Chapter Text
Isobel liked Stephen’s place better than she liked her’s. His green walls, the cozy couch and the throw blankets littered around were far removed from the man he seemed to be to others. Tough, quiet, professional. He was all those things, but lots missed the sweet side, the affectionate side, the one that Isobel counted herself lucky to experience almost daily.
As you can imagine, she was rather surprised when she came back and half the house was empty. The meticulously arranged pots had been moved, shifted to the side, leaving the rest of the shelf bare. The photos on the walls had been tucked away, leaving only half or so up as the others sat in a box. The couch cushions sat neatly stacked, as if awaiting deliberation. And Stephen turned from where he was pulling some books off his living room shelf.
He smiled when he saw her, gently dropping the book he was holding to come and hug her, gently placing a kiss to her head.
“Hey Iz.” She smiled back but stayed silent, observing him, trying to figure out why he was doing this.
“What’s with the spring cleaning?” He took a breath before pulling her bag off her shoulder, dropping it on the shelf and wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Well, I may have someone moving in, it’s undecided right now, and I need to make some space for her.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
“Her?” He smiled wide again, nodding slightly. She watched the room and he watched her, waiting to see when the pieces would click.
The new pillowcases in her favorite shade of green, the cleared space on the windowsill for her plants, the space on the fridge for that organized list she liked to keep of groceries and meals.
She turned to him a minute later, a smile incredibly wide on her face.
“Stephen-” He grinned, anticipating the question and nodding as he hugged her.
“You’re serious?” She whispered from where she tucked her face into his neck.
“Absolutely.”
They spent the next week moving her in. She placed her embroidered coasters on the coffee table, her mystery books on the bookshelf, her favourite artworks next to the study. 7 days later, and the little bits of Isobel were littered throughout his house, just as the little parts of her had wedged themselves in his heart, and he so happily embraced it.
One year later, and they added a new photo to the shelf, with her in her white dress, and him in his tuxedo, as they made that next step.