Could Be Home

Date/Timing: 18 June 2011
Setting: what will be Hermann & Edan's shared flat (Battersea) and Edan's rooms (Mile End), both London, England, United Kingdom
.
== Revised text ==
"Good morning, gents!"
"'morning~!" chirps Edan as they stuff themselves into the car.
"Good morning, Ms Patel," greets Hermann, buckling his seatbelt.
Dottie /whuffs.
"And you, too, sweetheart."
Dottie thumps her tail against Edan's ribs, bells jingling.
"That is so cute," coos Ms Patel. "I've never seen a dog who likes wearing bells before."
"They make her feel pretty, I think, like her cape."
"She looks perfectly adorable in green."
"If you like this, you should see her in her Pride outfit."
Ms Patel laughs. "Well, now that we're all here, we need get rolling. A new opportunity presented itself and we absolutely /have to squeeze it in."
"Where would this be?" prompts Hermann.
"Battersea."
"Battersea?!"
"We can't afford Battersea."
"But you /can afford /this flat~!" She glows. "The cheat sheet's in my bag."
Edan stretches, digs, comes up with a couple of printouts, passes one over.
Hermann reads. Goggles.
Edan makes a strangled noise.
"This ... this is a typo."
"Nope!" Glides them around a corner. "The seller is mo-ti-vay-ted."
"So ... it's, like, a raft in the middle of the Thames, then? A dollhouse? In the drains?"
"No, no, and no. It's actually what it says on the tin. I've sold flats in the building next door and, trust me, this is one lovely block."
"What the ever-loving fuck?" breathes Edan. «This /has to be some sort of trick.»
«I honestly don't know /what to think.» Re-reads. «This doesn't happen in our reality.»
«Maybe that last mini-roundabout was a portal to another dimension?»
Dottie shifts, woffles.
«Never mind, she's pretty sure we're in the same old dimension.»
«How would she know?»
«Dogs are sensitive to space-time distortions.»
Hermann rolls his eyes.
"Sooooo ... this is the street. It's pretty quiet, without a lot of traffic, as it's all residential and the parking's by permit. If you decide to buy a motor of you own, you can apply for a spot."
"Good to know."
"If you'd rather public transport, there are two stations within a half-mile."
"Great."
"The nearest shops are two streets over and anything you need day-to-day should be available there." She steers the car to the kerb, pulls the handbrake, turns off the engine. "And we're here!"
Hermann, Edan, and Dottie scramble out, follow Ms Patel over to a six-story purpose-built block.
"We're headed to the third floor," she says, unlocking the outer door and gesturing them inside. "Lift is ahead on the right."
Edan takes the lead, presses the call button.
/ding!
They shuffle inside.
"So, there are three flats on each floor along with a small lobby for the stairs and lift. The one we're looking at is on the single side, so your only shared walls will be the floor and ceiling. It's to your right."
Lift doors slide open.
They shuffle out, pause in front of the only door in that wall.
Ms Patel unlocks it. "I really think you'll love the place."
Hermann shrugs, 'we'll see.'
"After you," says Edan with a bow.
Hermann sniffs, shtumps past.
The place, at first scan, is well-maintained, neat, and arranged around a central hallway.
"Full bath, W.C., kitchen, and reception room are on the right; the three bedrooms are on the left."
"Cool," says Edan, heading for the far end with Dottie at his heels.
Hermann takes the first door on the left: a small bedroom, its window overlooking the street.
A perfect office.
The next room is much the same, although a little bigger.
Just right for Bastien when he's ready for uni.
The final door is a generous bedroom.
Hermann swallows.
It would make a beautiful space for them to share.
He takes a deep breath, puts his shoulders back, and limps across the hall.
Edan stands motionless in the center of a room lit by an enormous window.
"What's—dear God."
Hard-soled shoes approach and Ms Patel says, "Looks like you're enjoying the reception room."
Hermann swallows. "This's ... nice."
She chuckles. "It's certainly roomy for a city flat. It was completely remodeled five years ago, but the floor in this room and the baseboards are new this spring—oh!—and all the windows were replaced in the autumn with the latest, most efficient type."
Edan nods absently.
"Now, the kitchen. /That was redone again last year with all new appliances, including a washer and dryer."
"Why so much work?"
"The management likes to keep things up-to-the-minute for their tenants."
"It's been a rental?"
"Mhm. Most of the building is leased to young professionals like yourselves, but they occasionally sell a flat to guarantee some continuity in residents." Ms Patel makes a thoughtful face, skims something on her mobile. "That /is the one odd condition of sale here, though. The seller requires right-of-first-refusal if you ever decide to sell. But! It /also says they'll 'subsidize improvements, including the provision of approved, licensed contractors'."
Edan grunts. 
Hermann's stomach goes a little funny.
Edan queries.
Hermann waves him off.
"Would you like to see the kitchen?"
"Sure. Lead the way."
They shuffle from the big room into an efficient little kitchen.
