Okay so now that this is an official half-chapter, let me just make clear that this still is happening pre-ILAW. even though the chapter is way late in the story, this outtake actually precedes it. i explained my reasoning in chapter 26, so i don't think yall wanna read me rambling again. so here it is, i added another quite from the song i used in the chapter, to hopefully tie it together a little bit more.

hope you all enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it.

~temporary insanity

This is home
Now I'm finally where I belong
Where I belong

Yeah, this is home
I've been searching for
a place of my own
now i've found it

~This Is Home, Switchfoot

Chapter 26.5: This Is Home

"So this is it?" I take in the large empty room in front of me. The walls are painted a really dull orange I immediately think is awful. "Do you know if we can paint the walls here?"

"Duuuude," Ron breathes, his honey eyes widening. "Look at this kitchen. Ooh my gosh."

"Oh dear," I mutter to myself, going down the short hallway to look at the rooms. There's a smaller one with a small closet that looks great for an office/base of operations for Team Possible. It's stark white.

The other room I love. It's got two huge closets and a ton of space. However, the walls are painted a funky shade of green that I also immediately hate.

Ron comes in. "What's with the green?" he mutters, looking around. "I like this place a lot, except for the paint."

"I asked you earlier if you know whether we can paint over it."

"Oh yeah, I asked the office people and they actually said they would pay for any changes... apparently, the last people who lived here didn't leave it... erm, habitable, and they had to remodel a bunch of stuff... which I'm actually really freaking happy about. Did you see that kitchen?"

"Oh there you go, on about the kitchen again. Answer the question, silly."

"Huh? Oh, right. Yeah so they had to shell out a ton of cash to get this place presentable again, and all that's left is the paint. They said we can do whatever with it, they'll pay."

"Great! So, what does it cost? I mean, is it something we can afford? I can imagine with all the changes they had to make here, the price of it has gone up since you saw the ad."

He just grinned. "KP... Kimmie, baby," he says, his voice sultry. His lips brush mine before making their way down to my throat. "Don't worry about the rent, okay?"

"What?" I gasp, partly from shock and confusion at what he's saying and partly because he's being so damn distracting with his—

"Kimmie, I can cover the rent myself," he says.

I pull away from him, looking up in confusion. "How's that?"

His honey eyes sparkle. "I got promoted again. You're looking at the local Smarty Mart's new store manager."

"What?! No way! When?"

"Couple months ago. I've already saved up enough for two months rent and the deposit for this place. And the new salary lets me cover the rent and then some."

"Ron... I'm so proud of you!" I squeal and launch myself at him, and he laughs along, spinning me around before setting me down. "So what do you think? Think we can make this our own with a few buckets of paint?"

I grow serious for a moment. "I... wait. Ron, I can't let you cover the whole rent yourself. I mean... not that I don't love you for wanting—I mean, we promised we'd split the costs of an apartment and—"

"KP, stop. I want to take care of you. 'Kay? I know I can handle it on my own, and I know that you're going to be busy with your extra-currics and school and all that."

"Fine," I mumble at him, "but I'm covering the groceries. And the utilities. And-"

He chuckles. "If it makes you feel better, you can cover the utilities. But I'll be doing the cooking, so I'll be covering all those expenses."

"You aren't going to teach me?" I pout at him.

He laughs long and hard. "KP, baby, I'm still learning myself. Besides, the last time I tried to show you how to make sticky rice, the Middleton Fire Department told us they'd have you arrested for arson if you ever tried to cook again."

"I thought we weren't ever talking about that again!" I hiss at him.

"Sorry, Kimmie," he says, landing a peck on the tip of my nose. "Come on, we've got papers to sign and all that good stuff."

It's been three hours and we've collected fifty-six different possible colors for the bed rooms and living room... and we haven't decided on any of them.

"Ron, how about these?" I ask excitedly, picking up two more little paint chips.

"KP... don't you think we should look at furniture and stuff so that we at least have an idea what we are getting before we choose paint colors?"

"Doesn't it make sense to choose what colors we want first, that way we can buy the couches and stuff to match?"

