ᴇʀɪᴋ (metalize) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-06-08 11:02:00 |
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This particular Thai restaurant was one of their usual haunts, Erik supposed - as interesting as it was to even have usual haunts in a place like Vallo. But he’d realized that he was rapidly approaching a whole year of being in this world - and what better way to commemorate that than to purchase real estate? To really put down those roots? That’s what he and Rogue planned to discuss over lunch today. Anka Irene was with a reliable sitter, and Erik was prepared to just have a leisurely meal and figure out where the best place would be for their family to flourish. If it was over Thai food, even better - he liked this place, and how the rice and chicken he sought was drenched in a delicious chile heat sauce, fried and crispy. The green curry was potent too - he could only describe it as herbaceous and honestly just as face-melting as the rest of the food. That was apparently a prerequisite for Rogue. He had a refreshing beer resting near where he’d stacked the various fliers they’d gotten from tours - they’d looked at townhouses, condos, a penthouse or two, and then just a couple of other houses with ideal backyards for a garden. Erik was leaning toward a penthouse, personally, because it would be all theirs and they wouldn’t have to share the rooftop with anyone else. Think of all the parties they could throw there. Or would, if he actually was interested in throwing parties. “Alright, give me your thoughts,” he encouraged, scrolling through his phone where he had property websites bookmarked too. Such a handy device, this mobile phone. Rogue had been intent on thoroughly enjoying her meal before they started discussing any business. She saw no reason to rush through the whole experience or to pause and look at things in between. That was how food got cold and the last thing she wanted was cold Thai food. It simply wasn’t as delicious when left to cool off, that extra kick of heat after eating it freshly made something she savored. But her plates were nearly empty and she supposed it was as good a time as any to start going over their options. The more she thought about it the less she was keen for a standalone house or even a townhome. The various stories were a pain she didn’t want to deal with if she didn’t need to. And while the gardens with those had been large and expansive she wasn’t sure she wanted to spend that much time on the upkeep of them. Even if some of them would have been ideal for playsets. It was hard to balance them with the cabin she’d had back in Tumbleweed. The expansive backyard that met up with the forest surrounding them and all of its underground tunnels for escape purposes was something she knew couldn’t be replicated. Or it probably could, but she didn’t particularly want it to be. Aside from maybe the jungle gym they’d made out back. “I think the townhomes and detached houses are a lil more than I’m wantin’ to take on at the moment.” When Erik lived in Poland, he worked at a steel mill very close to their modest house in the woods. He’d been happy living in obscurity, in the home that he hadn’t built but that he’d grown to love as it was something shared with his wife and daughter - it was a simple palette of wood, steel, and glass. You could hear the songs of summertime when it came around, and feel the sunlight - in the winter, he thought the place looked like it belonged as a logo on a bottle of maple syrup. Fond memories, of course, but he also wasn’t sure if he wanted that much privacy now either - and to deal with that much upkeep. They both had busy schedules, he and Rogue - and while they could afford an expensive townhouse (largely in part to her inheritance from Irene showing up) it likely wasn’t up their alley at this point in their lives. “You’re leaning toward one of the penthouses?” he surmised, with a small quirk of a smile as he dug around for one final piece of chicken on his plate. “Or perhaps I am and I’m hoping you are too.” Could be that. “There was one that was big enough to where we could have shade - trees on either side of the roof.” An environmentally-friendly garden was something he’d researched and, honestly, it was a good idea - the garden could add insulation, absorb the runoff from storm water, and also deflect heat from the sun. “I reckon all of the penthouses are more what we’re needin’ for space, both inside and out.” Enough rooms to house everyone and a guest or two, but nothing so ridiculously expansive that all of their freetime would be taken up cleaning the damn thing. They could always hire someone but even then it seemed ridiculous to have more space than they needed. Especially when they could simply get something else when they needed to grow a little more. There was one in particular that she was thinking of and had a feeling he had been considering the same one. It had felt the best when they had gone through it, ticking all of her mental boxes for what she’d wanted. “That’s the one I was thinkin’ of too.” Plus it was close to one of the larger parks and had a playground and a small pond that Anka Irene enjoyed visiting. She knew the little girl would love being only a few blocks away from it instead of needing to take a Waypoint. Anka Irene was a prime factor in deciding where to move - ideally, Erik would also like their new place to be close to her school. Morningside was close but it was also impersonal - it was simply the building where most new Outlanders got shuffled into and then they’d find their own way at some point. He’d been there since the beginning, just had moved in with Rogue when they’d reached that milestone in their relationship. So someplace that was theirs, also close to the school (which was good because both he and Rogue taught classes as well) but parks and places Anka Irene liked to go? Very important. Fresh air and getting out in it, that was all good for a child. He pictured so much greenery on the roof, grapevines hanging from a pergola, perhaps, or wild strawberries and herbs growing between stones. It would be nice. Perfect for them. “It overlooks the skyline too - I have to admit I’m fond of those views,” he said. The materials of the penthouse were sleek - sand blasted finishes, stainless steel; the windows allowed for that prime view, the glow of dusk. “And we’d have space for whenever Peter wants to stay over? Or Wanda, or the twins.” They each had their own spaces too but Erik wanted to be hospitable. Especially for family. The views were definitely an added bonus. Plus being on the top floor would make it easier to fly to the place at the end of the day. Something she hadn’t been able to do much while at Morningside. There was no way to gracefully climb in through a window but landing on a rooftop deck and walking through one of the sliding glass doors would work nicely. They could probably get some sort of playset up on it as well. Something that would allow Anka Irene to safely play out on it when getting to the park wasn’t always an option. Like early in the morning before