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"Nnnnnnngh...God..." Neal groaned under his breath, slowly twisting and bending his back, trying to stretch his aching muscles. He'd been thrilled beyond belief when Brooke had accepted his invitation to move in, but God, the actual moving!
To be honest, he'd loved getting rid of the "bachelor pad chic" furniture that had littered his living room, save for the one recliner he'd insisted on keeping... But her living room set was quite...sturdy, he'd come to find out, and he was paying the price now, six hours later.
Brooke walked slowly into the house, two boxes in her arms stacked precariously on top of each other. She stepped over Sixx, thankful that he didn't move, and set the boxes down. She looked around for Neal, not seeing him. Wandering into the kitchen, she grabbed a bottle of water for herself and a bottle of beer for Neal. She headed for the bedroom and smiled when she saw him stretching his muscles. "You done for today?" she asked, handing him the beer.
"...Don't think I can do any more, honestly, so..." Neal exhaled a heavy breath, pulling his arm up behind his head to stretch his shoulder out, and groaned softly. "...Yeah, I'm done." With a grateful smile, he took the beer from Brooke's hand and, wincing slightly, twisted the cap off before raising it to his lips.
Brooke sat down in the bed and set her water on the nightstand. "Come here... You want me to rub your back for you?"
"...God, that sounds so good right about now..." Neal murmured. "...Sure, if you're offering..."
Winking at her, he set his beer bottle on his nightstand, skinning off his t-shirt with a low, pained sound which came from deep in his throat. He tossed the shirt weakly in the general direction of the clothes hamper, and went to work on the fly of his jeans, long past the notion of shame when it came to them as a couple.
Brooke smiled and scooted up on the bed, waiting for Neal to stretch out. She patted the bed softly. "You want me to get you any Tylenol or anything first?"
"Naw, I'll be fine," Neal grunted softly, letting his jeans fall to the floor in a heap. Stepping out of them, he settled cautiously onto the mattress beside her, stretching out on his side before letting himself roll forward, flopping onto his stomach with a groan.
Brooke gently straddled the back of Neal's thighs and slowly moved her hands up the length of his back. "How's that feel?" She gently started working the knots out of his muscles as she moved her hands up and down his back.
Eyes closed, Neal pillowed his head on his folded arms as Brooke began to work. "Mmmmmm..." he hummed, low in his throat. "Feels good..."
Brooke leaned down and kissed the top of Neal's head. "Good." She continued to move her hands up and down his back, her fingertips kneading into the muscles deeply. "I think that there should only be maybe two trips tomorrow...and then I am officially moved in."
Those words brought a soft smile to his lips. Moved in. Brooke, and him, together, in one place, under one roof, two dogs, two hearts... Damn, two more trips?
"Mmmmm'kay..." he murmured, relaxing into her touch with a faint moan. "Can't wait..."
After thoroughly kneading the muscles in his back, Brooke slowly slipped off and stretched out beside him, grinning. "Think that we should make Dave do the rest, since he got out of helping today?" she asked.
Neal blinked his eyes open to look at Brooke, smiling faintly back at her. "Yeah, try telling him that. He'll be all, 'oh, my precious spine!' or some shit, and then he'll tell Drew to get off his lazy ass and help instead. And Andy'll be standing around ‘supervising' as usual."
Brooke laughed softly at him. "I take it that's a normal thing, huh..." She reached out and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Love you..." she said softly.
"Yup, sure is..." Neal agreed softly, his smile fading into seriousness as he looked back at Brooke, swallowing hard past the sudden lump in his throat.
"...Love you too..." he breathed out, holding her gaze.
Brooke laid her head next to his, leaning in until they were almost nose-to-nose. She let her fingertips brush down his cheekbone gently. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that."
Neal leaned in slightly, brushing his lips lightly over Brooke's with a faint whimper. "...Me neither."