't known she'd taken. It was himself sitting on a hill in the middle of the woods near Bear's home, his face was filled with laughter and the sunset behind the hill had covered the scene with a golden veil.

Alex turned from the wall she was standing beside, posters were hung up, half covering the wall. "Whatcha doin'?" She sat down on the bed behind Kaiden, circling her arms around his neck and nuzzling in. She glanced down at the picture sitting in Kaiden's hands and then across to her boyfriend's face. His blue eyes shimmered brighter than usual, a layer of tears being held back were disbanding across his eyes until he had regained his composure. Alex reached around and kissed his cheek, allowing herself to be pulled forward and held in Kaiden's strong arms. His breathing was ragged and his voice raspy as he whispered, "since when were you so good at photography".

Alex laughed, as it was a fair comment. Back when she first began taking photos she never captured the right moments, always a second too late or early. This, in turn though, gave them many funny photos to look back on, and even more memories for their future.

1:00 pm

"They're totally dating!"

"I mean, I know they like each other, but they'd tell us if they were dating!"

"No, we are their invasive, judgmental, and completely over involved friends who do not understand the words 'stay out of it'."

That, well, discussion... had been going on for over a month by that point, ever since their two friends had started acting weirdly. Bear and Declan had been close since the end of the war, when Declan had helped Bear deal with the unfortunate death of his father. They'd often been thrown together as the group now consisted of two couples, - Alex and Kaiden, Jordan and Dix - but Alex was convinced there were three.

The pair were back at Kaiden's apartment, having had decided to have lunch there. They were standing in the bright kitchen, warm, soap scented air creating a very comfortable environment. Kaiden laughed, in response to Alex's very true argument, before placing the glasses Alex handed him in the cupboard. "I guess you have me there. But still, I don't think they're dating." Alex emptied the sink, watching the soapy water swirling down the drain, followed by the fresh water as she splashed cold water on her face. Tapping her face dry, she turned around, taking in the tall, tan frame of the brown haired boy. His eyes were unfocused, the blue reflecting the lightly clouded sky through the wood trimmed window. A soft smile still graced his lips, rosy and plump.

Alex stepped towards him, threaded her arms around his waist, and kissed the lifted edges of his mouth, one side at a time. Grinning more, Kaiden lowered his head to meet their mouths softly, in a deep kiss. Tightening her grip, Alex buried her head in his chest, letting his arms rest on her shoulders. They stood like that for many moments, taking in each other's warmth. The only sounds were of their steady breath, and a few gurgles as water moved through the pipes.

"Move in with me." Kaiden muttered into Alex's coconut scented hair.

"What?" Alex jerked up, arms still wrapped around Kaiden waist, but her head was tilted back slightly to look into Kaiden's eyes. A frown knitting her eyebrows together.

"Move in with me. It'd be great! You could live with me in my room, or we could ask Declan to move out. I mean, we both have enough to live alone now. Besides, we have the future Queen of Medora as a friend. If she can't find Declan a place, no one can."

"Kaiden, I'm 20 years old, and you're only 21, also, I don't actually have a job yet! I can't move in with you." Alex turned back into the kitchen. Needing to do something with her hands, she grabbed a cloth and started wiping down the bench.

"Yes you can. We've been together for more than 3 years, and there's no way you're going to be unemployed for longer than a week after you saved the world. Also, you're right, we're 20 and 21, very appropriate ages to live together, look at Jordan and Dix, they're happy." Alex just shook her head. Kaiden sighed, knowing the look of determination and knowing how stubborn he was not going to get anywhere tonight. "Fine. I'll drop it... for now, but no promises for tomorrow."

At those last words, the tension was lifted and Alex picked up the towel in her hand to chase after Kaiden with, flicking at his legs.

5:00pm

Alex and Kaiden were sitting in Alex's room, a large pile of unpacked boxes sitting in the corner. They had decided to completely finish unpacking Alex's place soon after lunch.

Kaiden had his arms draped over Alex's, watching the TV on the wall over her head. "Are you ready to do all this for Dix and Jordan tomorrow?"

"No, never." She buried herself into him, hiding her head under his arm. Kaiden just laughed, allowing her to snuggle closer.