New York • Sean & Kaycee

The Fixer Upper

The second Kaycee walked into the apartment, she knew Sean was right. They were home.

It was a bit of a fixer-upper - the bedrooms needed to be repainted, the kitchen cupboards needed to be mended, the bathroom could use some regrouting, and all the doors were loose on their hinges - but it was beautiful.

Walking through the two-bedroom apartment, Kaycee could already see their life here.

She imagined waking up to sunlight pouring in from her bedroom window. She imagined watching Sean from the counter, as he floated across the kitchen preparing each meal. She imagined dinners and breakfasts and midnight talks on a small dining table. She imagined movie nights on a couch that fit them both perfectly, maybe with some room for friends too. She imagined rolling the same couch away so that they'd have space to dance, to laugh, to create together.

In the midst of the imperfection, they just knew. They could be happy here.

During their first summer break of college, Sean and Kaycee flew back to New York early to start settling into their new place. Kaycee’s parents were flying in a few weeks before the start of school to bring some stuff from home, so that they won't have to buy as many household items. But it was Sean's idea to get as many things fixed up before they actually bought new furniture and appliances.

The upside of working as professional dancers from such a young age was that they had some money saved up, so they could afford to buy some things for the apartment.

But Sean and Kaycee agreed that they didn't really need a lot, just the essentials, because a bulk of their time would be spent at school anyway. Plus, more things meant more clutter, and neither would have the time to clean up often.

On their first day in their new apartment,  they entered with only their suitcases and got to work.

First, at Sean’s insistence, they bought the kitchen essentials - a microwave, a fridge, one pan, one spatula, a small dining table for 4, and their first set of dining implements. To Sean's utmost joy, the apartment came with an induction stove and oven already.

"We're only going to be living there until the end of college, Sean. It's not that big of a deal!" She whined, trying to get him to just pick a microwave already.

"We're probably going to be using it all the time. We need to make sure we get the best value for our money!" He replied, walking up and down the aisle again, intently surveying his options.

Kaycee never thought that the sight of utensils would ever make her heart flutter. Yet, when she set the first mugs on the bare counter, two of which had K and S respectively on them, butterflies erupted in her gut.

With the matter of food sorted, they began fixing their fixer-upper.

"Stop! You're doing it wrong!" Sean laughed as he took the paintbrush from the protesting girl. "If you keep running it over with a fresh coat, the paint won't dry evenly."

"It's my room," Kaycee replied, putting on a firm facade. She rose to her full height, and put her hands to her hips, trying to look intimidating. "If you have a problem with the way I paint, go do your own room."

This only made Sean laugh even harder.

"And you'll work on this entire room yourself?" He laughed and clutched his stomach. "Yeah, good luck with that."

With a dramatic flourish, he relinquished both his and her paint brushes and moved to leave the room.

"Seeeeaaan, no!" Kaycee giggled, pulling his sleeve back. "I'll do it properly this time. Just pleeeease help me finish?! I'm hungry already."