"They're fragile and inefficient."
"Korgan." She crosses her arms, fighting a smile. "We're not turning my bakery storage into an armory."
"I'm not suggesting an armory. Just practical weapon placement."
"You don'tneedweapons in a bakery."
"Tell that to the health inspector who tried to confiscate your thermometer."
She snorts. "He was doing his job."
"He was rude. A visible axe would've improved his manners."
Trinity laughs, full and bright. The sound still catches me off-guard sometimes. Makes my chest feel strange.
"How about a compromise?" She steps closer. "You get one wall-mounted axe. Ceremonial. In our apartment."
"Our apartment," I repeat.
We've been dancing around living arrangements since the show ended. Trinity's lease is tiny as a studio above the bakery, barely room for her mixing bowls. My temporary housing is clan-funded, conditional.
Neither is ours.
"I've been thinking," Trinity says carefully. "Maya's been wanting to move out of her parents' place. She could take my studio. And we could—" She pauses. "Find something. Together."
My throat tightens. "Together."
"Unless you want separate spaces. I know orc privacy customs are different, and I snore sometimes, and I basically live in the kitchen, so?—"
Our lips meet. Quick, firm.
"Together," I say against her mouth. "I want together."
She exhales. "Okay. Good. Because I already started looking at listings."
"Of course you did."
"Two-bedroom. Space for your weaponsandmy recipe development." She grins. "Plus a bathroom big enough that we're not fighting over sink space."
"I don't fight over sinks."
"You use seventeen different beard oils."
"Maintenance is important."
"You alphabetize them."
"Organization is efficient."
She kisses me this time. "You're ridiculous."
"Practical."
"Ridiculousandpractical." She pulls back. "But we need to talk about the bathroom thing. Because you squeeze toothpaste from the middle like a barbarian."
I blink. "That's the optimal distribution method."
"It'schaos. You squeeze from the bottom, push the paste up systematically?—"
