Finding A House To Make A Home

Posted on Fri Nov 10th, 2023 @ 11:43 by Phoebe Hunter & Matteo Beneventi

Chapter: All Hallow's Eve
Location: New Cresthill
Timeline: 6th December 1992
3082 words - 6.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Phoebe shivered as the icy winds sliced through her coat. She huddled close to the old, weather-beaten pub's entrance, her gloved hands clutching a steaming mug of coffee she had brought with her. She'd been waiting for Matt for what felt like an eternity, her breath forming frosty clouds in the frigid air. The pub's windows were fogged, concealing the warm, inviting interior where laughter and the hum of conversation wafted to her ears as the usual lunchtime crowd was inside.

The cosy ambience within contrasted sharply with the biting chill outside but the woman was not going to go inside after Halloween. She was trying to keep a low profile for herself and the man she was dating. Phoebe checked her watch for what must have been the hundredth time but as she was early she had no one to blame but herself.

To call the last few months chaotic would have been to put things in a decidedly positive light compared to the experience of living it. Normal living was as it had always been, though exacerbated by a definite spike in the passive influence of Matt's powers. For at least a while there, he'd had to work twice as hard to make sure he wasn't overlooked and had ended more than a few days staring up at the ceiling wondering if it was worth the effort. There was risk attached to trying to hold down work when he couldn't control, as he would normally, how other people perceived him. He had learned to live very quietly and to pick his time when appearing first thing in the morning, lest he be mistaken for an intruder. He had also found himself taking control, as far as his powers allowed, of his general recognition in such a blatant and explicit way that he was definitely more physically exhausted than he could recall being in quite some time. He'd never worked so hard in his life to make sure people didn't forget he existed. It still felt like a time bomb waiting to go off.

But, Phoebe's constant reassurances that his presence felt enduring helped, as had her company in general. It had taken him a little while to act but, over the past couple of weeks, he had started to look at properties within a ride's distance of the town, just a step closer to laying the first semi-permanent foundation of his adult life. As he bustled out the door finally, the folder clutched to his chest was a fairly constant companion and quite an endearing one at that. He wasn't a stupid man, far from it, but there was a certain similarity between his spider-crawl handwriting and the scribbles of a certain tech teacher that betrayed the constant interruptions to his formal education. A beanie pulled over his curls was somewhat ridiculous but he had likewise learned the importance of a scarf and gloves and, for once, hadn't left his jacket behind.

"You're early." A snatched kiss that caught frozen lips ensured that wasn't delivered as a complaint.

Phoebe touched his cheek as he caught her in a kiss. She laughed and nodded, she had been nervous to drive in the ice and snow as it was something she had not done in a long time. It had been so long since she had seen him since as she had exams to set and duties. She also did not give away that she had been on a mission to try and find Robert and his group. "I wanted to see you. Been 2 weeks." She commented.

"Felt like longer," Matt confessed, though there had at least been something comforting about them falling into the routine of nearly-nightly phone calls. They weren't as long as he'd have liked and on more than one occasion had only prompted a late night stroll so that he could settle the urge to ride the bike up to the castle and climb in her window, but they had been a source of reassurance at least that she wasn't affected by the increase of forgetfulness around him. An arm around her back pulled her close, demonstrative ease that indicated elevated confidence, and Matt rubbed between her shoulderblades as he took a moment to nuzzle against her temple and just enjoy the much-anticipated opportunity to connect. "Roads were okay?"

"They could have been a lot worse." She revealed looking up at him glad that he was wearing clothes suitable for the weather for once. She was freezing in the weather but she was slowly becoming accustomed to the chill of the castle. "Definitely would not encourage you to ride on your bike and why I am glad I am not on duty to help." She wanted him to live somewhere other than the pub as it would be safer.

"Up to you, we can take the bike or you can drive. Realtor's meeting us there." As the enjoyment of seeing her again slowly mingled with the nervousness of what was to come, Matt pulled back and changed his caress to a slow rub of both upper arms. "I'm glad you could come, honestly. This whole process is more stressful than I expected."

"You are not driving." She said firmly her eyes lightening slightly as she saw how that would end with them both injured. "Come on." She leant up kissing him one more time before she started across the road to where her car was waiting for them. "It will be worth it for you in the end." She promised softly.

"Yeah, I'll just be glad when this part of it is over." It didn't bring a lot of comfort to admit it but Matt had not had a great deal of use for official procedure and process in the past. When it was all too easy to get by cutting corners and manipulating the world into giving him what he needed, the notion of sitting down with bank managers to discuss property ownership was so mundane as to be pointless. It was important to do this legitimately, however, and not just because the effort that would go into convincing all stakeholders that he owned a property when, in fact, he did not was too much to consider.

