"Here we are." Hailee says as we both stand outside the door of her apartment.

"Well, what are we waiting for, open it!" I suggest excitedly.

Hailee fumbles with the keys until she chooses the right one, placing it into the keyhole. The door unlocks, revealing a beautiful living space with large windows that holds such amazing views.

"Welcome home." She whispers as she hugs me from behind, her head against my back.

Everything is pretty much all in its place, besides the few boxes here and there. I didn't really have to bring much, only my clothes and some other belongings. Thankfully we had everything shipped and brought here for us, because moving sucks, But I would have done it for Hailee.

"This view..." I begin, walking closer to the windows to really admire the buildings.

"Is amazing? Yeah I think that's what kind of sold me on this place." She explains, finishing my sentence.

"How come you bought it again?" I ask curiously.

"Well, for many reasons." She starts. "The first being I just love New York as a city, and every time I would come here as a kid with my family it just never got old."

"It is a pretty great city." I add on.

"Yeah, and it just kind of made sense to have a place here since I've done so much here like premiers, shoots of all kinds, and even filming. Dickinson was filmed about an hour away in Long Island, and now Hawkeye. It just works out." She tells me, finishing her explanation with a smile.

"Doesn't one of your friends live here too?"

"Yeah Ella! Sue from Dickinson." She reminds me, and I nod. I quickly remember the time I saw her from a distance at the People's Choice Awards. Technically I've never met her since Hailee never introduced me that night, but why would she anyways.

"Well, we should invite her over at some point." I suggest, and her smile grows wide.

"Was already planning it."

After touring Hailee's apartment fully, we decide to go get groceries at one of the nearby chain supermarkets down the street since the fridge is currently completely empty. We decide to walk there, as we probably will with most places since New York is so walkable. Either way, we still have a car for the both of us if we need it.

"Did I tell you about the basketball court?" Hailee brings up as we walk down the sidewalk.

"No, not that I recall."

"I can't believe I didn't tell you there's a full sized basketball court on the final floor of the building. It's all the way at the top, a few floors above ours."

"Well, you'll know where to find me if I'm not in your place." I respond, getting excited about having a court to use while I'm away for this time period.

"Hey." She says to me, and I look at her. "This is our home now, not just my place."

Her correction makes me feel warm inside. Just the simple switch of words that changes the whole phrase from singular to plural fills me with an indescribable joy.

"You're right." I reply. "Our home."

We turn the corner, and a few steps down stands the double sliding doors to the grocery store. Hailee grabs the cart since she loves to drive it around the store, and I let her. We go through each aisle, picking out the basics: eggs, bread, rice, meats, fruits, and vegetables. The two of us eat pretty healthy, especially me since I'm an athlete. Hailee has a bit more freedom with her diet, but she still manages to keep herself healthy.

Since we got back from London, she began training with one of the stunt coordinators in LA, getting into fighting shape for her role as Kate Bishop. Even though most of her combat is with the bow, she told me there are some scenes where she needs to use hand to hand combat. She actually mentioned theres a scene where she fights with a wine bottle, which had me really confused but still excited to see the final outcome.

"Oh boy." I let out under my breath as we reach the dessert section. I watch as Hailee excitedly starts to scope out all the different options.

"Look! They have a mini New York style cheesecake!" She shouts, motioning for me to come over to look at it as if I've never seen a cheesecake before.

"Wow. It's a cheesecake." I say dryly, and she rolls her eyes.

"Well, I'm getting it, and guess what? You're not allowed to have any." She tells me crossing her arms like she just owned me.

"Well, I don't like cheesecake anyways." I shoot back at her with my arms crossed, copying her stance.

"Perfect. More for me!" She replies back, and I giggle at our obviously fake and playful argument.

While Hailee goes to check out the other desserts, one catches my eye. In a small fridge section by the cupcakes, I notice a small plastic container. I wheel the cart over to it to check if my suspicions about what it is are correct, and when I pull up next to the fridge, I'm right.

There lies a small box of chocolate covered strawberries, alone, as if it was the last box they had. I carefully pick up the container with my hands, flashbacks of all the times Hailee and I ate these together coming to mind. I place the box of strawberries in the cart, knowing Hailee probably won't notice anyways so I can surprise her later tonight. It's the perfect treat to have while we spend out first night in our home together.

"Okay no more desserts." I tell her after I finally catch up to where she was. In her right hand she has a chocolate cupcake and in her left a box of brownies. She stays staring at me with both items in her hands, waiting for me to say something.

"Fine, pick one." I tell her, and she looks between both boxes, deciding which one she wants more. She finally chooses the brownies, putting the cupcake back where it belongs.

"Thank you." She tells me as she places the brownie container in the box.

We finally head out to pay, and we decide to use the self check out lanes so we can go through the paying process quicker. As we scan the items, we look at ourselves on the screen above the register that's notifying us that we are being recorded. I watch as Hailee pulls her phone out of her pocket, pointing it towards the screen above us. She lays her head against the side of my body, and I wrap my hand around her waist as we both look up smiling for the photo.

