{Marvel Preferences}

23 || Moving In Together

~Steve~

You moved in twice. The first time was into his apartment about a year into your relationship. The second was into your new place together quite a while after that. While packing up, you came across a small unmarked box you'd stuffed deep in the back of the closet. After a bit of reaching and grabbing, you'd opened it up to find it chock full of old photos of yourself. Childhood ones mostly. Ones you were quick to show Steve, as he'd materialized by your shoulder at just the right moment. The rest of the packing up went unbothered that day, as you spent the remainder of the evening on the couch, carefully flipping through the photos with Steve. You laughed at your awkward middle school years, blushed at embarrassing family photos, and shed a few nostalgic tears for old pets and old memories. All the while Steve sat by your side, his smile infectious as he flipped through the photos with you. He was more than happy to listen to your stories, and glad that you wanted to share that part of your past with him.

~Tony~

Moving in was a gradual, unconscious process. It started out with little things, like keeping a toothbrush in his bathroom, leaving an extra pair of clothes for when you slept over, bringing over your favourite blanket and leaving it there. That evolved into more permanent things, like buying desk dividers for your side of the bed, keeping matching mugs in the cupboard, storing your extra things at his (because of course he had much more space), and referring to his place as 'home'. It was after a delightful cafe lunch that Tony asked if you'd want to move in, officially. The thoughts hadn't even occurred to you since you already practically lived together. But of course you said yes, and moving in preparations started that afternoon.

~Natasha~

After a couple months of searching, you and Natasha found a great place that you both fell in love with. A lovely lakeside house with a veranda facing the water and a forest trail not too far away. Moving in was a total breeze. Natasha , ever the efficient packer, only had few things - some tightly packed essentials and a few suitcases of clothes. You, on the other hand, looked like you were taking your entire life with you. Much to your embarrassment, unpacking your things took much longer than Natasha's (read: days) and required quite a bit of extra space for storage. But she was an absolute doll about it and helped you unpack smoothly. The whole think went by with little trouble and you were unpacked and moved in by the end of the week, the both of you beaming proudly at your new home.

~Clint~

Seeing as Clint already had a place, you moved in with him to the farmhouse. The whole time you were moving in, Clint insisted that he carry all the boxes into the house and do the heavy lifting, since you were going to be unpacking, organizing and reassembling your stuff. It was hard to say no to that, and he happily obliged, a pep to his step as he brought in the boxes according to your instruction. The man could barely keep his hands to himself in his excitement that you were moving in, which made unpacking much harder than it should have been. When you were officially moved in and satisfied with your many days of hard work, Clint brought you outside for one final touch, paint can swinging in his hand. With a thick layer on your hands, you stamped your handprints on the mailbox out front. The splash of colour worked in beautiful tandem with your names painted skillfully on the side. To this day, that mailbox remains a staple of your household.

~Thor~

Your friends had practically pushed you into asking Thor to move in with you. For months you'd put it off, psyching yourself out every time you were about to ask him. You spent the time in between your attempts worrying, contemplating, overthinking, and getting advice from your friends on how, when and where you should ask. They could see how much you really, really, wanted it. So on one fateful Thursday, they hyped you up with a pep talk, gave you a big group hug followed by two shots, and twirled you into your apartment and right into Thors arms. You managed to sputtered out your proposal in a frenzy of harried sentences before nerves could get the better of you. And after a moment of painful silence from Thor, he blinked twice, broke out into the a gigantic smile and said "Yes!" And by the end of the week, you were officially living together.