"It is the worst part." She assured unlocking the car and sliding inside relieved that she did not have to de-ice the car again or anything like that. It had been a rigmarole before to the point she had nearly asked Johnathon for support in de-icing the car. She started the car and smiled as the tape she had been listening to came back on. She turned it down but let him hear what she had been listening to.

As odd as it was to be sitting in the passenger seat being escorted around, Matt had learned by now not to attempt to step in. Phoebe's level of independence might have threatened some potential suitors but he actually found it to be one of her more attractive traits, and so it wasn't a great sacrifice to stand aside and let her take the literal and proverbial wheel. Staring out at the miserable weather, his mind a churning mess of nerves that centred mostly around the fear that the realtor would forget about the meeting entirely, it took a moment or two for the soundtrack to catch his attention. A surprised glance towards the deck became a pleased half-smile. "You got it."

“Course I did.” Phoebe commented with a grin as she put the car into reverse and got out the parking spot. They had been discussing music weeks ago but the woman had never heard of Tool before so had purposely found a copy in Woolworths to listen to. She had found herself enjoying it a little even if it was not her type of music.

It was a small gesture but so thoroughly unprecedented that Matt took a moment to figure out how to respond to it. Every time Phoebe demonstrated a capacity to recall, often with vivid detail, the conversations they'd had far enough into the past that most people would have dismissed it entirely, Matt found himself navigating a relevance that he'd never been forced to confront before. It didn't seem to cost her a lot of effort to maintain awareness and though it honestly still made him uncomfortable at times, that was easily overridden by a deepening sense of gratitude that translated easily into affection. His features slackened into a proper grin.

"And the verdict?"

The woman got out into the road that would lead them towards the edge of town before she looked over seeing the grin. It was still miles from the castle but it would be a nice walk to work for Matt or a five-minute ride on his motorbike if he chose that house. She was trying to not influence him in the slightest by seeing his future. “Not my usual taste but I enjoyed it.”

"It's music that sits with you," Matt agreed and then peered back out at the bleakness. The road to this particular house was a little on the rustic side, which was a kind way of saying it was riddled with potholes. The appeal of the location was its seclusion, tucked away in a corner of farmland that surrounded it without being attached to it. Matt wasn't ready to take on the responsibility of too much land, couldn't imagine himself being a farmer, but he liked the idea of no neighbours. Anonymity, after all, was something of a habit by now.

"Left up here," he motioned quietly, too distracted by his own nerves to realise that she probably knew that already. It hadn't occurred to Matt that Phoebe's powers might be useful in this decision, was still getting used to even factoring them into his perception of her if he was honest. He'd asked her purely because he valued her opinion and her support.

The redhead nodded and took the left easily and smiled as she took in the place for the first time. "Well, this is nice." She said positively as she saw another car and a woman waiting for them. "I will wait here for a few moments." She assured pushing him on to do the first step by himself.

There was an unmistakable slouch to his gait as he slid from the car and immediately shoved his hands into his pockets. The folder, still tucked under his arm, flapped a little in the brisk wind, which would likely be a feature of the property given its proximity to the nearby loch. It was across a paddock or two and getting down to it would be a reasonably good hike but that didn't matter much, as far as the crow flew anyway. A handshake between the pair didn't do a lot to reduce the mutant's slight discomfort, which translated mostly as bashfulness born of inexperience. There had been a few little things about the transaction that he hadn't divulged, chief amongst being the fact that he was a mutant, but aside from that this was the closest thing to placing himself as an official entity in any community that Matt had really attempted. A name on paper was a little more permanent than he was used to.

Phoebe gave him five minutes before she slipped out of the car once the introductions were done to slid up next to the man and slipped her hand around his arm. "Sorry, I needed to sort something out in the car." She said smiling at the man and then the woman. "Exactly how you imagined it." She praised Matt.

Doing his best not to look too relieved, Matt swung an arm around her shoulders and nervously blurted out before restraint could assert itself, "This is my girlfriend, Phoebe. She's here to make sure I tick all the boxes correctly."

