Natural Disaster

Chapter 55

Launa woke, confused as to why she was on the floor rather than on the bed. Maybe I rolled off in the middle of the night? Maybe Avi accidentally kicked me out? She glanced upwards, finding an ebony arm draped over the edge of the bed, furthering her confusion. I'm pretty sure Avi isn't black. What even..?

She started to sit up, squinting at the strange arm, only to be pulled back to the floor by a strong grip around her waist. Okay, that's Avi. What the hell is- The memory of arriving in Los Angeles, of meeting Kirstie and Kevin and getting clean and bearing witness to the utter joy that their group produced all came flooding back into her brain, leaving her wading in happiness for them. Warmth thrummed through her as Avi pulled her tight against him, burying his face in the back of her neck, sighing into her hair and making her smile contentedly.

"G'morning," he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep, his arm draped heavily over her waist.

She turned in his grip, keeping her voice hushed. "Hey," she greeted, brushing her fingers against his freshly shaved cheek, reveling in the scratchy feel of the tidy trimmed look he'd returned to.

He smiled warmly, his eyes still closed, seemingly too tired to open them just yet. "Looks better?"

Launa close the space between them, softly pressing her lips to his for just a moment. "Feels better, too." His grin widened, leaning in to kiss her again when a groan erupted from the bed.

"Save it for when y'all have your own room," Kevin grumbled and sat up, "I don't need to be waking up to that, man."

"Sorry," Avi called, detangling from the redhead and stretching.

Kevin just made an incoherent noise, getting up and heading for the living area, leaving the pair to themselves. "No, you're not," Launa snorted after a long pause.

He turned to smirk at her. "No, I'm not."

______

It didn't take long at all for the group to figure out that the seven of them in an apartment made for four people maximum was simply not doable. Everyone kept bumping into each other, struggling to find some sort of flow to the traffic in the kitchen and living area.

"Okay," Kirstie exclaimed,scowling as she bumped into Scott for the third time in a half hour, "This so isn't working."

"We need to move if we're all gonna stick together," Kevin said simply, "We're over capacity, and that's not fair to the other tenants." He started listing off things on his fingers- the amount of water they were using and the rations they weren't going to get because authorities didn't know that there were five additional people, just to name a few.

After discussing it for a little while longer, they agreed to go and request a move into a bigger place that could house the seven of them. "At least three bedrooms," Esther said, gesturing between the trio and Kevin, "I'm willing to share a room with either of you, but not with them." She pointed at Launa and Avi, "No offense."

The redhead fidgeted in place and Avi simply dropped his head to stare at the floor, leaving his reddening ears to be the only visible skin on his head to the rest of the group who agreed unanimously, some grinning a little too wide. Later on, Launa caught him quietly thanking his sister. Thank ye Gods for Esther Kaplan for saying what we didn't want to request. She ignored the way her stomach twisted anxiously at the thought of sharing a room with him. Get a hold of yourself, you dork.

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After awkwardly fumbling around the tiny apartment for a little while longer, they gathered themselves up and left for the Aftermath Regulation office, locking up behind them. "So, why do we all have to go?" Scott asked, both arms slung around Mitch and Kirstie.