My new home was a thing of beauty. Not to mention, in a much, much nicer neighborhood. From Jackson Heights' to Forest Hills, night & day, Heaven & Earth!
Ah, I'll never get tired of that.
Gone were the pot-hole ridden roads and trash filed alleyways. Replaced by wide, tree-lined streets and convenient walkways.
I had quaint cafe's and bakeries just down the road, neighbors who wouldn't grunt and avert eye-contact, instead they'd smile, even wave. Birds flew by as squirrels chittered amidst the trees, even the air was fresher.
It was all so very heart-touching.
The house itself was a relatively new construction. Quite different from the nearby brick & motor townhouses or the adjacent colonial style homes.
It was more… geometrical. Like a child had stacked three rectangular cuboid's atop on another before accidentally slapping the center piece out of alignment. The walls were some-kind of hemp hybrid concrete, treated into a dark-grey, slightly creamy texture and color.
Each short-end face had large floor-to-ceiling windows, all strategically placed to get the best views and the most privacy.
A tall hedge encompassed the small property, a short private drive-way curving off to another cuboid with a dark-metal garage door. To its right, an overly large dark wood door.
It was odd looking, for sure, probably the reason why it was cheaper than other nearby homes, an architectural experiment so to speak. I didn't really mind, if anything it felt kinda sci-fi.
Stepping inside you'd find nothing.
Just a large open-concept living room & kitchen surrounded by more floor-to-ceiling windows.
Contentiously, a spiraling staircase was placed right in the center of the room, probably my least favorite design choice.
The second floor was much the same, except partitioned into three separate rooms. One half of the building was saved for a large study/office, the other half had two guest bedrooms.
The final floor, and probably my favorite, was dedicated entirely to the master bedroom. It was the definition of overkill. A massive California King-sized bed rested against a dark wood partial partition, its excessive size still somehow lacking. There were no doors, the bathroom hidden behind the partition, tastefully separated by semi-opaque walls and dark-slate floors.
On the other side of the room was an expansive view of Manhattan, the city lights gleaming over the river.
All in all I was satisfied with my purchase. I would've been satisfied with an apartment, but when I saw a whole house for sale? In this location? In an alien, superhero economy like this? You bet your ass I dipped into my savings.
Now I just had to fill with furniture. I'm thinking, a lot of plants. Like a shit ton of plants to help counter the cold-minimalist interior. All enchanted with magic, of course. Since I was for sure going to forget my watering duties.
I also had to work on turning the sizable basement into the perfect secret lair.
Ah, things to do… things to do…
Well, first things first, a couch, for one. Maybe some bedding? Pillows too? Ah, I need some cutlery and pans — shit, I also need to buy a fridge — oh man, tables, chairs, a couple carpets maybe some nice accent rugs, throw pillows, to throw around or something? Curtains? Towels for my showers, bathroom mats, some good shampoo, conditioner; hell I might even take Fury's lead and get some moisturizer! Nice soap too, might even splurge on a loofah and five-ply toilet paper. Oh good heavens, I need TOOLS! Screwdrivers and stuff, everything a garage needs, racks, shelves… oh lord—book shelves! I have a whole study to fill and no books to study, I've always wanted one of those big globes you could spin, a velvety chair perhaps, can't forget the ottoman of course, a warm lamp, maybe enchant the lights and the heating system, fuck if I'm going that far I might as well start on Project: R2…
I was locked into a self-induced homeowners Force-Trance before I knew it. By the time I came out of it, two hours later, I realized that I might need a hand with furnishing things.
—
[Me:] Heyyy Master? Do you want to come over and help me furnish my new home?
…
[Taoalicious:] No. Can't, Pesky Dimen-Lord. Text me when you're done, I'll bring tea.
I stared at my phone in disbelief. The pain of betrayal flushing through my veins.
How could she?
With pained eyes I looked through the rest of my contacts finding a depressingly short-list.
[TooManyKnives]
[Taoalicious]
[Jean 'Prober' Grey]
[PirateLord]
[SGT J]
[2Hot2Handle]
I sighed, the only person on my list that wasn't from work ,and under the age of 30 was a telepathic mind-prober with an even stronger, bald-headed mind-prober lurking behind her.
I think… I'm gonna start making some friends. This… this is just sad.
[Me:] Hey Jean, odd ask, but do you wanna help me furnish my new place?
