More Than Friends

Two

I am an Ikea professional

Laurel's apartment had been broken into one too many times. She stared at her living room with her arms crossed. Her couch had two giant holes, made by swords last week. The standing lamp was smashed into her coffee table, and her window was cracked. She turned when she heard a quiet knock on her front door. It was one of the few things that were still intact.
"Hey Nyssa, thanks for coming." Laurel smiled as she quickly looked over Nyssa's outfit. She asked Nyssa to dress like a normal person because she had a surprise for her. Apparently, Sara taught Nyssa how to dress like a citizen. With the skin-tight army green shirt and black jeans, she was a sweet reminder.
"What's wrong, I asked Sara what the average woman wears and this is what she told me," Nyssa spoke, gesturing to her outfit. Laurel laughed, grabbing Nyssa by the hand and tugging her into the kitchen.
"This is what the average ex-assassin wears. Not that I mind." Laurel placed her hands on Nyssa's waist, only staring a little bit. She seemed at a loss for words, unsure of her clothing choice.
"Don't worry. Listen, after last week, I need some new furniture." Nyssa took her eyes off Laurel, glancing at the wrecked living room.
"Yes, I would say so."
"I figured you could come with me since you haven't experienced many normal things. Come furniture shopping with me!" Nyssa raised an eyebrow as she took Laurel's hands.
"I am sorry, you invited me here so I could help you pick out a new couch?" Laurel gave her sweetest smile.
"Yes. So, will you join me in this normal-person activity?"
"Okay. I will join you in choosing furniture."

Nyssa stared in silent awe when Laurel led her through the revolving door. Their local Ikea was huge.
"This building is as large as Nanda Parbat. How will we find what we need?" She spoke as she dodged two toddlers running for the play area. She looked around for a few more seconds, before realising that Laurel hadn't answered her question. When she turned to her, Laurel watched her with a giant smile on her lips.
"Why are you laughing at me? Have I done something stupid?" The large stream of customers coming from the revolving doors was slowly pushing them closer to each other until Nyssa could feel Laurel's breath on her nose.
"No, it's just fun to see you experience these kinds of things for the first time." Laurel took Nyssa's hand and fished a map out of the stand near the escalator.
"Come, let's go."

"Do you have a list of items you need to replace?" Nyssa asked as they walked through the fake bedrooms. Her hand felt tingly every time Laurel adjusted her grip.
"Yes. I need a new couch, a coffee table, and a lamp."
"Those will not be found here, I assume." Nyssa waved at the dozens of children's beds.
"Nope, but you know what will?" Laurel didn't bother to wait for an answer, instead, she ran off into one of the side corridors, leaving Nyssa lost. Five seconds later she reappeared, holding a big fluffy shark. Her whole face was lit with joy and Nyssa had no choice but to smile back.
"Why does that stuffed creature make you so happy?" She watched as Laurel slowly brought it closer to her face until it was pressed against her nose. Her eyes crossed so she gently pushed the shark down.
"Because it's adorable! Look at its face!" Laurel moved the soft shark back up to Nyssa's face.
"I am unable to do that, it is too close." Laurel laughed and pulled the shark against her chest like a happy toddler.
"Didn't you have stuffed animals growing up?" They walked to the large baskets full of different stuffed animals as Nyssa thought back.
"I had one, a panda. The traditional animal was a brown bear in my family, so my father was upset when all he could find was a panda. He feared it would affect my upbringing." She shrugged as Laurel's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I loved the panda anyway. However, I quickly learnt not to get too attached to possessions." Laurel crossed her arms over the stuffed shark and rolled her eyes.
"Well I adore my stuffed animals, and I-" she stood up extra straight so their height difference increased. "I am buying this shark." Nyssa laughed. No one could look mature when they're holding a baby-blue shark to their chest, not even Laurel.

"What is your preferred colour for the couch?" Nyssa brushed over a soft couch with her fingertips, overwhelmed by the selection.
"Dark. The amount of times I have bled onto my old couch when you did impromptu surgery on me is large. I don't want visible stains." Laurel looked around at all the options.
"I want it to be the same size as my old one. And not leather."
"Ah yes. Your skin will stick to leather when it is warm." Laurel froze in her tracks, realising what Nyssa said. When Nyssa felt Laurel's eyes poking into her back, she turned around.
"For when you manage to get hurt again," she added. Laurel bit the inside of her cheek to keep her laughter down. Of course, Nyssa was not thinking about sex on her couch.
After some time, they managed to settle on a soft, dark red couch. Nyssa wrote the serial number down while Laurel led her to the coffee tables.

"What is your goal for the table?" Laurel rubbed her temples for a few seconds.
"Sturdy. And I need to be able to store items in there. But mostly sturdy."
"Are we allowed to test that?" Nyssa placed her hands on a light, wooden table and Laurel rushed to her side, taking her hands.
"No, no, no. We are not allowed to throw these around. Please don't try, babe." She pretended not to notice the way Nyssa's hands tensed when she called her babe. After some flipping of the tables to check how sturdy they were, they settled on one. Nyssa noted the serial number of the light brown, wooden table.

"Almost done!" Laurel skipped ahead of Nyssa, the shark swaying by her side.
"Don't go too far or I won't be able to locate you!"
Laurel slowed at a corner, dramatically turned her head, and winked.
"Come and find me." With that, she ran off into the lights. With butterflies in her stomach, Nyssa broke into a calm run. The advantage of being an ex-assassin was that she could do that silently, and she found Laurel within five seconds.
"Aw, man. Okay, I want a standing lamp that's hard to knock over," Laurel spoke as she came out of hiding.
"Would it not be more convenient to purchase a block of cement and attach the lamp to that? Then it will not be knocked over." Nyssa tilted her head, watching Laurel try to decide whether she was being serious or not.
"Very funny. C'mon, let's pick one."

Back home, Laurel was extremely grateful for Nyssa's help when she brought all the packages to her apartment with ease.
"What would you like to assemble first?" Nyssa asked. While they were gone, Oliver and Thea had removed all her broken furniture so they had enough space.
"Couch. That way, if we're tired, we have something to sit on." Laurel decided. They managed to put the couch together in fifteen minutes.
"I thought this was going to be hard."
"Usually people struggle with this, yeah," Laurel spoke, pulling her blouse off. It may have been easy, but it was some heavy lifting. She tucked her t-shirt into her jeans.
"But I am an Ikea professional. Now, let's get started on the table."