Edan drags his fingers along the counter-tops until he reaches the most distant corner, asks, "Where does this door go?"
"The balcony."
"B-balcony?"
Ms Patel smiles. "Go ahead and step out."
Edan pushes open the door—
Dottie darts through, puts her forepaws on the bottom bar of the railing, sniffs the air, tail wagging.
—leans next to her, gazing out over a smallish common garden.
Hermann joins them, wings twitch—rolls his shoulders, sighs.
Edan smiles, takes and squeezes his hand, says quietly, «We'd be crazy not to jump at this.»
Hermann shifts his feet.
«/Crazy.»
«I don't know ... something seems wrong about it.»
«Hermann, it's a beautiful three-bedroom Battersea flat that's /in /our /price /range, of /course it feels wrong. It /is wrong.»
Dottie /whuffs at a bird fluttering past.
Hermann rubs the back of his neck. 
«I really like this place.»
«I do, too.»
«It's the least expensive so far, by /a /lot.»
«That's true, but it's on the third floor. What if the lift goes out?»
«That ... is a problem. I'll carry you?»
Hermann scoffs.
«I can help you up the stairs?»
«That seems more plausible.»
«But is it acceptable?»
Hermann shrugs.
«On the positive side, third floor means it's harder to see in?»
Hermann agrees.
«We can /definitely afford it /and save.»
Hermann hums an acknowledgment.
«You can practically see your office from here.»
«You're over half a city from yours.»
«We agreed distance for me didn't matter.»
Hermann huffs. 
They listen to the pleasant buzz of city sounds for a little while.
Hermann takes a deep breath. «You're right. We'd be crazy not to jump at this.»
«Brilliant. Do we still want to see the rest?»
«I think that'd be wise. We should probably also sleep on the decision.»
Edan beams. «My fiancé is the smartest fiancé.» He gives Dottie's lead a tug. "Dottie, please come."
She whines, stands firm.
"Dottiiiiiie ...."
She /whuffs, lets herself be towed to Ms Patel in the foyer.
"So, what do you think?"
"It's very nice," says Hermann, neutral.
Ms Patel blinks. "O-of course. If the seller asks about your interest, what should I tell them?"
"Say that we are interested, but need more time before making a serious commitment."
Ms Patel chews her lip, makes a note on her mobile. "Well. Are you ready to see the next place?"
"Yes, please," replies Hermann.
"Excellent! Let's be off!"
They follow her out, then through five more flats before they finally say goodbye as she drops them at Edan's residence.
"That," says Hermann, "was a long fucking day." He collapses in the armchair, flexes his knee, grimacing.
"Yea. Would you like some ice?"
"Yes, please."
Edan fishes a gel pack from the mini-freezer, scoots the desk chair over—
Hermann props up his leg.
—settles the ice across Hermann's knee.
"Thanks." Hermann lets his head fall back.
Edan squeezes his foot, shuffles to the cabinet, dumps food in Dottie's bowl—
She immediately crunches away.
—adds water to the kettle, sets it to boil, then flops flat out on the bed.
Dottie slorps water.
"What do you think?" asks Hermann.
"About what?"
"The flats we've seen, muppet."
Edan takes a deep breath. "Well ... after seventeen of 'em ... that Battersea place ...."
"What about it?"
"It's almost too good to be true, yea?"
Hermann grunts.
"But it's so /sweet. Like, it could be a real /home for us." Sighs. "What about you?"
"I ... Battersea was impressive, but I can't shake the feeling there's something wrong with it."
"Like I said, that flat in that neighbourhood at that price /is wrong. It shouldn't exist." Edan pushes up to sitting. "But it could be our home."
Hermann smiles. "It could be."
Edan grins. "Sounds like we have a winner, then."
"What about Mandy?"
"She's not picky."
Hermann snorts. "Lupe?"
"She's happy wherever we are. PAIGE?"
"As long as the power stays on, she's content. Dottie?"
"What do you say, sweetie-pie? Did you like the Battersea flat well enough?"
She pants, /whumps her tail against her cushion.
"That's a 'yes'?"
/whump whump whump
"It seems we're all of a mind." 
"Battersea, here we come!"
"Brace yourselves," drawls Hermann.
.
== Original text ==
The property agent unlocks the door of the day's second flat—helpfully labeled "Battersea #1" on their sheet of prospects—says, "I know this isn't /quite the sort of neighbourhood you had in mind, but it checked all your other boxes and the seller's motivated, so I thought it worth at least a quick peek."
"After you," says Edan with a bow.
Hermann sniffs, shtumps past.
Edan follows with Dottie jingling along at his heels.
"That is so cute," coos the agent. "I've never seen a dog who likes wearing bells before."
"They make her feel pretty, I think, like her cape."
"She's /adorable." She indicates the space straight ahead, calls to the motionless Hermann, "It looks like you've found the living room."
Hermann nods.
"What's—" Edan swallows. "This's ... nice."