As soon as the words had left his mouth, Matt felt the 'oh shit' of reality send a trickle of ice down his spine to lock it in place. As well as everything had been going, there had never been a firm or decisive classification assigned to their relationship and he honestly wasn't sure how she'd feel about the potential sensation of being claimed, at least without prior discussion. As the blood rushed past his ears, Matt realised he hadn't heard a word of the women's exchange and swallowed deeply in an attempt to hide his sudden panic. "Ms. Mulgrew here was just saying we can take a look around by ourselves, if we want."

Phoebe raised an eyebrow at the man before smiling and snugged against his side trying to offer some type of comfort to the man who suddenly seemed lost. "Lets start ticking those boxes hmm?" She teased.

"Sorry," Matt murmured as they stepped through the front door, not entirely sure how to articulate what he was apologising for or whether it was even wise to bring it up since Phoebe had a look in her eye that he was gradually learning promised endless ribbing, or at least enough minutes' worth to feel like it. "There's a decent amount of land with it, and the shed and the workshop," he continued, desperate to change the subject. "It's away from things, which I like." Looking around as they entered the sitting room, he paused before adding, "Not as sure about the pink sitting room though."

Phoebe nearly decided to tease before she stepped away and went to the fireplace and looked it over. "Easily painted. Could even help there." She said. "Okay think about this place without the pink. What can you see?"

A rush of air became a harried sigh. "When I first saw this place listed, the location drew me in first. Good distance to work, good distance to the castle if need be, but all this land around it means there's space to think, you know?" It was hardly any surprise that, after months of living in a room in the pub, peace and quiet was top priority. "There's space to work on the bike, space for Leo to set up all his experiments for when he's home, and the place itself is..." Matt glanced around the walls. "Well-finished. Maybe almost too well for a guy with no idea what he's doing, some of the fixtures and fittings are really....nice." Reaching up, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Which makes the price pretty ridiculous but apparently they're very keen to sell."

Matt hesitated, wet his lips and then added quietly, "They're moving because of... Everything."

"I know. It is obvious. People are scared but it's not us they should be scared off but him... them... the Rangers," Phoebe commented as she let him go and moved through to the kitchen. She had not let on to Matt much about the rangers she was just relieved that the bruises and cuts from last month were pretty much healed up.

"I feel a bit guilty," Matt confessed as he followed. "I mean, I've not mentioned that I'm...you know. I figured they wouldn't sell to one if they're leaving because of us, but then that just kind of means I'm taking advantage of them. The property's likely worth more than they're asking for it."

Phoebe had just been about to mention the aga cooker but stopped spinning to look at him. "You are not taking advantage here. They want a quick sell and you want a quick buy its beneficial to all involved." She assured.

"I guess." Though he didn't sound convinced, Matt fell silent and chose not to mention it again. It was hard to argue that the situation wasn't playing to his immediate need. The inheritance, which he'd never really known what to do with, would have stretched to fund the purchase even at market price but the considerable reduction in price made the whole process of buying a property less daunting. There would still be enough to set Leo up later, depending on what the kid wanted to do.

After passing an eye over the kitchen, not an area of any house where Matt would have called himself an expert, he found himself standing for a while to gaze out at the view. As much as the polished nature of the homestead seemed a little out of his league, the atmosphere wasn't nearly as condescending as he'd been worried about. At the very least, he could learn to live with a degree of fanciness if it meant being able to stretch out under the stars every night and not have to worry about who'd had one too many and could be heard serenading the gutter from several streets away.

Pheobe smiled as she watched him looking adorably confused. "How can I help?" She wondered finally walking over to where he was surveying everything. They had only surveyed the downstairs but it looked perfect other than a bit of paint needed for him and Leo.

Reaching out, Matt put his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. "You're already helping plenty, I just..." A huff of self-depreciating laughter followed. "I guess I have a tendency to over-think things. I've never tried to stay in one place for any length of time, at least not based solely on my own decisions." He didn't add any reference to the insidious thought that kept popping into his head regarding the property values of anywhere within striking distance of the school being almost certain to continue to decline, at least in the short-term. Whatever he invested now, he may never actually get back, which wasn't a problem if he intended to stay for a decent amount of time...

Thinking beyond next month was a novelty he couldn't wrap his head around.

"I do like it here though," he confessed quietly. "You think you'd get up here to visit much?" Hinging a choice on that along sounded incredibly irresponsible but it mattered. Her part in all of this mattered.

“Glad to hear. I like it here too. Less hustle and bustle than London.” And far less having to run around fighting the weird and wonderful for the most part. “Easier to sneak into than a pub and no window needed to be climbed through unless you want that.” She laughed nudging his shoulder before pointing to the stairs. “Go on let’s look at the rest before you decide properly.”