With a good bit of difficulty, Liam and Elliot — and, eventually, Raven — got the couch downstairs, and they put it in front of the light blue rug, which Lily had bought a couple days prior. Now, Elliot and Liam are putting down the backsplash — which is white with a floral, light blue pattern on it — while Raven, Lily, and Elliot's wife Gabby are finishing painting the hallway. Once the three of them are done with that (Liam and Elliot likely won't be done until tomorrow), they're going to paint the stairwell wall pale yellow. Tomorrow, the plan is to bring down the coffee table, chairs, and shelves, put up the light blue curtains over the larger window in the sitting area, then shorter yellow ones over the small window over the kitchen sink. Then, they'll install the TV, and start work on the bedroom and bathroom. The office will be done after Lily's moved in.
"Doing alright in there?" Raven asks Liam and Elliot.
"Fine," Liam replies absently, probably focused on what he's doing.
"Considering how well bringing down the couch went, I wasn't so sure."
"Do you want to come and inspect these tiles just to be absolutely certain?" Elliot asks sarcastically.
Raven puts her paint roller down and smiles with equal sarcasm. "I would love to, Elliot." Lily chuckles and continues painting, a few moments later hearing Raven say, "Those tiles are closer together than those are." Elliot sighs deeply, and Lily and Gabby laugh.
"Let's fix them," Liam breathes tiredly.
"You've only just started working," Lily says. "Don't tell me you're already exhausted."
"I brought a couch down here, remember?" Liam replies.
"Oh, so you did it single-handedly, did you?" Elliot jokes.
"Feels like I'm doing this backsplash single-handedly right now."
"I'm waiting for you to get that tile off; I can't do anything with your hands in the way."
"Now, boys, let's not have a row," Gabby says, laughing all the while. She says to Lily, "I can only imagine what they were like when they were roommates."
Lily chuckles. "I saw a few displays of bickering for sure." Gabby laughs, but Liam and Elliot say nothing, having not heard. Lily turns to making conversation about the baby as she and Gabby continuing painting and Raven stays in the kitchen to help with the backsplash.
The hallway's first coat is finished before lunch, so Lily and Gabby open up the yellow paint and start on the stairwell, beginning with the wall to the left of the door. They nearly finish when Raven announces that it's lunch time, and she and Lily go to Speedy's to pick up everyone's food.
"Hey, if I help you guys paint can I take a break from this backsplash?" Liam calls as they're halfway out the door.
Lily stops and looks back at him. "You'll have to ask Elliot and Raven about that."
"Ask me what?" Raven says.
"If he can stop working on the backsplash if he helps us paint."
"Absolutely not," Raven replies, loud enough for Liam to hear her. He groans, and Elliot laughs at him.
Lily chuckles herself as they walk over to Speedy's. The scent of bread hits her when she walks in, and she smiles a little, this time much less conscious of her old clothes, messy hair, and paint splotches.
"Back again, are we?" Speedy asks from behind the counter, replacing the cheese in the glass case while someone else takes orders. She's only met the man once, and therefore probably isn't his friend, but she refers to him as Speedy anyway.
"We have friends this time, too; they're still working, though," Lily replies while Raven beings ordering the food.
"Painting again?"
"And putting down backsplash."
"We had to move a couch, too," Raven adds, waiting for the boy behind the counter to write an order down.
Speedy's brows raise a little. "Sounds like quite the project."
"And we're hardly done yet," Lily replies, though her tone says she's not upset about this. "We have to renovate the bedroom and finish up the bathroom too before I can even move in."
He starts putting little cakes on the top shelf. "Why didn't you do that first — if you don't mind my asking?"
"I was just so excited about the kitchen and the sitting room — and, anyway, my home wouldn't be my home without a kitchen."
Speedy chuckles. "You like cooking?"
Lily shakes her head. "Baking."
"Ah. I've always thought baking was more difficult, but the end result is usually much more fun to eat."
Lily amusedly agrees. "Very true."
She and Raven talk to Speedy while they wait for their food, which takes about twenty minutes this time, then they thank him and head back to 221C.