"As you can see, it's roomy, and there's a little balcony through those doors. The floor and baseboards are new this spring and the windows were replaced in the autumn. The HVAC's three years old, but there's still a year on the warranty."
Dottie tugs toward the balcony doors.
"Go ahead and step out."
Edan slides the glass, crosses the platform in a couple of strides, leans against the rail.
A buzz of city sounds and a gentle, warm breeze.
Dottie puts her forepaws on the bottom bar of the railing, sniffs the air, tail wagging.
Hermann joins them at the rail, rolls his shoulders—masking a wing twitch from the wind.
Edan smiles, takes and squeezes his hand.
""As you can see, this is a fairly quiet street, all residential. Parking is by permit—if you buy a car, you can pay for a spot nearby—which keeps the traffic light. Shops are two streets over and any day-to-day supplies you need should be available there.""
They acknowledge with bobs of their heads.
""If I can pull you back inside, we can see the rest of the flat.""
Hermann sighs, pushes off, heads to join her.
"Dottie, please come."
She stands firm.
"Dottiiiiiie ...."
She /whuffs, lets herself be towed along.
The agent leads them through a tidy kitchen, a snug dining area, two neat washrooms, and three smallish-but-comfy bedrooms, two with big windows overlooking the street.
Edan and Hermann hover and Dottie braces her paws on the windowsill, all admiring the view from the master bedroom.
«I really like this place,» murmurs Edan.
«I do, too,» agrees Hermann.
«It's the least expensive so far.»
«It's in the least posh neighbourhood.»
«It's still posher than the one I grew up in.»
«We don't need three bedrooms.»
«We can each have an office or we can share an office and have a guest room or a hobby room. If money gets tight, we can bring in a boarder or two.»
«It's on the third floor. What if the lift goes out?»
«That ... is a problem. I'll carry you?»
Hermann scoffs.
«I can help you up the stairs?»
«That seems more plausible.»
«But is it acceptable?»
«I think so, but I'll need more time to decide.»
«Of course. On the positive side, third floor means it's harder to see in.»
Hermann hums. «Can we afford it?»
«Sorry to be like this, but you're the math genius.»
Hermann huffs, does some rapid mental figuring. «Taking all the travel fees and taxes into account, we should be comfortable; maybe even able to save a little bit.»
«Brilliant. Do we still want to see the rest?»
«I think that'd be wise. We should probably also sleep on the decision.»
Edan beams. «My fiancé is the smartest fiancé.» He gives Dottie's lead a tug. "C'mon, sweetmeat, it's time to go."
She whines.
"Dottie, please come."
She huffs, /click-jingle-clicks over.
They rejoin the agent in the living room.
"Ready to see the next place?"
"Yes, please," replies Hermann.
"Excellent! I think you'll /really like this one."
They follow her out, then through five more flats before they finally say goodbye and retreat to Edan's residence.
"That," says Hermann, "was a long fucking day." He collapses in the armchair, flexes his knee, grimacing.
"Yea. Would you like some ice?"
"Yes, please."
Edan fishes a gel pack from the mini-freezer, scoots the desk chair over—
Hermann props up his leg.
—settles the ice across Hermann's knee.
"Thanks." Hermann lets his head fall back.
Edan squeezes his foot, shuffles to the cabinet, dumps food in Dottie's bowl—
She immediately buries her face in the chow and crunches away.
—adds water to the kettle, sets it to boil, then flops flat out on the bed.
Dottie turns to her water, /slorps.
"What do you think?" asks Hermann.
"About what?"
"The flats we've seen."
Edan takes a deep breath, laces his fingers under his head. "Well ... after seventeen of 'em, only the Battersea place really /sang to me."
"What does that mean?"
"It felt like home a bit."
Hermann grunts.
"What about you?"
"I ... Battersea was my favourite as well. I can't explain why, but it felt comfortable, even empty."
"It could be home?"
"It could be home."
Edan smiles at the ceiling. "Sounds like we have a winner, then."
"What about Mandy?"
"She's not picky."
Hermann snorts. "Lupe?"
"She's happy wherever we are. Paige?"
"As long as the power stays on, she's content. Dottie?"
Edan hauls himself back to sitting. "What do you say, sweetie-pie? Did you like the Battersea flat well enough?"
She pants, /whumps her tail against her cushion.
"That's a 'yes'?"
/whump whump whump
Hermann grins. "It seems we're all of a mind." 
"Battersea, here we come!"
"Brace yourselves," drawls Hermann.
Category:Ficlet
Category:London (setting)
Category:Edan
Category:Edan (ficlet)
Category:Hermann
Category:Hermann has wings
Category:Hermann (ficlet)
Category:Peridot
Category:Peridot (ficlet)
Category:Mandy (mention)
Category:Lupe (mention)
Category:PAIGE (mention)
Category:Ficlets with images
Category:Hermann's POV
Category:Bastien (mention)
2011 06 18
Category:Battersea, Fort
Category:Pages with comments
Category:Celestial Mechanics