The Art of Dilapidation (Kellic)

24: A New Home

"Finally," Vic sighed, setting the last box on the ground. He cracked his knuckles before turning around to look at me. "So this is our apartment," I said, looking around. It wasn't much, consisting of one bedroom and one bathroom along with a combined kitchen and living room area, but it was enough. Vic pulled me into a hug and I wrinkled my nose, pretending to be disgusted. "Ew, you're all sweaty. Get off," I complained, pushing him away.

"You love it," Vic laughed. "Besides, you're not so fresh right now either."

"Are you kidding?" I scoffed. "I don't sweat."

"Maybe because you made me do all the heavy lifting," Vic teased. I rolled my eyes and turned away from him. There was work to be done and there was no time for any playful banter. "Come on," I said. "I want to at least get the bedroom partially unpacked before we collapse from exhaustion."

"I would like to not collapse from exhaustion at all. How about that?" Vic suggested. His eyes still held that playful glint and I couldn't help but smile at him. "Alright, fine," I said. "We can give that a shot."

"Thanks, love," Vic said with a wink. A blush rose on my cheeks at the nickname. My relationship with Vic was probably the best thing to have happened to me in a long time. We were moving incredibly fast, saying "I love you" before we'd even kissed and now moving in together after one day. It felt like we had to, though, like we were running out of time. It was a feeling that I couldn't explain. It just seemed like the clocked was ticking.

I made my way over to our bedroom and dropped to my knees next to the box labelled "bedding". Vic passed me the scissors and I opened it up, pulling out the contents and setting up the bed. At first, Vic and I were just going to alternate sleeping on the bed and the couch since there was only one bedroom, but since we were together we had just taken my mom's double bed. It felt a bit weird since both of my parents had slept in this bed and now they were just gone, but I pushed the thought aside. I was supposed to be happy that Vic and I had our own place and I didn't want to mess that up by dwelling on my parents' deaths.

Unpacking was tedious, but rewarding since with every box we opened the apartment started to feel a little bit more like home. Vic and I didn't say much, both of us just concentrating on our tasks. Nothing really needed to be said anyway. For once in my life I felt content. I wasn't weighed down by depression. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I was happy, but I was docile. It felt like everything was going to be okay.

I was brought back to reality when something small hit the back of my neck. A frown tugged at my mouth and I turned around. A packing peanut lay on the ground behind me and on the other side of the room Vic was grinning mischievously. He tossed another peanut my way and I arched a brow at him. "Really?" I said. He shrugged and threw another one. I dodged out of the way and he grinned playfully.

"You really want to do this right now?" I asked. Another peanut. Vic smirked at me and a slightly evil smile spread across my face. "Oh, it's so on," I said. Then, an all out packing peanut war ensued. Vic and I pelted each other with the little scraps of styrofoam, both of us yelping and laughing. "You should just surrender," Vic called from his hiding place behind a pile of boxes.

"But I'm totally winning," I replied, hitting him with another peanut. I had taken refuge behind the bed, ducking behind it as Vic tried again to hit me again. I heard him shuffling around, so I knew he was hiding again. I decided to try and sneak up on him, standing up and creeping toward where I knew he was. Halfway there, though, Vic tackled me, sending us crashing onto the bed. I yelped in surprise as he landed on top of me.

"What the heck?" I cried, smacking his arm. "You jerk!" Vic laughed, so I hit him again. He pinned my wrists down to prevent me from getting in a third strike. "Now do you surrender?" he asked.