"Cute." She says as she reviews the photo we just took, then putting her phone back in her pocket.

With the grocery bags in both our hands, we begin the walk back to our apartment. I frown a little as I realize I can't hold her hand as we walk, but it's okay. Eventually we arrive back, saying hello to the bellman at the front. As we ride the elevator up to the 23rd floor, Hailee chuckles.

"What's so funny?" I ask curiously.

"There's an elevator scene in Hawkeye, I just got reminded of it when you pressed the button." She explains.

"And now you're about to tell me you can't say anything else about it."

"Yup." She responds, trying hard not to explain to me the whole scene.

I shift the bags to my left hand, so I can grab the key out of my right pocket. Once the door is unlocked, we quickly place the bags on the counter, letting out a sigh of relief after we do since it was becoming heavy to carry.

"I have to try this brownie." She says, searching all the bags for the one that holds the brownies. She finds them fairly quickly, ripping off the plastic tag that holds both halves of the plastic container together. She breaks off a piece of one of them, plopping the chocolate dessert in her mouth. Her eyes grow wide at the sweet taste of the dessert.

"So it's a thumbs up I assume?" I ask, and she nods.

We continue to unload the groceries, and I sneakily grab the box of strawberries without Hailee noticing, placing them in the fridge in a spot where she won't see. Once we finish unloading, I place all the reusable bags in the cabinet they belong in. I then walk towards our room, going to the closet.

"Where you goin?" Hailee shouts from the kitchen. I come out of the room with my basketball sneakers in my hands, a big smile on my face.

"Going to break in that court you told me about." I respond while I bend over to tie my shoes. Thankfully I was already in athletic clothes, which I usually am to walk around the house and such.

"What if I..." Hailee begins, and I look up at her awaiting her proposition. "Come with you?"

"You want to play basketball with me?" I ask in shock, as she's never really wanted to play with me before.

"Yeah, it could be fun." She responds, smiling widely. I pause for a moment before answering. Her lip is in between her teeth as she waits for my response.

"Go change." I tell her, motioning her towards the closet. She claps her hands excitedly, almost sprinting to the room.

After a few minutes, she comes out in Nike biker shorts and a t-shirt. Her shoes of choice being the ones she usually works out in. We take the elevator to the last floor available, not counting the rooftop, and I look at her with a smile on my face as she holds our water bottles and towels. Finally, we reach the floor and we walk towards the double doors that hold the court behind them.

"Ready to see this?" She asks, and I nod excitedly.

Hailee turns around to open the door, revealing a beautiful court with hardwood floors and professional hoops. I walk in and I gasp a little at the luxury of this court, looking around in all the directions I can.

"The balls are behind the bleachers, I asked earlier." She notifies me, and I chuckle.

"Ha, balls." I respond, and she rolls her eyes.

I search behind the bleachers and I find the ball rack, filled to capacity with indoor basketballs. I grab one, thinking we can share it. I'm not sure the chaos that would ensue if I gave Hailee her own ball to bounce around.

"What do you want to do?" I ask, as I walk towards her while bouncing the ball.

"What do you usually do?" She responds.

"Um, usually dribbling first then shooting, finishing up with game-like scenario drills."

"Yeah sure whatever." She begins. "I want to play against you."

"I'm sorry what?" I respond in disbelief.

"You heard me!" She shouts, getting all ramped up. "Pass the ball."

"Okay?" I tell her in confusion, gently tossing her the ball, and she catches it. Hailee begins to dribble as best she can, and I can't help but laugh.

"Come on!" She tells me.

"What?"

"Play defense on me, or are you too scared?" Hailee says, and I roll my eyes playfully. I follow her orders, and I get into defensive position.

Hailee starts to dribble around, trying to decide which way to go. I take a slight step back, giving her space to move past me. She decides to go right, which I assumed she would since she's right handed. I move back as she dribbles towards me, "trying" to steal the ball from her. She stops in her tracks, taking way more than two steps but I let it slide. I watch as she brings the ball from her chest to above her head, taking a shot. I watch the ball as it goes in the air, not making any contact with the rim at all.

"That would be an airball." I tell her, and she stomps in frustration. I get her rebound, and now it's her turn to play defense on me.

"Come on, play defense." I tell her, mocking what she said to me before.

She raises both her arms, bending her knees slightly, copying what I usually do in games. I dribble around a little, crossing the ball behind my back and through my legs. I dribble right up towards her, then I quickly cross the ball from my left hand to my right, swiftly getting past her giving me a clear road to the hoop. I finish by laying the ball into the hoop.

"1-0 Steinfeld." I say to her in a cocky tone.

