We all work in companionable silence, listening to the music that Gabriel plays on his phone. Listening when him and Luke sing along with some of the songs, and leaving each other to our own thoughts.

I can't believe that they're still here, and they're still wanting to help. Even after I gave them an out. Either they have absolutely no lives, which I highly doubt. I mean, come on. Look at them. OR, they really, genuinely want to help me. They all could've bailed after the prank, but they didn't. They stayed and still want to help me turn this house into a home. Maybe...maybe I should let them.

After we finish my room, the guys decide that it's time for lunch. Luke comes with me downstairs while the rest of the guys go to the kitchen to try and decide what to eat. I tried to insist on paying, but much like this morning, they weren't having it. Their reasoning being, that it would be too expensive for me to pay for food for all of us when I'm still trying to get my house together. And since I couldn't cook because the stove still wasn't installed, I graciously bowed out and left them to it.

I stop short when Luke and I get to the basement. North, Silas, and Nathan are all working with their shirts off. The back door is propped open and I can see the sweat as it drips down the muscled bodies. There's nothing but chiseled chests, ripped muscles, and cut abs. I'm afraid to check my mouth for drool, but I'm pretty sure it's there.

"You alright Cupcake?" Luke whispers in my ear. "If that's what you like to see, I can take my shirt off too."

I push my elbow back into him, and am rewarded when I hear the "oomph" from my hit. Unfortunately, this also draws the attention of the others in the room, causing them to look over at us.

"Hey," Nathan breathes out, his chest moving with each exhale. "You guys need something?"

"Um, yeah," I stutter slightly. "It's lunch time. We need you upstairs to decide what to eat."

"I could eat," Silas comments.

"That's nothing new," North chuckles. "Just give us a minute to clean up Sang Baby. We'll be right out."

I give him a slight nod before heading back up the stairs with Luke chuckling the whole way. When we get in the kitchen, his laughter causes the others to look up from their conversation.

"Why is Luke laughing like a Goddamned hyena?" Gabriel asks.

His...creative way of asking, causes me to let loose a few chuckles of my own.

"Oh, nothing," Luke says, trying to calm down. "I just think I might need to start sparring with Nathan."

This causes the rest of the guys to stare at him silently before laughing. Even Owen lets loose a few chuckles.

"You? Spar?" Gabriel speaks in between bursts of laughter. "With Nathan!? That's hilarious!"

"Hey!" Luke protests. "I can spar!"

"Yeah, but with Nathan?" Gabriel continues laughing.

"Do what with Nathan?" the man himself asks as he walks through the sliding doors with North and Silas right behind him.

"Luke wants to spar with you," Kota tells him with a small smile.

Nathan's eyes go wide as he stops in his tracks. His eyebrows shoot up to his hairline, as his mouth pops open in a silent "o". The two behind him move past him and further into the kitchen, trying to muffle their laughter behind their hands.

"Sparring," Nathan says slowly. "With Luke...on purpose?"

"Hey!" Luke pouts. "I've sparred with you before."

"Yeah, for like, job stuff." Nathan confirms after glancing in my direction. "Never because you've actually wanted to."

"What brought all this on anyway?" North asks Luke, leaning against the pantry door.

"Nothing," Luke grumbles, taking a quick glance at me before looking back at North. "Just thought I might bulk up a bit. That's all."

"It's going to take a lot more than sparring with Nathan to bulk up," Silas comments.

I hate the dejected look on Luke's face, and decide to step in before anyone else can say something to hurt his feelings.

"Well, I think you're fine just the way you are Luke. You've got the whole, beach bum model thing going on. It works for you. Stick to what works," I finish with a small smile.

His answering smile is enough to make me feel like I actually did something good.

"Thanks Cupcake. So, what's for lunch?"

After a giant debate, it's decided that we'll just order a bunch of large pizza's. We get one plain, two meat lovers, one veggie, and one Hawaiian, along with two bottles of two liter sodas; one Sprite and one Pepsi.

After the pizza gets here, we decide to eat out in the backyard where the guys continue to list improvements and things that can be done to make the place look great. I eat my pizza quietly, just listening to all of their ideas without really giving my input. However, I do make a mental list of the suggestions I like.

