Two weeks after his parents leave and an additional three before Alexis is scheduled to, it’s David’s turn to move out.
The morning arrives with less of a bang than he was expecting, but it does feel a little different, as if there’s an atmospheric shift.
Davis opts to stay the night away from his husband in favor of spending it one last time with Alexis. Neither of them say it aloud, but they need each other on this last official night before David and Patrick move into their new home.
David asks Patrick if he wants to stay, but he politely declines the invitation to give him and Alexis some alone time.
They offer Stevie to spend the night with them too, she’s family after all, but she declines saying that this is just for them and that she doesn’t want to intrude.
David and Patrick are moving into their new home the next day, the town is helping them get settled, and although Alexis would be staying for a few more weeks until it was time for her to head to New York, the motel feels pretty empty.
David and Alexis spend most of the night watching cheesy movies, eating pizza, and taunting each other in their shared space.
“Now you finally get that home office expansion you wanted,” David chides, smiling as Alexis looks over at the wooden round table.
“And now I get two beds,” she responds, but they both know it wouldn’t even be a discussion; Alexis trying out David’s bed would just feel too weird.
They knock out around one, whispering goodnight to one another and wake to sunlight streaming through the windows.
The first night they spent together without their parents - a few days after the wedding, David wordlessly missing his sister being so close and vice versa - was strange. It had been weird not being woken up by their mother bounding in with placation of the day’s events, or their father puttering about their room. It was...quiet. It felt unnatural.
But, oddly, they were used to it by the time David’s actual last night rolled around.
What David isn’t expecting is Stevie’s reaction.
Once his things are accounted for in Patrick’s car, Stevie saunters out of the front office with her head toward the ground.
David goes to make a snide remark but stops himself when he sees Stevie rocking back and forth on her heels. They stare at each other for a second, David’s own eyes stinging, and before he knows it she’s barreling into him.
He holds her tight and longer than he’s ever held her before. Even at the wedding reception they had shared a long hug before dragging her onto the dance floor. He’d spun her around, laughing wildly, but this...this nearly breaks him.
Stevie shakes a little bit in his hold while Alexis and Patrick are off to the side talking amongst themselves quietly.
“You know I’m not going far right?”
Stevie laughs into his chest wetly and replies, “It’ll be weird not seeing you every single day.”
David leans back just enough to get a good look at her. “Oh, I’ll be back,” he assures. “And you already have a key. It’s an open door policy. Maybe knock first.”
She laughs again, louder this time with her eyes squeezed shut in that wonderful way. “Wouldn’t want to walk in on that.”
Alexis hugs him next, nearly as tight as Stevie but with less tears. She does swipe at her cheek though when they step away, but for a few minutes they hold each other in silence.
They spent their whole lives apart before being forced together. Now that they’re going to be apart again - and now with a familial strength unlike anything he could have ever imagined - David wants to savor the moment.
Sure they rile each other up but they’re siblings and it’s what they do best.
Without an eyeroll, without prompt, David whispers into their hug, “I love you,” and he can feel his sister’s arms tighten against his back.
“I love you,” she whispers back, voice thick.
David knows that he’ll be back here often; it’s where Stevie is after all. But it doesn’t stop him from taking a moment to admire the sign spelling out Rosebud Motel in red block-letters.
They all grew a lot. David’s proud.
His heart clenches in his chest. This was home for three years. It wasn’t ideal and maybe it wasn’t even necessary, but it was home. It was their only option.
And for that he loves it and what it gave him.
