Voluptas

"Shit," Alec groaned, rolling into Brandan's side. Several dishes were lying broken on the ground, and despite the small bungalow looking decent, it wasn't bearable to live in.

The white walls had been stripped of the old peeling wallpaper, the cracks had been filled in, and they had been painted a sharp white. Brandan had seen Alec do this, and even helped paint. The small shack had immediately felt bigger, more spacious. The old, rotten furniture had been moved out, and thrown away. Alec had replaced the bed and couch-- which together took a lot of room away from the house, with her father's old leather couch, and old leather chair. It looked classy in a way, and in the convenience, it had a pull out bed. Which was what they were lying on now.

Brandan surveyed the room. Because that was pretty much all this place was: a room. A laptop and phone sat in the middle of the room, on the floor, so as to not get hit by dishes, or any other objects such as books that could fall out of the shelf.

The cabinets all had locks on them, but the dishes on the counter that Brandan had forgotten about now served as a warning to be more careful. Music was playing through the laptop's speakers, quiet, and soothing. But minutes before it was anything else.

For some reason, Alec thought it would be a good idea to get a rundown apartment near the train bed. To Brandan, it was the worst idea ever.

Alec had dealt with most of it. It was her apartment, and Brandan only stayed once in a while, opting more for her to come to his apartment, where there was no train, no horn, no lights. But the few times he did, he wondered how Alec could bear it.

She taped the books to the shelf, and nailed the shelf to the wall. She had bought a heavy table and heavy chairs that still sometimes moved as the train raced by. She put locks on her cupboard, and cabinets. Locking in cleaning supplies, food, and dishes. Everything was off the counter and her clothes stayed stacked in her closet in neat piles.

There was no TV, and the refrigerator was placed in the wall where a little spot was built for it. The place was practically empty, anything else was in her closet, tightly packed away so it wouldn't fall, or make a mess.

Brandan really didn't understand.

The bed they were lying on probably wouldn't be very comfy, if it weren't for the fact that Alec had shoved at least three egg crates or a memory foam mattress underneath the off-white sheets.

It was working, the dingy old shack... but at the same time, it really wasn't .

As he tangled an arm through the white duvet, the navy comforter, he asked her, "How can you stand this?" Curiosity had finally seized him completely. He looked out the one window, the train now far out of site and the view of New York was plentiful again. "You are not poor, you could have any house in New York, but you choose this dump--"

"Hey!" Alec interjected. "Don't insult this place, I love it." She nuzzled her head further into his side.

"That is what I question," Brandan said is disbelief. "Why do you love it?"

Alec lifted her head and looked as if she was in deep thought. She then shrugged, "I don't know."

"You 'don't know?'" he said, mocking her although his accent was heavy. "And you put up with it everyday?"

Alec sighed, "Well, Bran. You're only here in the morning to pick me up when the train goes by and you're only here in the afternoon when it goes by. I don't really notice it anymore."

"That is it? There must be something keeping you here," he pried.

"I guess I like the night view," she shrugged, lying her head down again. "I like that it's quiet here, besides for the train. You can't hear the cars and traffic of the city. I like that you can hear the rain pound against the roof. And I like that you can see the lights at night-- and the sky. I like being able to see the sky."

Brandan nodded, thinking. "Why do you like the sky?"

Alec smiled, "A couple years ago I went to Greece, and I met a boy. He had green eyes and, dark hair. Him and I, we fell in love. As I journeyed home to finish university he told me that no matter where I was, that the sky was above me, and it was above him too. It would only be a matter of time before we crossed roads again."

Brandan smiled, murmuring something in his native tongue. "Did you?"

"Shut up," she laughed joyfully, play-punching him. She then looked into his eyes. "I'm with him all the time, he lies beside me, and in my heart."

Brandan's heart soared as his arms tightened around her, "He is lucky to have you, Voluptas."