Someone who made the messy parts of life bearable and the good parts better. Move in with me, he said suddenly. Viven blinked. What? Move in officially.
Not just staying over most nights, but actually living together. Your stuff and my stuff and Sophie's dinosaur pajamas all in one place. Ethan, your apartment is tiny. We'd be on top of each other. So, we get a bigger place.
Something that's ours, not mine or yours. Somewhere with space for Sophie's homework explosion and your books and maybe even a real dining table. That's a big step. I know, but I'm ready if you are. She was quiet for a long moment, and Ethan's heart hammered against his ribs.
Maybe it was too fast. Maybe he'd pushed too hard. Maybe. Yes. Vivien said.
Yes. Yes. Let's find a place together. Something messy and imperfect and ours. She kissed him, smiling against his lips.
Fair warning, Sophie's going to want to organize everything. I'm counting on it. They found a house 3 months later. A small craftsman in Ballard with a yard for Sophie and a garage Ethan could convert to a home workshop and enough space for all of them to spread out. The kitchen was outdated, the roof needed work, and the whole place required more renovation than either of them wanted to think about.
It was perfect. Moving day was chaos. Sarah directed traffic while Sophie marked boxes with her own organizational system that made sense to absolutely no one. Marcus showed up uninvited and helped move furniture while offering running commentary on their decorating choices. By the end of the day, they were exhausted, surrounded by boxes, eating pizza on the floor because they hadn't unpacked the table yet.
"This is insane," Vivian said, surveying the disaster zone of their new living room. "This is home," Ethan corrected. Sophie, covered in marker from labeling boxes, looked up from her pizza. "Are we really all living here together now? " Yeah, kiddo. Is that okay?
It's better than okay. It's perfect. She grabbed Viven's hand and Ethan's, pulling them together. We're a family now. Like a real one.
Vivien's eyes filled with tears, and Ethan wrapped his arms around both of them. Yeah, Sofh. We're a real family. That night, after Sophie was asleep in her new room and they'd made some progress on unpacking, Ethan and Vivien stood in their bedroom, their bedroom, not his or hers, and looked at each other. "We really did this," Vivian said.
"We really did. I quit my job, moved in with a mechanic, and became a stepmom to an 8-year-old penguin enthusiast. " "Technically, you're not a stepmom yet. We're not married yet. " Ethan's heart stopped. I mean, if you wanted eventually, Vivien laughed. Relax.