Home within Tanglewood, for Aurum at least, had never actually been about the house that he resided in. In fact, the lion had thought very little about his future or how Tanglewood would affect him when he first moved in, figuring he would only reside within the swamp dwelling group long enough for Poet to come to his senses. So, he had chosen somewhere simple, and cozy. A one floor house, with one large room on the inside and really nothing else to speak of. It hadn't had a kitchen, but that had hardly been a bother to a carnivore that had rarely eaten cooked foods, and really the only thing he had been concerned with was a bed, and this house had one. It was really more of a shack, than a home, and Aurum had never really regretted his decision. Even as days had turned to weeks, and weeks had turned to months spent within Tanglewood, Aurum had never really thought about his house, because in the end the tiny building was never the important part of Tanglewood for him. The important part of Tanglewood was the people, and the companionship that they provided. The important part of Tanglewood was the way that he was drawn out of his protective shell, and how years upon years of walls built up from abuse were torn down by the people who lived within the group. The ones who truly cared about him, and didn't just want to use him as a tool, or shun him until he fell apart, breaking into tiny manageable pieces. Tanglewood as his home was never the inside of Aurum's tiny, sort of shitty house, but instead inside of all those who loved him, and made him feel accepted.

In all honesty, that had been fine for him, at least for a very long time. For a while it had been just him, alone inside his little shack without much of a care about what resided inside. There was a bed big enough for him, a mirror, a bookcase full of various beloved stories, and a little dresser that he used to keep his valuables and anything else he had, but that was pretty much... it. That had been the norm for him, and had been what he had returned to each and every day after he was done hunting or patrolling or just hanging out for that day. Most of the time he didn't even dwell on looking around the room, instead just stumbling his way over to the bed and collapsing into the softness of it, relishing the warmth. It certainly wasn't fancy, and he wasn't sure it was really the kind of place where he would ever want to have friends over, but that had been good enough for him. After all, he could see all of his friends outside of the four walls that had surrounded him then, and if he really wanted to visit them inside rather than out, he could go to their places instead. Places that were usually bigger, and more decorated, and felt more homey. And that was fine, because he knew that his house wasn't his home, but the people that resided outside of it were. However, that had all changed, all when one little thing happened. Or rather, when one rather major thing happened. Him adopting Roy. It had been a joyous occasion, one that he now often replayed in his head, just because he knew it was always going to be one of the best days of his life. After all, he had never felt more fulfilled than now, being a father and taking care of a son whom he loved and was loved by in return. The initial adoption had been a sort of spur of the moment thing, driven by weeks of wanting to take care of Roy, and an overwhelming wave of emotions about his own father. This had made it difficult to plan for the future, because suddenly the future was smacking him in the face, telling him, hey, you have a kid, fuckhead. Your house isn't gonna work like this.

That was... fair, honestly. He didn't exactly expect Roy to want to constantly snuggle in the same bed as him, and it didn't really feel fair to have him hogging up all of the room within the small shack for his shit, so he had quickly gotten down to rearranging things. He'd put a second bed in, with quite a bit of effort and careful planning, and had gotten rid of a ton of his books and knick knacks, donating most to the library and giving some away to friends. It had been a bit of a sad occasion, giving away some of the stories he had loved so much, but it had also been an oddly exhilarating one, knowing that he was clearing space out so that his son could live with him. That had made it difficult for him to feel any remorse over the changes, and then... that had become the new normal, really. The little shack, with four walls and two beds, and a few pieces of furniture that were forced to serve as hanging places for practically everything Aurum and Roy owned. The new normal had worked for him, and it had seemingly worked for Roy as well, considering the boy never complained about being so close to his father, or having to share space on the dresser or bookshelf. Hell, it had even sort of worked when Crowley was staying with them on occasion, since usually Aurum could convince the other to lay in bed with him, pressed up against his side. That new normal had especially worked for Aurum then, since it meant that he got to sleep snuggled next to Crowley, a wing draped affectionately over the other's back as he snored away.

However, Aurum had been thinking a lot lately, and it seemed more and more likely that the "new normal" that he currently had? Wasn't going to keep working for much longer. It had just struck him one day, while he was laying on his belly in bed, his chin resting against the cool covers beneath him. He needed the rest, his body aching and crying out for it after all of the stress he had been subjecting himself to as of late. Sure, occasionally he would accept the blame for overworking himself, but in this case he really hadn't been the cause. So many things had just happened all at once, and he had just gotten... overwhelmed. Old brothers were returning, fights were breaking out, everything was getting more stressful and militant and hostile... all of it had been wearing the angel's patience exceedingly thin, and the bed seemed like an open and loving escape from it all, even if it was only the middle of the day. However, when he woke up from his napping and rolled over, his one eye raking over the room around him, it was quickly made clear that this normal – not so new anymore, after several months – was not going to work out. The shack suddenly seemed suffocating, with the walls too close together and the bare smattering of furniture barely resembling anything close to a home. He sat up for a moment, a long sigh leaving him as his mind began to drift to those who had lived within the house. Those who would hopefully live in it in the future... if he really wanted the future he imagined in his head, this place wasn't going to cut it. It was a simple fact of life, and there were many reasons – people, really – why this was true.

