Piece By Peace

Notmality, Day 2

The second day of normality brought Leah's idea that the couple should spend this time asking important questions to one another, but when both of them could only come up with questions they already knew the answers to, Leah took it upon herself to do some research.

She found a packet of cards that they could use, each one holding a question that some manufacturer deemed necessary to deciding if you were truly compatible, whatever that meant.

Niamh found it endearing that Leah hadn't heard of these cards yet, playing along that they were a hidden treasure within the depths of Amazon and how she would be sure to tell her friends that they should try them too.

Neither really knew whether or not they would make discoveries about one another that night or what those discoveries could lead to, but as they lay at opposite ends of the sofa, each with a hand placed on the leg of the other, something inside Niamh told her that this would be an opportunity to tell Leah the stuff she'd found difficult to communicate before.

"Favourite childhood memory?" Leah asked.
"That's easy. The peace warriors."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It was like sticking two fingers up at all the idiots that said people with differences couldn't be friends."
"You've never told me how that all happened. I assume you didn't all live in the same place if that isn't the done thing?"
"To be honest, I don't really remember the day we all became friends. Just one day, they were my best friends. Well, not Michael." Niamh chuckled at the memory.
"What's funny?" Leah smiled.
"Michael used to come watch us play. He'd hide behind the wheelie bins that lay about the place, and when we looked over, he'd hide again. One night I decided I'd had enough of it, and if he wanted to play but was too afraid to ask, I was going to be the one to invite him. So, I chased after him, and he started going faster, so I went faster, and then he shouted my da will knock you out. I was shouting I just want to be friends, like an idiot. He never lets me forget that I was desperate to be his friend. He was racing off, thinking I was chasing him because of his skin colour."
"You always had a thing for chasing people who didn't want to be chased, then?" Leah jibed, referencing Niamh's career choice.
"Shut up. It's my turn now."

Leah couldn't help but feel her heart warm as Niamh spoke of chasing Michael in an attempt to make him part of something. She knew how much he meant to her now, and she couldn't help but think maybe Niamh always chased things that could last forever.

"Oh Jesus." Niamh shrieked.
"What?"
"I think I've got the raw end of the deal here."
"What's your question?" Leah chuckled.
"Do you want to get married?"
"Wow, you move fast. Yeah, I'd like to. It's not a dealbreaker for me, if I'm honest. I like the idea of two people being sure enough of forever to say that in front of everyone. But I'd only want to do it if the person I was with wanted that too."

Niamh was content with that answer. Marriage wasn't something she'd given much thought to. If it happens, it happens. That had always been her motto, but now that she knew it was what Leah wanted, it made it easier for her to allow those embarrassing thoughts to enter her head.

"Oh, I like this one."
"I knew it! I got the hard cards!" Niamh protested.
"Favourite thing about me?"
"And the hard ones to answer." Niamh smirked.
"Watch it!"
"Can I be selfish, or does it have to be generic?"
"Selfish is fine." Leah smiled.
"My favourite thing about you is how you can take the worst day I've ever had and find a way to make it positive. Like when I told you about my real name, it felt like the worst day ever, but you found a way to make me feel better. Or when I told you I'd been suspended, you found a way to make that better too. So, now if anything bad happens, I just automatically want to tell you first instead of wanting to shut everyone out."