"Now we'll have something to sit on," Raven comments. "Although, there's only two chairs at the island. Three of us are gonna have to sit on the couch."
"I don't trust Elliot not to get food on my couch," Lily replies.
Raven laughs. "With the way he's been putting up those tiles, I wouldn't either."
Lily nudges her playfully. "Those tiles look just fine and you know it."
"That's because Liam and I are there — though don't tell Liam I said that."
"I promise I won't," Lily replies, laughing as she as begins to open the door to 221C. On the other side is none other than Liam himself, who gets bumped with the opening door, as he's painting the wall right across from it. Luckily, he catches himself on an unpainted portion of the wall.
"Lil!" he says in surprise, glancing back.
She gasps, then begins laughing when she sees no real harm was done. "I'm sorry!" she exclaims, as he and the others laugh, too.
"Gee, Lil, I know he's your annoying younger brother, but you didn't have to hit him," Gabby jokes, now painting the wall over the steps.
"Hey!" Liam says, eliciting more laughter.
They soon settle and begin eating their lunch, Liam, Raven, and Lily on the couch while Elliot and Gabby eat at the island. As Lily eats, she pictures the TV over the fireplace and the yellow coffee table she found placed on top of the rug, with a vase of flowers and a small stack of books on it. She smiles.
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Luckily, there was nothing more difficult than bringing down the couch; the coffee table wasn't too wide and Lily and Raven didn't have much trouble bringing it down, the shelves (for the sitting room, the office, the bedroom, and one for bathroom) were in boxes, the desk for the office wasn't too big, and her dark teak bed frame, after they'd painted the bedroom a teagreen, was taken down in pieces. The mattress, the box springs, the dresser, the nightstand, and the chest for the end of her bed gave them a bit of trouble, but definitely not as much as the couch.
"I think it's about done," Liam says, standing in the sitting room, looking around after carrying down a bunch of boxes. Everyone else has already left.
"Are you kidding?" Lily replies. "Nothing's unpacked, the walls are still bare all over the flat, and there's only two knickknacks on my mantelpiece. Not to mention the lack of utensils in the kitchen."
"Yeah, but you can buy all that yourself. You don't need me for all that."
Lily shrugs. "I suppose so. You still have to help me with the office, though."
Liam sighs. "More painting. Yay." Lily chuckles at that, then he thoughtfully asks, "Have you ever considered wallpaper?"
"I thought that was more difficult than painting, since you have to make sure it's on the wall correctly and everything."
"We could try."
"I already bought the paint," Lily replies, laughing. It's lilac, and the desk she bought is white, like the shelves. She has one for her important files, work, and any bakery papers she may have (drawings of imaginings and random ideas) and a bookshelf. The shelf with the ladder, unfortunately, couldn't be found, but they did find one that reaches the ceiling. She bought a step stool in order to reach the top shelf, and it's quaint enough.
Liam sighs. "Alright, alright. We'll have to paint it, then." He smiles and hugs her. "I'm happy for you, Lil."
"Well, I couldn't've done all this without you," she replies. "And Uriah and Raven and Elliot and Gabby."
He chuckles. "Yeah, they helped a bit."
"Just you and me for the office, though," Lily reminds him. "Be here bright and early tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah, I will be." As he turns to leave, he says, "I'll bring some breakfast, too."
"Thank you," Lily replies.
When he's gone, she looks around her new flat, which she's finally able to move into. A wide smile grows on her face, and it stays there even as she orders pizza for dinner. She'll definitely need to go grocery shopping tomorrow.
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"So, what's the schedule for today?" Lily asks, sitting with Liam at her island, eating a cinnamon bun he bought from a bakery on his way over (he said they wouldn't be as good as hers, of course, but she didn't have the time nor the ingredients to make them).