Roy was, of course, the first one. His son was growing up, even if it was a slow process. He was slowly branching out, working on interacting with others as he grew up and got more used to no longer being just a tool, or any experiment. There was no doubt that eventually he would be very large, perhaps even the size of his father, and Aurum doubted that the boy would particularly want to be sleeping in his little tiny bed wedged in the corner of the shack as this happened. Not to mention the fact that Roy deserved privacy. Aurum wasn't exactly overly worried about Roy bringing anyone home with him – just the thought made him shiver unpleasantly, because that would be growing up far too fast for his liking – but that didn't mean the other didn't deserve a room of his own. Somewhere where he could enjoy his own company, and decorate it however he wanted. Collect his own things, display his own personality in a way that wasn't really possible now, what with things overflowing from every corner. Aurum really wanted to see the grin that would come to the boy's face when he saw that he had somewhere that was really his. No lab, no Doctor, no anything. Just a space where he could be him, and do whatever he wanted. Just the thought of it was enough to make the lion smile.

The second reason was Poetking. The return of the other had been an utter cold shock to Aurum's system, seeming to knock everything just the faintest bit off kilter for the days afterward. The proxy hadn't been sure whether he had been glad or sad to have the other around again, and he wasn't really sure if he would ever be able to look at Poet and feel nothing but happiness. Not unless a whole lot of trauma just vanished from his mind, and stopped being wrapped up in his brother's smiling face. Still, even with all of this in mind, Aurum knew that he wanted Poet to live with him. Not only for the personal reason that the other lion was his brother, but also for the very serious reasoning of needing to keep an eye on the younger male. After all, he had killed once before, and even though he believed his brother in that it had been self defense, he still wasn't quite ready to trust him alone yet. That wasn't even mentioning his father, whom Poetking had mentioned was apparently alive again, or perhaps had been alive this entire time. Aurum had no idea if his father would want to move in with him or not, but if he did... well, they were already at maximum bed capacity, and he doubted that Poet wanted to share a bed like when they were cubs forever, so that was certainly a stark reason for needing a new place.

The third reason was Kaito. The boy and Aurum had a complicated relationship, and something told the lion that it was probably far from getting any simpler. He knew that Kaito had his own reasons for stealing things – or rather, attempting to steal things, since he certainly threw a whole lot more back than he actually took – but it made Aurum wary, unsure if he could actually trust the other entirely. Despite this... Aurum cared for Kaito. He knew in his heart that he cared for Kaito just as he did Roy, and it had gotten to the point where every time he saw the tiny feline, he just wanted to ask him if Aurum could adopt him. He had been holding himself back thus far, mainly thanks to the fact that Kaito had confided in him recently. With everything about his thievery, and why he did what he did, and what ended up happening to his father. It was all just so tragic and so complex that Aurum felt like it would be an insult to ask Kaito to be his son. Like he was somehow trampling on Kaito's memories of his father. Despite all this, Aurum still liked to imagine it. He liked to imagine calling both Kaito and Roy his sons, and having them be brothers. He liked to imagine talking to them in the morning and playing board games with them at night. He liked to imagine playing battle ship with Kaito again, and letting the other win just for the hell of it, because that would make him smile. So that's why Kaito was on his list of reasons for moving, and that was why the lion wanted to make sure whatever new house he picked would have an extra bedroom set aside, just in case Kaito ever decided he wanted a new home to come to.

The final reason was... well, it was Crowley. Aurum knew it was crazy, continuing to pine for the demon who obviously didn't even want to acknowledge that he existed. However, he just couldn't help it. He and Crowley had just become so close over such a relatively short period of time, and he knew it wasn't just because he was a sappy motherfucker who got attached too easily – although that was certainly a part of it. From the very beginning, it had felt like he and Crowley were... connected, somehow. Both of them had their own battles to fight, against two very similar enemies, and they had each other's backs through it all. Aurum wasn't really the type to believe in fate, really – at least he hadn't been before finding out he was an angel – but... it really felt like fate had somehow destined he and Crowley to meet. He felt like he had fucked it all up, getting drunk and spewing out his feelings like an idiot to the poor demon who somehow put up with him, but he also felt like Crowley had been a bit of an idiot too, running off to god knows where and hiding himself away, just to ignore his emotions. Either way... Aurum wanted a bigger room. So that maybe, one day, he and Crowley could share it. They could share the bed inside, and snuggle beneath the thick covers, and decorate the room with all of the stupid shit that their hearts desired. They could have a house where they could raise Roy – and maybe Kaito – together, and spend every day just enjoying themselves to their hearts' content. God, Aurum wanted that. Aurum wanted that so painfully bad, and it was worth all of the house searching in the goddamn world to get it, even if the proxy knew getting a bigger, nicer house wouldn't actually guarantee Crowley would ever love him.