I sit between Victor and Kota the whole time, sneaking glances between the two since they seem to be the only ones without an opinion. Well, them and Owen. Even Sean has a few ideas. Like adding on a sun room to the back patio so that I can be outside without really needing to leave the house. North and Silas say that it wouldn't be difficult to add it on around the sliding doors that lead to the dining room. Or that it could span the width of the house if I wanted, but that would be more difficult because of the basement entrance by the wall of the kitchen. North said that if that was something I wanted, they could make it happen, but ultimately it was my decision. I made a noncommittal noise before going back to my pizza.

When we finish eating, North and Nathan head out front to Silas's truck to get the new heater and stove, while Silas tasks Owen and Kota to help him get the old one out of the house. While they're doing that, I take Victor, Sean, Luke and Gabriel back into the house. Since the guest bathroom is pretty small, and the guys have already finished fixing the pipes, we switch up the teams a bit, and tasks Victor and Luke to paint this room.

Luke heads off to get the necessary items while the rest of us head to the guest room. It's pretty bare in here, none of the big furnishings of the master. Just a single bed, and a dresser. I decide that I want to keep the bed for now, but get rid of the dresser for two reasons. One, because I'm not sure I'll ever have anyone stay the night. And two, when I end up getting new furniture for the room, I'll either have to match it or toss it, so I might as well get rid of it now.

Gabriel asks what I plan to do with the furniture in the master, and I tell him that I haven't decided yet. I think I want to keep it, but that's only because if I don't then I'll have no place to sleep. I'd rather make that decision when I'm more financially stable.

A few minutes later, Owen and Kota join us in the room. I tell them the plan to get rid of the dresser, and they all start taking it apart to haul outside. While they're doing that, I get everything we'll need to paint the room, including the ladder for the corner trimmings. It only takes them a few minutes to dismantle the dresser and remove it from the house, and soon enough, we're all back to painting the small guest room.

Kota, Gabriel, Sean and I each take a wall, leaving Owen to do the ceiling before Gabriel does the trimmings. With all of us working, and in Gabriel's case, dancing, to the music, we manage to get the room done in no time.

We leave the windows open to let the paint dry faster, and I'm about to exit the room with the others when Gabriel stops me.

"Hey, Sang. I know that we can't come by tomorrow to help you finish because of Si's birthday, but I think we'd all like it if you came with us to celebrate."

"Oh, that's sweet Gabriel, but I couldn't impose."

"It wouldn't be an imposition, trust me. No one would object to you being there, and if they did they'd have to deal with me."

I chuckle, "That's really sweet, but really, I can't. I've gotta work tomorrow anyway so I'll be gone for most of the day. I probably won't even get home until eight or nine."

"That's great! Then come to dinner, I insist."

"Gabriel-"

"No buts Trouble," he interrupts. "It's nothing big, just a little family dinner. Luke and North are cooking, then we're gonna have cake and do presents."

"I don't know..."

"Well, if you get hungry and don't want to cook, you know where we'll be."

With that, he gives me a tight-lipped smile before grabbing the paint can and heading out into the hallway. Shaking my head slightly, I grab the paint tray and follow behind him. It might be all the paint fumes getting to my head, but he really seemed to want me there. But that's ridiculous, right? I barely even know them. And it's his birthday, I couldn't impose on something like that. Could I?

Getting out of my head, I focus on the task at hand, and start painting the hallway leading from the guest room with Luke and Victor. Thankfully, none of the guys use the closet door to get out of the basement, otherwise they might've been painted over. As much as I think we'd all get a laugh out of that, I'd hate to deal with the wrath of North after his face gets painted. Actually, I'd probably enjoy another verbal sparring match with Wolverine. Decisions, decisions...

Lucky for him, it never happened, and we managed to finish painting the house before dinner. North, Nathan, and Silas, also finished installing the heater and the stove, as well as fixing all the pipes, making my house completely stable and livable.

The guys decide once again to order out for dinner, this time Chinese. I don't have much of a say since I don't eat out too regularly. I remember what I got the last time I went to the Chinese buffet with Cassie and mention it to Luke, but he says that that kind of stuff is only sold at buffet's. They end up getting a little bit of everything so that I can try it.

Dinneris a lively affair, we all eat in the kitchen, since the dining table doesn'thave enough chairs. A few of us sit in the booth, while the others grab thechairs from the dining room and sit around the room. We spend the time eating,and talking, getting to know each other better. Time fly's by, and before Iknow it, all the food is gone, and I'm letting them out the front door. Maybehaving them around won't be so bad.