"Well, we have to paint, and I'd like to get the first coat done before lunch at best," he replies. "We can get Speedy's, since it's so close, and then we can unpack some boxes, go out and buy some essentials and things for your kitchen and whatever else catches your eye, and the paint should be ready for the second coat by then. Then, we'll have to move your office furniture around, but you might have to push it all back against the walls yourself later."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
They soon get started, playing some music, though Lily doesn't turn it up very loud, worried about disturbing Sherlock, especially this early in the morning. It's mostly quiet work, though they sing when a song they both know comes on. Liam reaches for Lily's speaker to turn it up when Gonna Buy Me a Dog by The Monkees starts playing — a favorite band of their dad's.
"Now?" Liam sings, and Lily laughs, getting ready to do her part of the song. "You know my girl- now? Now?
"You know my girl just called me up, and she woke me from my sleep. You should have heard the things she said. You know she hurt my feelings deep. I'm gonna buy me a dog."
"A dog?" Lily asks.
"A dog."
"Why?"
"Why? 'Cause I need a friend now."
"Babe, you need all the friends you can get, I'm tellin' you."
"I'm gonna buy me a dog. My girl, my girl, don't love me no how. Don't ruin my song, man; It's the only song I have."
"It was ruined when it was wrote."
They sing the rest of the song together, still giggling through it as always. Lily turns the speaker back down when the song goes off, though a few more favorites play as they paint.
They finish a bit earlier than expected, then deciding to get an early lunch from Speedy's so they'll have more time to unpack boxes and shop.
"More painting, I see?" Speedy comments when they go up to order. "And you've brought another friend." He shakes Liam's hand.
"I'm her brother, Liam," he says, and Speedy likewise introduces himself.
"This is the last day for painting, and then it'll all be done," Lily answers his previous question happily.
"Congratulations," he says warmly. And he gives her a free dessert to celebrate.
After Lily and Liam head back to the flat and eat, they tackle unpacking. The boxes labeled 'Clothes' and 'Bedroom' go in Lily's room on the bed, and the boxes of books and files are put outside the office, but they unpack the 'Kitchen' boxes (Lily often has to direct Liam on what goes where) and all the knickknacks and framed family pictures and other small things are spread throughout the flat.
After that, the paint still isn't quite dry, so they go shopping, taking Liam's car so they can transport it all back. They start with essentials (various cleaning supplies, trashcans, new towels and washcloths, a hamper, hangers, etc.), then move on to a multitude of things for the kitchen, including blue containers for flour, sugar, and tea. She gets new dish towels, mixing bowls, and utensils since she regretfully tossed some old ones that were obviously well-used. Some decorations are acquired along the way, including a couple houseplants, flowers, and soil and a planter for the flowers, which will go in the window behind the sink. Finally, they shop for groceries, as they didn't want to leave them in the car while shopping for everything else.
They have to take multiple trips from the car and back when unloading it back at 221C, and, at some point, Lily glances up the stairs, where they disappear around the corner, leading up to 221B. She wonders if Sherlock and Rosie and John, whose name she saw on the Internet not long after that day with Raven, are up there, and if they can hear her and Liam going back and forth, talking as they pass each other. They aren't being loud, so she doesn't worry, only wonders.
When they get everything inside and put away, they apply a second coat of paint and move the office furniture, poised to be pushed back in place, but not until the paint dries. Then, the books and files will need to be put away. Lily resolves to do it tomorrow morning, as it'll be late by the time it finally does dry.
"Now it's about done," Lily says, looking at her new flat. The clothes and things in the bedroom still need unpacked, but she puts that from her mind for now, instead focusing on her finished kitchen and sitting room.
"One more thing," Liam replies. He turns and heads up the stairs, coming back a minute or so later, presumably from the car, with a small bouquet of yellow lilies in his hand. "You did say you needed flowers for your new vase."
Lily smiles at him, remembering that remark she made when she bought the vase earlier. "And I'm assuming this is why you advised me against buying flowers today?"
He shrugs. "Maybe."
She hugs him before putting the flowers in the vase and setting it on her coffee table, next to a small stack of books. "Thank you — for everything."
"Oh, it's no problem, Lil. What else are little brothers for?"
"Besides purposefully getting on my nerves?" she jokes, and he laughs.