With his mind churning with so many different thoughts it actually began to cburn his stomach, Aurum had found himself stumbling out of bed, his exhaustion forgotten in a race to get outside. To look around town. To look for somewhere that he could call his, and that he could really think of as his home, with all of the people he loved more than he could ever express. He had never really bothered looking around at any of the other homes around Tanglewood, but when he had gone rushing out of his little shitty shack that day, heads turning just to see what the hell the proxy was in such a hurry about, he knew that he had to choose the best damn house he could find. It was probably a bad idea, rushing out to make such a big decision in just a day, but he knew he had to do it that way. He knew that if he hesitated, and he tried to do it methodically... he'd chicken out. He'd find some reason to rationalize away all of his worries, and he'd stay in his little shack near the edge of town and nothing would change, and he would just stew in it forever. Normally he wouldn't condone the Feza method of just getting an idea and throwing yourself into it wholeheartedly, with no hesitation and no backup plan, but in this case? In this case he was willing to do so, and fuck if it didn't pay off. He'd found some place wonderful. Some place that filled all his needs, and was everything he, and hopefully everyone else, wanted.

Talking to the others in the shack about it had been... relatively painless. Roy had blinked a little bit in surprise at the suggestion of moving, but the tiger had seen the utter warmth and excitement that twinkled in his father's one blue eye, and he had been nodding his head without Aurum even having to do any convincing. In the case of Poetking... well, the other didn't really have much to say about it. He seemed a bit surprised Aurum was even asking him his opinion, but he had agreed without much fuss, figuring it would be nice for all of them. Seemingly he had been expecting Aurum to just toss him out on his ass pretty soon, so it wasn't exactly an unpleasant surprise. After that, it was a relatively painless process. Even with all of the stuff they had cramping their furniture, both Aurum and Roy didn't actually have that much to their names, so packing had been easy enough, stuffing things in boxes and packing up the more fragile things more gently. The entire time Aurum had been jittery with excitement, unable to keep his paws from shaking as he tucked things away, imagining the kind of life that they could have within the new place he had picked out. Yeah, realistically he knew that things wouldn't suddenly explode into change right away, but... it felt like a major turning point, for everything, and Aurum was going to enjoy it as much as he possibly could.

Now, it was finally the big day, and Aurum felt so deliriously happy. The joy had sunk deep into his bones, making him feel light and heady. Even with all of the stresses that had been pressing down upon him lately, the proxy felt like he was on top of the world at the moment. He and Roy had been moving things all morning, lifting and flying boxes back and forth between the little dumpy shack they were leaving to the new house that Aurum had chosen for them. It was beautiful, especially for a house within Tanglewood. It was two stories, and fairly large, and although it was a bit battered around the edges, it would be perfect for them. It had multiple little bedrooms, a big living room, and even a kitchen area, although Aurum doubted that would see much use given his track record. It already had a bunch of furniture in it, but he knew that he, Roy, and Poet would make it truly theirs before long. A real home, where everything felt warm, and welcoming, and light. Aurum wanted that. He wanted it so bad. And that was why he was grinning broadly as they pulled the last of the boxes up to the two story house, his eye glittering with anticipation. He nudged the door open with his nose, pushing the first of the few boxes into the living room. Once he situated it in a suitable corner, he moved back out to the porch, grinning crookedly down at Roy before he spoke, "So... what do you think? Do you think we can really make this place home? Do... Do you like it?" He prayed that Roy would like it, and that he would be able to see that rare warm smile spread across his son's muzzle. Sure, Aurum had done this partially for himself, but truthfully it was also so much for others, like so many of his decisions were.

( tl;dr, Aurum has been thinking of moving for a while now bc he and Roy live in a really really small place, and he now also has a lot more people to worry about who might be living with him too. He went out and looked for a nice place and found one, a nice two story sort of beat up house with plenty of room for him and several others, and he and Roy have been moving stuff to it all morning. Aurum and Roy are both right outside of the house with a bunch of their moving boxes, talking )