"That's great in theory, KP baby, but I know you quite well and I know that we'll be paying for your great taste for the next year and a half."

"But Ronnie—"

"Kim tell you what. Lets take all of these with us... and we can look at the stuff and then we can pick both our colors and our furniture at the same time."

I tilt my head a little. Ron just... compromised. He didn't concede his point, and he didn't discard my idea like I realize I've done to his a lot in the past. He's... holy shit, my sidekick turned boyfriend very much just behaved like a man right now. He's been working his ass off since the summer after we graduated high school, and I knew he'd gotten more mature. But I didn't expect... this.

He watches me, his eyes curious. "What are you thinking?" He asks quietly.

"That you've... changed. I like it," I tell him. I wrap my arms around his waist, leaning into him. His arms wrap me in his warmth and I smile. "Come on."

"KP... come here!"

"What?"

"Come sit with me."

When I finally locate him, he's sitting on a tan couch. I don't know if I like it until I sit with him. He wraps his arms around me, leaning on the armrest. "We're so getting this couch," he mumbles.

I instinctively curl into him. I like that the seat is wide enough for both of us. I close my eyes, breathing him in. Yeah, this definitely feels like home.

Ron stiffens briefly and I wonder what's going on until a voice speaks. "Deciding on the couch?"

"We're getting it," I mumble into his chest, not wanting to let go of him just yet.

He chuckles and rubs my back. "Of course, Kimmie," he says. His voice is gentle, just for me. Out loud, he says, "Decided on the couch, sir. Definitely gonna take it and the love-seat too."

"Great," the worker answers cheerfully. "Now if you'd please move along... we can't have you sleeping here, you understand."

"We weren't sleeping," Ron grumbles. "We were testing out the couch."

"You plan on sleeping on the couch?"

Ron reaches his limit, and I whisper a warning into his chest as he stands. He pulls me to him again, squeezing me in acknowledgment before speaking. "No, but I plan on laying around with my girlfriend... I bet you haven't had one of those in a while," he adds tersely. "Isn't she gorgeous?" he asks with a grin that makes me blush. "Well she's my girl and I plan on sitting on this couch with her n kissing her n holding her close on it, so it has to be comfortable. I won't have her on an uncomfortable couch."

The man mutters under his breath, stalking away. "I'll get everything ready for you," he grunts over his shoulder.

"Was that really necessary?" I ask quietly.

"Kinda, yeah. I strongly object to people telling me I cant get comfy with my girl."

I just shake my head. "Where are the paint colors? I sort of want to choose everything for the living room while we're here."

He reaches into his pocket and hands me the stack of paint chips. I flip through them until I see the perfect color. It's very light but the tone of it reminds me of a field of grain in the sunlight. There are these wooden end tables over there that would look perfect with the couches and the color and... holy cow, I'm moving in with my boyfriend and we're picking colors and furniture and—

"You okay, KP baby?"

I nod, wiping the blasted tears from my cheeks. "Umm... yeah. It just sort of hit me, you know? We're really doing this... we're moving in together. I didn't... I mean, I never dreamed—"

"KP... I love you. Now that it's happening, there's no one in the world I'd rather it happened with than you."

"I love you too," I whisper to him. "I... I need you to know that I'm... happy. I'm happy with you."

His lips capture mine, gentle and teasing. "I'm glad you're happy," he says, his voice full of love.

I lean into him again, smiling.

It's two days after we finish painting and the furniture is finally being delivered. Ron's dad took a few days off and flew down to help us. I was surprised... I didn't think his parents condoned, you know, living together without being married, but they took it surprisingly in stride. My dad, on the other hand, got all awkward... although he did send us a forty-inch flat screen TV that had apparently been 'sitting in the basement since forever'.

I smile as we unpack the living room. There's a blue-ray player, and cable, and Ron's fifty billion action movies that take up one side of the entertainment center. There are a few pictures of us, separately and together, and also of our families. I watch him get a three by five frame of him with his sister out of the box, and I feel my chest constrict a little bit. In the picture, he's got her sitting on his shoulders at the park. She's laughing and he's nibbling on her little fingers playfully. His fingertip brushes her smiling face in the picture and he heaves a heavy sigh before putting it back.