Liam suggests they celebrate by eating out, and Lily agrees, so they head to an Italian restaurant and have a wonderful dinner, full of pasta, laughter, and, at the end, cheesecake. After that, Liam takes her back to her new flat, then heads back to his own, as he has work tomorrow.
Once inside, Lily moves the boxes in her room and gets ready for bed, thinking as she does so. Tomorrow, she has to make it officially her home; she needs to bake something in her new kitchen.
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The next morning, she wakes up around eight, gets ready for the day, and has cereal for breakfast at her kitchen island. There's a wooden fruit bowl on top of it, in the middle, and she grabs an apple from it, though her mind is half on her plan for today.
She needs to unpack her clothes, move the office furniture and unpack those boxes, and bake something in her kitchen for the detective, blogger, and flower girl upstairs. A number of ideas cross through her mind, but she finally settles on her signature brown sugar cookies. They're easy to make, and everyone tends to at least like them. She hasn't made them in a while, either.
That settled, she decides she'll bake them first thing, so they'll be able to cool while she fixes up her office and potentially starts on her clothes; she doesn't want to disturb the neighbors too late in the day.
Once her bowl and spoon are rinsed and in the dishwasher and her apple is eaten, she grabs one of those cloth headbands and pushes her hair back, as it's just short enough that she can't get the front of it back in a ponytail — though it would likely be past her shoulders if she straightened it.
Then, she turns on some quiet music, washes her hands, and gets out her ingredients, not needing the recipe card as she's made these so many times.
She sings while she works, half thinking of how she'll file her important papers and put her books away all the while. When the cookies — twenty four of them, so she can have enough for Mrs. Hudson and still save a few for herself — are in the oven, she goes to the office to begin working. Moving the furniture turns out to be much easier than she thought it would be, and the oven is beeping by the time she's finished.
She puts on her oven mitts and pulls out the cookie sheet, almost (almost) regrettably flattening two cookies on the edges with the large, cloth thumbs. She'll definitely have to keep those.
When they're cooling, she goes back and starts putting away her files and books, listening to music while she does that, too. Time gets away from her a bit, and she only looks at the time when she's finished and sees it's one o'clock. She had wanted to go before noon, but she has to go now instead, so she goes back into the kitchen, and places a dozen cookies on a large, nice dish (while she eats the messed up cookies). Six of them, reserved for Mrs. Hudson, go on a smaller, equally nice dish, and she picks that one up and nearly takes it out the door before she remembers she's still in her pajamas.
After rooting through her boxes for a pair of jeans and a nice-ish t-shirt and putting them on, she returns to the kitchen, grabs both dishes so she won't have to trek back down, then heads up the stairs to 221A.
Mrs. Hudson is happy to see her, and just as happy, if not more, to see the cookies.
"Oh, thank you, dear," she says, taking the dish with a bit of a laugh. "You really didn't have to do this; if anything, I should be making you something to welcome you."
"Oh, that's alright, Mrs. Hudson, you don't need to do that. You've been so welcoming already. Consider these a gift for your help with everything," Lily replies.
Mrs. Hudson thanks her again, then asks about the other dish. "Are those for Sherlock and John?"
Lily nods a little, nerves rising a bit at the question. "Yes. I haven't met them once yet, and I figured I'd go introduce myself and apologize for all the noise."
"If you ask me, you have nothing to apologize for, dear," Mrs. Hudson says, shaking her head. "Well, I would invite you in, but seeing as you've got to meet the neighbors, you better go on up there. They're home, since Rosie isn't here — unless they've gone out with her, but I haven't heard anyone coming or going."
"Thank you, Mrs. Hudson."
"Oh, and don't mind Sherlock. Some people think he's off-putting at first, with the way he deduces everything about everybody, but you just have to get to know him. He usually doesn't mean any harm, and I think you'll win him over, anyhow. It's the door on the right, by the way, when you get up the first flight of steps."
Lily thanks her again, then, fighting off her nervousness, she walks down the hall and up the stairs, then finally to the door on her right.
She knocks.