…Two minutes go by…
[Jean 'Prober' Grey:] !!! Yes! Can I bring others?
[Me:] Sure, when works best?
[Jean 'Prober' Grey:] Mmm… tmrw after school?
[Me:] Works.
—
It was only while leaning against Lilith, waiting for the X-gang outside of school, did I realize that asking for Jean's help meant letting the bald-headed demon know where I lived…
Fuck.
I slapped my forehead.
Stupid! STUPID! GAH! MIND READERS MAN! IS NOTHING SACRED?!
"uh… you okay dude?" Kitty asked as she approached. I ruefully shook my head, turning to see the rest of the X-gang — save for Scott, thank god.
"Listen y'all, please, I beg you, don't give out my address."
Kitty laughed, "Huh? Why would we do that?" Then she looked over at Jean, "Oh."
Jean just gave me a wry smile and I dropped my head with a sigh.
"Just… just give me a heads up if you plan on coming over?"
"Of course!" Jean happily agreed, and the Force practically whispered to me — cap…
I waved my woes away, gesturing to Lilith.
"Well, I only got room for one more on Lilith here so—"
"--DIBS!" Kitty screamed, then giggled as she walked over whistling as she took in the motorcycle. "Damn Riven, what even is this?"
I smirked, "One hundred percent custom."
Kurt whistled this time, "Logan would be all over this."
"Logan?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"One of our… instructors."
I hummed, "Do you two have a ride? I'll text you my address, we should get eyes on the place first, then we can go to a furniture store."
Kurt nodded, pulling out some car keys. "Race ya!" He said with a grin.
I scoffed, "Pfft, good luck with that."
I texted them my address and they walked off to an old, dark-green Benz. I turned to Kitty and saw that she already had one of my spare black-helmets on, practically shaking with anticipation.
"Come on~! Let's goooo!"
I chuckled sliding my helmet over my head and lightly karate chopping her helmet.
"Relax space cowboy, there's no way in hell I'm loosing."
She swiped at my hand and pointed to the Benz already driving into the distance.
I rolled my eyes, exaggerating my head movements with the helmet. Then threw my leg over the seat and motioned her to get on.
She ooh and aah'd as she felt the magically comfortable seats and passenger foot-rests kick out.
"Whoa, this thing is sick!"
"HELL YEAH IT IS!" I yelled, stomping the beast to life.
Kitty's hands tightened around my waist as she yelped in surprise. Lilith roared to life, its beastly purr turning nearby heads.
I twisted the throttle, feathering the breaks as I used my leg as an anchor point to smoothly swing the bike around. Ok, and a little telekinesis.
The engine growled, as the tires screeched. "OOOH MY—" Kitty yelled, her voice drowning away as I released the breaks, launching us onto the road.
The wind screamed past us as I quietly activated an illusion spell to hide us from cameras.
I gunned it, weaving through the tight city streets with wild abandon. I let the Jesus take the wheel; the Force guiding my path between cars and road hazards alike.
In less than a minute we caught up to Kurt's Benz. I switched gears, revving Lilith as we pulled up beside them. Kitty laughed as she threw up a peace sign up, flicking her face mask up and sticking her tongue out.
"LATER LOSERS~~~!!"
Kurts face was pure disbelief while Jean smiled and shook her head.
I grinned under my helmet, turning to Kitty.
"Hold on!" I yelled through the noise, and I felt her arms lock around me. With a couple short revs I suddenly threw our weight back, telekinetically pulling Lilith into a wheelie. I turned giving devil horns to Kurt and then gunned it into the distance.
The bike screamed and the buildings around us blurred. I shot forwards, maneuvering with gentle adjustments, leaning and counter-leaning as we zipped past cars in fast, furious fashion.
As we entered the suburbs I slowed down, gracefully touching down again just as I pulled into my driveway.
I shut off the bike, the growl receding right as stopped. I slipped off the bike, chuckling as I heard Kitty's heavy breaths fill the silence.
I unlatched my helmet and rested it on the seat.
"You okay there space cowboy?" I asked.
Kitty's tinted helmet slowly turned to me, giving me an even slower nod.
I stifled a laugh, walking over and reaching under her chin to unlatch her helmet. I gently pulled it off her, careful of any hairs caught in the visors' hinges.
