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"So, this is the place?" asked Takumi.
Tsubasa twirled the key ring on her finger.
"Yes!"
She hoped no-one would be disappointed in her. House hunting was a lot more difficult than she expected it to be. There wasn't exactly a warm welcome when they returned to the Artificial Satellite. There was no fanfare, or gratitude, more of an unplaceable energy that Tsubasa tried to ignore. But so long as she had the others, it would be okay.
It wasn't the three bedroom apartment that she envisioned for them back at the academy. Even if she had been able to find one, judging by the prices she had seen, it would have been completely out of their budget. And so, a one-bedroom was directly on the other side of the door.
Tsubasa pushed the key into the lock. She turned it to the right first, accidentally re-locking it, then flipped it to the left. She twisted the door knob, then leaned her shoulder into the door to give it more of a push. She practically fell into the entryway the second the door un-stuck itself from the fresh coat of landlord-white paint. She ran her fingers along the wall and flipped on the light switch, gummy from the unnecessary paint.
"I know it's not much, but…"
Darumi raced into the room first made a beeline straight for the sole bedroom. It wasn't much, but there was a wire frame holding up a plain white mattress. Darumi jumped and landed backwards on it, spreading her arms and legs out like she was making a snow angel.
"I call dibs on the bed with Mistress Tsubasa!" she exclaimed.
Yugamu made his way over to the bedroom after taking note of where all of the few windows in the apartment were, likely as a safety precaution.
"I'll take first shift watching," offered Yugamu, clasping his hands together so the ends of his sleeves covered them.
"We're not at war anymore; we don't have to be on high alert," said Tsubasa with a sigh. Adjusting to a normal life on the Artificial Satellite was going to take some time. She put the key on the kitchen counter.
"You mean no-one is going to break into our apartment and murder us in our sleep?! We're on the first floor. It's is totally obvious foreshadowing," said Darumi. She tilted her head to the side with a devious grin. "Maybe they'll burst in on us while we're having sex, kyahahaha!"
Yugamu's lips crept into a smile.
"Oh, I am definitely watching—"
"Takumi has to join too, as protection. The virgins always die first," said Darumi.
"H-hey!" Takumi exclaimed. "Don't people die in sex scenes too?"
"True, but I'd rather go out having fun!" Darumi exclaimed.
"We should take the couch in the living room, Takumi, that way the girls can sleep soundly," suggested Yugamu.
"Are you suggesting we be bait?!" Takumi said, wincing at the implications of them being the first people the hypothetical murderer would see.
"We?"
"Me?!" Takumi asked, pointing to himself.
"I'll protect you, Takumi," Yugamu said with a wink. "I'll keep you nice and close. I hope you don't mind, but I only sleep naked."
"Oh, you're both getting mega-fuckin'-murdered if you sleep out there!" Darumi chirped. "Mistress Tsubasa and I can escape out the window when we hear the sounds of you two getting hacked to pieces."
Tsubasa couldn't take it anymore. Everything felt like it was crashing down on her for picking this awful, no-good shithole of an apartment.
"No-one is getting murdered. Did I really pick this terrible of a place?" asked Tsubasa. She clenched her jaw as tight as she could to ground herself, but the nausea still built up within her. She should have looked harder for a safer place, but there weren't a lot of options that were within their budget.
Takumi's gaze softened.
"No! Of course not… I like the place you picked out," said Takumi. "Because, well, it's a home for us. All four of us. Our home."
Tsubasa looked around. The light in the living room flickered overhead, and the pipes above them had a slight whine from the upstairs apartment using the water. The couch had a strange stain, and the bed didn't even have sheets on it yet. But those were just things. Things came and went, and could be replaced with the snap of a finger. They weren't forever. She looked at the three people in front of her. They were what mattered. Home wasn't a place, but a feeling. And with her partners, Tsubasa felt like she was truly home.
Maybe it was a bit dingy right now, but with enough work, anything could be fixed up. That's all this place needed, and they'd be calling it home in no-time.
"First thing we need to do is get a table to eat at, one with four chairs so we can all sit at the same time," said Tsubasa, pointing to the space next to the kitchen. She turned to the living room. "And get a TV so we can watch something."
She looked over at the bedroom, where Darumi was still rolling around on the queen sized bed. She grabbed Takumi and Yugamu by the wrists, and pulled them into the room with her. She sat down on the edge of the bed, then flopped backwards so she could be next to Darumi.
"And we need to get some sheets, so we can have a nice place to sleep. All four of us," said Tsubasa. Takumi sat down on the bed next to her, as Darumi curled up on her arm.
"All four of us? Won't that be a bit cramped?" asked Takumi. Tsubasa nodded her head.
"It's gotta be all four of us," said Tsubasa. She glanced over at Yugamu, who was still hovering in the doorway having broken free of her grasp after she tried to drag him in here with the rest of them. "I won't have it any other way."
His cheeks pinkened.
"Then if someone breaks in to murder us—"
Takumi cut Darumi off before she could continue.
"I'm sure all four of us could take one murderer," said Takumi.
"Sounds fun. Oh, you mean in a fight," teased Yugamu. Tsubasa rolled her eyes at him.
"I'm serious! Enough with the murderer stuff," she sighed. Yugamu conceded, and sat down on the bed as well.
Tsubasa grinned. It was a tight fit, but the bed technically had room for all four of them. They'd just have to get very, very close. Close enough that Tsubasa could hold all of them, if she could. They had survived so much together, and she never wanted to let them go.
Takumi lay down, and turned to face Tsubasa. He held her hand.
"It's so empty in here, but it feels so full at the same time," he said.
"I feel the same way… We can go shopping tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be full of memories in no time," said Tsubasa. Darumi pressed her face into the crook of Tsubasa's neck. Yugamu stretched his arm out to envelop the three others in his embrace, squishing everyone even closer together. Everyone was just so close! And she loved it like that.