Work Text:
Rick stared at his new house, his jaw dropping.
"Hm. Honey? Is THIS our house?" he asked, clutching their baggages. Evelyn and Jonathan had warned him that the house was huge, but he hadn't imagined it would be this big.
Evelyn appeared beside him, holding their 3-month-old baby, and made a face. "Yes, I know. It's a huge house. It was abandoned, but my parents renovated it. Half of the manor was dedicated to my mother's projects. She made sculptures and helped community libraries."
She looked at the house with a melancholy gaze and said, "My last memories with my parents were here... At first, neither Jonathan nor I wanted to come back, but" then she looked at her husband and the baby, "now we think we'll fill the void with our new family. This house, which spent so much time in the dark and cold, is now warm and ready for new memories. Did you like it? I know that it's big..."
Rick put the baggages on the floor and hugged his wife and baby. "It's perfect. I've never had a home before, I don't care about the size as long as you're there." Then the man kissed Evelyn and Alex on the forehead.
Rick and Evelyn had just arrived in London with Alex after months of planning the move. Jonathan was already in England to expedite the renovation of their old house while Evelyn recovered from childbirth and applied for a transfer to become a librarian at the British Museum.
The couple entered their new home and were delighted with the interior. Most of their belongings had already been moved in, and they had hired a team to fix the power and other issues. They avoided making noise not only because of the baby but also because Jonathan was sleeping. Evelyn's brother deserved the rest after the rush of renovations and moving. The O'Connells would thank him when he woke up.
They went upstairs and straight to the baby's room, which was next to theirs. "It's so adorable! Look, Alex, this is your room!" Evelyn said to the baby, who was attentively observing everything around him. Rick removed the plastic from the crib and got everything ready for the baby, who was showing signs of wanting to sleep.
While his wife breastfed Alex and prepared him to sleep, Rick put the baggages in their room and inspected the house. The mansion seemed smaller inside, and there were several empty rooms; Rick imagined that Evelyn and Jonathan's mother used them to practice her sculpting hobby.
The house were properly heated, which relieved him. He and Evelyn were worried that Alex would feel the sudden change in temperature despite having warm clothes on. Winter was about to begin, and the young parents wanted to make sure Alex didn't catch a cold. Jonathan always sent letters to his sister updating her on the renovations, and he did his best to ensure the house was ready for them.
Rick returned to Alex's room and smiled as he saw Evelyn kissing the baby's cheek and placing him in the crib.
Evelyn smiled back to Rick and hugged him. "I confess I feel anxious about all this change, but also very excited. I have you, Jonathan, and Alex. I feel ready to face anything." The woman snuggled into Rick's arms and sighed.
Rick smiled at his wife and kissed her sweetly. "I feel the same, honey" And the two went to their new bedroom to rest a bit while Alex slept. Later they would make lunch and Jonathan would join them.