heading to work and school. There weren’t any downsides that Rogue could see with it. Aside from maybe the ridiculous price, but that wasn’t exactly an issue either. “Could put some touches in each of the rooms that lets them know they belong to them when they do decide to stay over.” “Ah, yes - “ Erik nodded, sipping his beer. He’d been nursing it throughout lunch so it was almost done - and he didn’t need to order many of them. Not like he was a big drinker anyway - the occasional something to wind down after work or with dinner, and he appreciated many fine wines and good scotch. If he and Rogue had planned to move someplace where they’d have the room, he’d have been interested in a vineyard - but talk about upkeep. There was a lot of that involved when it came to making one’s own wine. Perhaps something to think about for further along in the future - he aged slowly and would have plenty of time. For once, a thought like that wasn’t too daunting to consider now that he had a family to live for. “That would be a good idea, I think. And they can put whatever they want in their rooms too.” Despite being twins, Billy and Tommy were still separate people and had their own separate interests. He would want them to be comfortable there. “I’m glad we’re doing this. I imagine it won’t even take us long to move? Once the contract is fully underway and everything.” Yes, the price was a bit ridiculous - but they’d make it work. It was a good investment. Teleporting furniture over and utilzing the Waypoints meant it would be an easy enough move. At least they weren’t building this place from the ground up. Though she’d done that plenty of times before considering how often the mansion was destroyed throughout the years. Good thing it didn’t take them much more than a day to get it back into shape. It was always amusing to think back on the one human construction worker who’d nearly bugged out his eyes when they’d informed him their group would have the apartment building built in less than twenty-four hours. Even if that hadn’t exactly happened because of various troubles being thrown at her little group back then. “We’re gonna need to do some shoppin’ for furniture and things.” Most of what was inside of Morningside belonged to the apartment and she wanted to leave it for whoever might need to use the place next. It would be nice to put their own stamp onto the new place as well. Mix styles and find a balance with the sleek design of the penthouse and the warmth she wanted the place to exude. Though Anka Irene’s toys scattered around it would help with that. Shopping. Yes, that would be required - it wasn’t one of Erik’s favorite things to do, but he really didn’t have a lot of furniture either, come to think of it. Not much that was exclusively his and not just standard Morningside things - but the idea of putting his personality, and Rogue’s personality, into their home was one of his favorite parts about this whole thing. It would be worth the time spent picking out couches, testing them, and finding tables and chairs that coordinated. One may not think so (if you took into account the amount of violence he’d participated in - not always what he wanted to do with his lot in life), but he had rather distinguished and classical tastes - he liked antiques, music (a record collection may be nice to develop), and playing a good game of chess. There wasn’t anyone in Vallo, currently, he could enjoy a game or two with - at least not that he’d found yet - but he’d likely still want another chessboard that was handmade, something that could be a decorative and conversational piece to add to the maple and walnut set he’d found in a hobby shop. “I’ll need to prepare myself,” he quipped lightly. “But yes. We’ll get that done. Involve the kids too - or see if they want to be involved.” He just didn’t want Peter coming back and feeling left out because Erik never told him about moving or what have you - so he planned to be fully transparent about the process. “What kinds of things would you want, besides a garden?” “Just a big kitchen which it's already got.” And she was pretty pleased with the master bathroom as well. That soaking tub would come in handy every so often. She was pretty simple when it came to wants versus needs. Material things had never been something she strove for so as long as there were enough chairs for everyone and space for them to hang out with one another, Rogue was good to go. As far as decorations went, she just wanted to display photographs from Vallo and a few of the ones that had shown up from Tumbleweed and back home over her year and some months there. Put up Anka Irene’s various artwork while also changing it out from time to time. Simple was good in her opinion. Less things to collect dust and clean. “What about you?” Erik considered that. “A big kitchen, definitely,” he agreed. He liked to have space for cooking and baking - and it was a chore that he didn’t mind sharing with Rogue either; they tended to split up the domestic duties anyway. Part of being with someone, part of marriage - it wasn’t always perfect but he was happy and often floating on feelings he never thought he’d get to experience again. “Maybe a wine fridge,” he added, a spark in his eye and a brief smile crossing his features. They couldn’t have a vineyard, but collecting fine wines seemed like it’d be interesting too - it didn’t have to be an overly large fridge. And it was certainly something he’d be new to owning. “The soaking tub will get plenty of use as well - overall, I think it’ll be perfect for us. Shall I go ahead and call the realtor when we get back?” he asked, reaching for the billfold where the check was, when the waiter dropped it off. She wasn’t overly surprised by the wine fridge idea. If he wanted that then she was sure they could get one installed. It wasn’t like it’d go to waste. She’d never been one for learning how to pair certain wines with different foods, but she could enjoy an occasional glass with dinner every now and then. If he wanted to pursue that then they’d find the space for it. The kitchen might have already come with a small one in it, but she had a feeling he was going to want something a little larger than the one that only held about four bottles. Couldn’t really gather a collection with that amount of space. “I reckon that’s a good idea. Last thing we want is for the place to get snatched up before we can put in our offer.” She really didn’t want to try and find something else. “Perfect.” Erik paid for lunch, first and foremost, and finished off that beer - not a drop left (and he wasn’t one to let anything go to waste). “And yes, we’ll move quickly - the sooner the better. Last thing I want to have to do is, hm - have a talk with anyone else who swoops in with an offer better than ours,” he chuckled. It likely wouldn’t be a friendly talk but, either way, hopefully they wouldn’t have to be concerned with that. “Alright, now let’s head back and see what our daughter’s destroyed,” he suggested, and that was said teasingly. But there could be truth to it too - you just never knew with a toddler sometimes. |