"You miss her already, huh?"

"Yeah," he says quietly. "She's so... she calls me 'Wonnie' now, did you know? And she's forever giggling. I can have the worst day and she always makes it better. All I've got to do is make her laugh and it makes my day."

Ron's dad squeezes his shoulder. "She misses you too, I'm sure."

"Thanks. Tell her... tell her I'll be home soon."

I stand up from the couch, wrapping my arms around him. He kisses my hair. "Thank you, KP."

"We'll call her tonight okay? Let's finish up."

He agrees and his dad moves to unpack the rest of the living room stuff. More pictures, including one of my brothers. I'm going to miss them blowing up shit. Well... okay the blowing up stuff I wont miss, but I will still miss them.

It takes well into the next day to start unpacking the rest of our stuff. Mom got Ron two sets of cooking pots and utensils... one looks like a really expensive copper set, and the other one is the regular steel or aluminum or whatever. Ron looks like it's Christmas as he unpacks them along with their matching utensils.

I move into our bed room, where the wrought-iron headboard and bare mattress make a stark contrast to the red and gray on the walls. Ron glared dully at me in the paint store when I got excited about this really pretty rose color—well, I shouldn't have expected him to like a pink room, but a girl can dream. We spent several hours with Monique on the phone, planning how to paint the walls. I picked a warm red paint chip, but Ron totally wanted something dark and awful looking. Monique came back to us with a full plan which included a dark shade of gray and a rusty shade of red, and she even ordered us matching red curtains and dark, silky grey sheets with fancy shiny red throw pillows. The walls are painted in gray with rusty abstract borders that are echoed in the iron on the bed.

It feels... sexy.

"Hey KP, watcha doin?"

"Nothing, I was just about to start unpacking in here," I tell him.

"Oh, okay. Well, I decided to break in those new pots. Oh my God, that kitchen," he mutters, his face dreamy.

I have to laugh. "I'm glad you like it so much," I tell him in between giggles.

He kisses my cheek. "Anyway, the food will be ready in a few minutes, are you coming?"

"Definitely, Chef Ronald."

He sticks his tongue out at me before tugging me out of the bedroom.

We do call Han at night. She giggles and babbles at Ron about her day in daycare and all the stuff little girls talk about. He smiles indulgently the entire time, asking her questions and listening to her answers with the same attention as if he were listening to a briefing from the Secret Service. He even stays on the line talking to his mom while Han is bathed and tucked in so that he can read to her over the phone.

He grabs his laptop and opens his 'Nook for PC', scanning through the books he's downloaded until he finds a picture book about the princess and the frog, reading to her until he hears her breathing deepen and even out. "Goodnight, baby girl, I miss you," he hays quietly. When he hangs up, he's completely silent.

I take his phone from his hand, guiding him gently to bed. He lays down obediently, but I can tell his mind is still hundreds of miles away, back in Middleton. I curl up next to him, laying my head on his chest, and he speaks. "It's gonna suck without her."

"We'll visit for midterm break, okay?"

"Okay," he says absently.

"And for thanksgiving, and for the winter break."

"When you say it like that it doesn't seem like forever."

"It's not," I tell him with a chuckle. "In the meantime, you'll have me to tide you over."

He grins, flipping us over and hovering over me briefly. "I like that a lot," he mumbles, his lips brushing mine before he lets his tongue slip across my lips.

I smile a little as he deepens the kiss. Ironically, Hana was the one keeping him occupied with her running on the ceiling and causing general toddler mayhem when I was gone and he was still stuck in Middleton. It seems I'll have to employ different methods of keeping him occupied here...

His lips move from my lips, across my cheek, and then they reach my ear. "I love you," he whispers, and his breath in me ear makes me shiver.

"I love you too," I mumble into his shoulder. His arms circle me, and his weight on me is warm, comfortable, and safe.

This feels so good, being here in our new apartment, in our room, in our bed in his arms... I'm in the safest place in the world...

I'm home.

hope you all liked this, happier outtake. let me know what you think ;)

thanks for your support

~temporary insanity