Work Text:
"What are you doing tomorrow? Do you want to go for a bike ride or something?" Andy asked Maya as their Friday was coming to a close, and the weekend was upon them.
"Oh, Carina and I are checking out another house in the morning," Maya answered. "But maybe we can do a ride afterwards."
Looking for a new house had been beyond stressful for the two of them. Maya loved her apartment. It was the first place that she really felt like herself, and the place where she branched out from her father. But, she knew that with the twins coming, that it was just way too small for four people, so when she and Carina discussed it, they both agreed that moving was the right thing to do.
"What do you think you will find wrong with this one?" Andy joked. Though Carina was quite worldly and well versed in architecture, she was definitely the more easygoing one with all of this. With every house they looked at, Maya would inevitably find something wrong, and blow the whole thing up.
"Oh shut up," Maya laughed. "But Andy, seriously, this whole thing is so scary. I mean, this place will be fully ours, no two ways about it. Like, we are going to own property together."
"Well, you're about to own two children together," Andy laughed. "And you know you can't raise a family in that apartment. It's nice, but, it's definitely not big enough. I know giving it up will be hard for you, but, it's the right thing to do."
"I know," Maya agreed. "But, I didn't think it would be this hard. Like, I feel like I'm losing a piece of myself."
"But, you're going to be gaining so much," andy contrasted. "Whichever home you pick will be a place where you make so many new memories. PLus, I know you and Carina have made the apartment both of yours, but, I feel like sometimes she feels like it's more yours than hers. So, having something together will be good for both of you."
"You're probably right," Maya said. "But, it's all just so stressful."
"It wouldn't be if you just picked a damn house," Andy laughed.
"Andy....seriously, a wife? Twins on the way? A house with a white picket fence? These were things that made me want to throw up previously? What on earth happened to me??
"Carina" Andy answered with a smile.
The next morning, Maya and Carina loaded into their car and headed to see their tenth house. Maya drove, as Carina was six months pregnant at this point, and wanted to take care of anything stressful she may have as a result.
"How are you feeling?" Maya asked as she started the drive to Queen Anne.
"I'm fine, Bambina," Carina said. "But don't divert from the subject. What do you think you'll find wrong with this house?"
"Oh my god," Maya said. "I don't know. Carina, you know all of this is hard for me. Leaving that apartment isn't easy, and all of this - wife, family, new house...it's all a lot..."
Carina could sense that Maya was about to have a panic attack, which wasn't good under any circumstance, but especially wasn't good when she was driving.
"OK, breathe, Bambina," Carina said. "It's OK, I didn't mean to get your worked up. I know this is a lot for you, but it's a lot for me too. A lot of change. But, it's good change, right?"
"It is," Maya said as she calmed down. "But, it's still a lot."
Just then, they pulled into the driveway, and found Nancy, their realtor standing outside the prospective house.
"Hi, Nancy" Maya said as she walked towards the entrance. "How are you today?"
"Peachy" Nancy said. She was always unbelievably chipper, no matter what.
Just then, they walked inside this beautiful home. There was exposed brick everywhere, which they really liked, as well as a fireplace and an open floor pan. It also had solar panels, which was something they had talked about, and an eight burner range, and a sub zero fridge. A lot of it had been redone, but there was still some old world craftsmanship to it.
"This is the study," Nancy said as she brought them to a back area of the house. "You can maybe convert it to an office if you like."
"That would be great for us, Bambina. A place where we can both get work done..."
"Amongst other things" Maya laughed.
"This is a pretty big selling point of the house,"Nancy said as she brought them downstairs. Maya and Carina then saw a beautiful, completely finished basement, that could be used for hosting things, hanging out, and anything else they wanted.
"Wow," Maya said. "It's beautiful down here."
"Yeah, the owners put a lot of work into it," Nancy said. "It's a really nice space."
Nancy then took them outside, where they saw a front yard and a back yard, which Maya and Carina envisioned their kids playing in, with other children on the block. Truly, the only thing missing from this house was a white picket fence.
"There are five bedrooms," Nancy said, as she made it upstairs. And four bathrooms, including one on the first floor and one in the basement.
Maya and Carina then made their way to one of the bedrooms, which would almost certainly be the twins bedroom.
"Their cribs can go right here," Carina said as she walked over to the space. We'll have to paint it, but, this seems like it will work.
"It does," Maya said. "Man, this place is beautiful."
They checked out another bedroom, which was also a nice place for a kid.
"For when we decide to have another" Maya said as she stroked Carina's belly.
"Wow, another?" Carina said as she gave Maya an eye. "You want three? I feel like these two are gonna be a lot of work!"
"I just know our kids will be the most amazing people in the world, so, yeah, why not have another?" Maya winked.
This place was truly amazing, and just being in there made Maya feel differently than she had at any other place they visited. Her mood immediately shifted once she was inside, and she wasn't feeling nearly as scared anymore. Maybe all of those other places they looked at were leading them to this moment, and this place was truly where they were meant to be.
Maya then gave Carina an eye. Finally a place they both loved.
"It's close to both our jobs, and there are a lot of places for you to run, bambina," Carina said. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking we just found our house," Maya said as she pulled Carina into a hug, and kissed her. "I can't believe it."
"Nancy, we would like to make an offer," Carina said. "This is where we are going to raise our family."