When I looked down Kitty had an… odd look in her eyes. Like she seen a ghost.
"Hello?"
Her blue eyes turned towards me, loose strands of brown hair stuck to her forehead. She swallowed, her eyes looking me up and down.
"Kitty?" I asked, feeling her receding excitement through the Force… then I felt something else…
She breathlessly asked, "Do… do you have a license?"
I grinned, shooting her a pair of finger guns. "That's classified."
—
A couple minutes later Kurt pulled up and I could see their eyes widen as they took in my humble abode.
"Sweet place dude!" Kurt exclaimed as he stepped out. Jean hummed in agreement as she took in the odd architectural choices.
"It's so… geometrical?"
I laughed, "Thats what I said~"
I motioned them to follow me inside, explaining why I bought such a unique looking home and my vision of filling it with plants.
"How did you pay for this? Do you have a job?" Jean asked. Kitty and Kurt turned to me with curious eyes.
"Yeah, didn't you call yourself poor and humble awhile ago?" Kurt added.
"Don't forget handsome!" Kitty chimed in, and her friends gave her mischievous side-eye. She flushed, lowering her eyes and muttering, "Whaaat?"
I nodded my head sagely, "Yes, to all those things, as for my job… that's classified." I said smugly. "Don't worry about it, it's all legal if that's what you're asking."
"Sure it is…" Jean couldn't help but say suspiciously.
I shrugged, letting their curiosity stew. I guided them through the rest of the house, smiling with inward satisfaction as they exclaimed in awe when we reached the master bedroom.
"Oh my god your bed is huge!" Kitty yelled as she leapt onto it, letting out a satisfied sigh and groan.
Jean smirked, "Already making yourself at home?" She chided, but Kitty just lazily waved her hand back at her, too busy enjoying the mattress.
I clapped my hands together, "Alright, now that we've got a layout of the place, what are all your thoughts?"
The next half-hour was an intense brain-storming session. Kurt pulled out the big guns, citing Feng Shui, while Jean was a major proponent for filling the space with soft couches and warm, earthy tones. Kitty thought I should get a pool table — which I was actually quite on-board with.
I'll have to make sure I'm not bleeding myself dry here — working for Fury pays but I'm not made of money.
My stomach growled right as we ended our brain-storming. "Y'all wanna get food first?"
—
After a quick stop for a bite at a nearby Mexican place, we spent the rest of the day walking, buying, and shipping all manner of furniture.
I got a large 'U' shaped couch, a whole set of stainless steel pans, cast-iron skillets, Japanese/German made knives. I splurged on a nice set of bookshelves and a large globe thingy. The girls took full control of helping me buy fancy looking toiletries, equipping each and every bathroom with towelettes, lavender scented soaps and the fluffiest towels they could find.
We spent way too much time in a botanical boutique, carefully selecting plants for each floor.
I got rugs for my living room, rugs for my study, rugs for my bedroom.
Me and Kurt gushed over toolsets, arguing over brands, red vs. yellow.
By the end of the day I was firmly a couple tens of thousands of dollars poorer. My bank account was the lowest it had ever been, yet I felt oddly okay with it all.
Even in my past life I didn't have a home all to myself, so splurging on my first ever place felt… nice.
When we stepped outside the gang let out an exhausted, but satisfied sigh.
"Thanks guys, this would've taken me forever alone."
"Anytime Riven, and you have to promise to invite us back once you're all settled in." Jean said with a serious smile.
Kitty nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! I wanna see what it looks like when it all comes togetherrr~"
I smiled putting my hand on my heart. "Of course, of course — maybe I'll throw a small party to celebrate."
Kurt beamed, "Count me in! I can even try to sneak away some of Logan's drinks if you do." Kitty and Jean gave him shocked looks.
"You're playing a dangerous game Kurt." Jean said, fearing for his life.
"I'll be sure to weep at your funeral." Kitty added solemnly, wiping a fake tear away.
I shook my head with a smile. "Don't worry about it, I have my own methods."
…AndI really don't want Wolverine smashing my door down because Kurt stole his feel good juice.
After saying our goodbyes we parted ways. I watched as Kurt pulled away, driving into the distance.
I looked up at the setting sun, seeing the clouds ablaze with soft vermillion and lavender hues as the blanket of stars began filtering through the atmosphere.
Pretty.