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“Are these the last boxes, Joe?” Sara asks, holding three packages stacked in her arms. The tower was tall enough to cover her face, and Joe silently wondered how she was seeing well enough to know where she was going.
“Yep!” He responds cheerfully, closing the backdoor of their tiny blue convertible and following her into the house.
Their footsteps on the floor echo just a bit when they walk in, because of how empty the house is. They both set down the boxes in their arms - Joe had just one, because Sara insisted on carrying four - and look around the empty living room of their new house.
They’d decided to move in together a few months ago, after they got engaged. A few hours from now, Gin would be moving in as well. They had to be prepared - they need to unpack as fast as possible.
Sara starts to pace back and forth in the living room, mumbling things about not being ready enough by the time Gin shows up. “What if they take him away because our house isn’t fit enough when they show up- oh god, I don’t know if Gin can take being in the system any longer-” She’s clearly distressed, and Joe frowns.
He approaches her quickly and wraps his arms around her waist from behind. He puts his chin on her shoulder, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. “Hey, Sara… it’s gonna be okay, we’ll get all this unpacking stuff done in no time!” He tries to be comforting. He knows Sara’s usually optimistic, but she freaks herself out over deadlines a lot. “For now, why don’t we relax? Let’s go cuddle,” He suggests, kissing her cheek again.
“But, Joe-” She starts, frowning.
“No buts, Sara, I don’t want you to get all worked up and stress yourself out.” Joe releases her from the hug, and gently takes her hands in his, guiding her to their bedroom. She follows quietly, squeezing his hands a bit to try and calm her own anxieties.
Once they’re safely on their bed, Joe pulls her close. She puts her head on his chest and wraps both arms around him, sighing.
“It’s gonna be okay,” Joe comforts her, combing his fingers through her hair. It’s soft, as it always is. He kisses her forehead. “We’ll be ready by the time Gin gets here, but you don’t need to do all the work right this second. We’re gonna do it together, but you deserve to rest first. The house isn’t going anywhere.” He kisses her nose, chuckling at the way she scrunches it up when he does. “You’re so cute,” He teases lightly.
“I am not,” She pouts, gently pushing on his face as a way to get him away from her. Joe can tell she’s holding back a laugh, though. “You’re cute.”
“No, no! You can’t shift the compliment to me, that’s cheating!” Joe laughs, bringing a hand up to poke Sara’s cheek.
She huffs and pokes his nose. “Fine, fine.” She gives up, knowing that if they start a compliment war, it’ll never end. She instead chooses to sit there in silence, looking into her fiance’s eyes. Her expression softens, and Joe feels her relax in his arms.
“Hey, Joe?” She starts, after a few minutes of silence.
“Hm?” He raises a brow, meeting her eyes.
“Remember when we were kids, and you promised you’d marry me when we grew up?” She recalls, giggling softly when she thinks about the memory.
Joe’s face flushes. Oh, that day… “Yeah, I do. I kept my promise!” He grins widely, finding Sara’s hand that held the engagement ring he gave her, and held it up, before intertwining their fingers. “Couldn’t have asked for a better partner,” He hums, leaning forward to kiss her softly.
She returns the kiss, but quickly pulls away to mumble “You’re a dork,” accompanied by another giggle.
“I think the real dork is you, Sara.” He presses his nose against Sara’s, meeting her eyes again.
“We’re both dorks.” Sara finishes the war before it starts, smiling just a bit.
“I think I can live with that,” Joe chuckles.
Sara laughs softly, shifting around. She yawns, burying her face in Joe’s chest.
“Sleepy?” He asks, patting her back gently. She responds with a soft nod, wrapping both arms around Joe again. “Here, I’ll set an alarm. We can nap for a bit, and then get to unpacking when we can, okay?” He suggests, leaning over to grab his phone.
She nods, clearly very close to falling asleep.
Joe quickly sets the alarm for two hours from now, before setting his phone down on their nightstand and turning the light off. He pulls Sara close to her, and closes his eyes.
//
“This is it, Gin!” Ryoko announces proudly, fishing the spare key Joe gave her from her pocket, and unlocking the door. She’s holding Gin’s hand - well, paw - with her free one, leading him inside.
They both look around at the empty house, noting that the rooms are simply occupied by boxes. The living room has a small couch, but that’s it. She raises a brow. Wouldn’t Sara have unpacked by now? She’s always pushing herself to do everything she needs to as soon as possible, so it’s just a bit weird to her - unless Joe convinced her to relax, which seems very likely. They balance each other out in that way.
“Where’s big sis Sara and big bro Joe, woof?” Gin asks softly, looking around.
“I dunno…” She starts leading him toward their bedroom, walking slowly. If they’re asleep, the last thing she wants is to wake her best friends up.
When they finally get to the doorway of the bedroom, Ryoko notes that the door is wide open. She peeks in, hoping that they’re just cuddling or something.
She’s greeted by the couple cuddling together on their shared bed, with Sara’s face buried in Joe’s chest, and Joe’s face buried in Sara’s hair. She smiles a bit. That’s a sweet image. She lets go of Gin’s hand, and the boy slowly walks in.
“I wanna join, meow!” He whispers cheerfully, climbing into the bed and planting himself in the very tiny space between the couple, shifting around a bit.
Sara stirs and wakes up first, looking around. “Wha-” When she sees Gin, her expression softens, and she smiles. “Hi, Gin.”
Gin looks up at her with a wide smile. “Hi, big sis Sara, woof!” He greets.
Joe wakes up after, and it takes him a minute to register the situation, but when he does, he wraps one arm around Gin. “Hey Gin, Ryoko,” He looks at them each when he greets them, smiling softly.
Ryoko waves from her place at the doorway. “I’ll give you three some time together, okay?” She says, not exactly giving the three enough time to respond before ducking out.
Gin watches her leave before looking up at both Sara and Joe. He pulls them both into a hug, smiling brightly.
They sit like this for a few moments, before they hear a camera shutter sound from someone’s phone in the doorway -
And Ryoko is standing there, with her phone aimed at the three of them, grinning mischievously. “You guys are gonna be the cutest family!” She teases, giggling.
Joe looks at Sara to find her already meeting his eyes. They seem to both find it easy to believe that Ryoko just might be right.