We go back and forth, playing one on one for a little while. I obviously give her many chances to score, and she actually gets the ball in the net a few times. I also purposefully miss my shots, if not the score would have been way off. We are tied 3-3, and it's Hailee's ball. I toss it to her, and she begins to dribble, trying to trick me out. She dribbles by me, and she shoots the ball. Surprisingly it goes in, meaning she wins our game.

"Ha! Take that!" She says in my face, both her hands in the air to say 'I told you so'.

"I think we should have a rematch next time." I tell her, and we shake on it. I watch as she walks towards the bleachers to sit down, clearly out of breath.

"You good?" I ask, and she nods while she drinks water.

"Yeah." She replies breathily. "I don't know how you do that for a whole game's worth of time."

"Yeah, neither do I." I respond, walking over to sit next to her on the first level of the bleacher.

We sit next to each other in comfortable silence, both catching our breaths. I place the ball between my feet so it won't roll away.

"Have you ever thought about life after basketball?" She asks randomly, and I'm taken aback by her question.

"Well, basketball will always be a part of my life." I respond.

"I guess I mean after the WNBA. You can't play forever."

"You're right, I can't play forever." I begin. "I haven't really thought about it, but whatever it is I hope you're apart of it."

She smiles at my response, looking down in thought. I anticipate her to ask another question, but instead she goes in a different direction.

"Dunk." She says bluntly.

"Right now?" I ask confused, and she look to me.

"Yeah I want to see you do it. I love it when you do it in games." She tells me.

"If you insist." I respond, getting up from my seat, beginning to walk to half-court.

"Wait." She calls out to me, and I turn around to walk back.

She grabs my shirt in her fist, bring my face closer to hers. Our lips quickly connect into a long singular kiss, until we pull away with force.

"What was that for?" I ask, and she shrugs.

I get back to what I was originally going to do, walking to half court to give me enough momentum to jump that high.

"Ready?" I ask, and she nods.

I bounce the ball a little, and then I begin to sprint towards the basket. A few feet away from the net, I plant my legs, bending down and then jumping up with the ball in my hands. My two hands connect with the rim, finishing the dunk with a two-hand slam. My shoes hit the floor as I return back to ground level.

"That was so cool!" Hailee shouts from the bleachers.

I begin to shoot around aimlessly, just practicing my shots without any specific plans. The full length windows allow for a beautiful view of the city below and around us, and it's hard to concentrate when there's such a view right outside.

The two of us were having so much fun, that we didn't even realize the time. We both look out at the windows, noticing the orange tint of the skies, signifying it's the evening. Our first sunset in New York together.

"Come on, follow me." I tell Hailee, grabbing our bottles then grabbing her wrist.

The two of us leave the basketball court, and I walk with her hand in hand towards the door that leads to the stairwell.

"Where are we going?" She asks, but I don't respond.

We climb the one flight of stairs until we reach the rooftop, giving us an extraordinary 360 degree view of the city surrounding us. The rooftop of this apartment building is really nice. It has a lot of greenery and different tables and benches to sit at.

"Woah." She lets out under her breath.

"Woah indeed."

The two of us stand next to each other, Hailee leaning into my side. I pull her closer by wrapping my arm around her shoulder, kissing the top of her head.

"This reminds me of the night you asked me to be yours." She says, connecting the environment we are in to that special night months ago.

"Except we are in New York, and we are living together." I add on, reminding her of our accomplishments since then.

"I'll never forget that night, Jay." She tells me, turning to face me now.

"Me neither."

Her hand gravitates to mine, playing with the ring she gave me for my birthday. She looks down at the ring, looking at it intently.

"What are you thinking of?" I ask curiously, not sure why a ring incited so much thought.

"Nothing." She responds, then goes quiet for a second. "Just thinking about this awesome ring you have on your finger. Who gave it to you? They must be so awesome." She blurts our jokingly, and we both laugh. It's obvious she was thinking of something else, but I don't push it.

We decide to take a seat on one of the benches, my arm around her as we watch the sun set behind the horizon. Eventually, we make our way back inside to head back to our floor.

Hailee and I quickly make pasta dinner, going for something easy that won't take too long to make. It's safe to say we were both really hungry after our fun on the basketball court. We both sit at the small dining table for two in the kitchen, and I can't help but smile at the fact we are having our first meal here in our home. The two of us sit and talk as we eat, and once we are both done I pick up the plates and start washing them.

"What now?" I ask, and Hailee looks at the time.

"It's only 9. Night is still young." She responds.

We are both silent for a moment, thinking about the different options of what we could do. While I think, Hailee walks closer to me, our faces inches apart, until she finally speaks.

"How about we break in that bed?"

3225 words

This is the land the sunset washes,

These are the banks of the Yellow Sea;

Where it rose, or whither it rushes,

These are the western mystery!

Night after night her purple traffic

Strews the landing with opal bales;

Merchantmen poise upon horizons,

Dip, and vanish with fairy sails.

- Emily Dickinson