Natasha inhaled deeply as the automatic doors silently closed behind them. “Huh.” She mused as she glanced over at Steve beside her. “I really thought this place would smell like sulfur.”
Demonikea stretched out in front of them in all its fluorescent lit glory. Not a typical outing for the two of them, but currently a necessary one. Natasha had promised that she would replace the table in Steve’s apartment for him. She’d been the one to pull him on top of it, after all.
She assumed any establishment that had a history with a Shadow Lord probably didn’t place top priority with customer service attendants, so she figured they’d be left to their own devices in the store. It would make for a more interesting time that way, anyway.
“There’s a map.” She nodded her head in its direction, then looped her arm through Steve’s before leading him toward it. As she studied the arrows and the maze-like layout of the store, she chuckled softly. “I wonder if they keep the souls of the people who can’t get out.”
"That's a sobering thought," answered Steve, recognizing it as a joke but also thinking that there might be some truth to it. The 'map' definitely wasn't exactly the easiest to navigate after all, and he'd heard all kinds of weird rumors about the place. Still, he knew that all sorts lived in Vallo and he certainly wasn't one to judge. Besides, the furniture did look appealing and the place hadn't been shut down or the source of anything too weird in Vallo.
"Looks like we'll need to go through several areas before we get to tables," he noted, pointing to a section on the map that looked like it was the right place. "Though it looks like you can just buy an entire living room setup. That's convenient." He didn't outright say it, but he'd expected something much more spooky, too. Maybe a mirror that whispered to you or a chair that moved on its own, he didn't really know.
Natasha scanned the map once more, memorizing as much of it as she could. She didn’t actually expect anything to happen to them, but unfortunately that’s usually when something did happen, and it didn’t hurt to know where her exits were regardless. Some habits would never truly go away. Satisfied that she’d retained enough, she turned and glanced at Steve. It only took her a moment to read the expression written there. “You’re disappointed it’s not scarier in here, aren’t you?” She had to fight to keep the corners of her mouth from turning upward into a grin.
"Kind of?" he admitted, ducking his head a little sheepishly. "There's Demon right in the name."
Though from what he knew of the place, the dark practices were left behind nearly a century ago. Maybe now it was just more of keeping with the theme, kind of like the witch museums and such in Salem back home. Something light-hearted and touristy in a place where a lot of bad humanity took place.
"And I take it you've memorized the exits and potential ambush points?" he followed up, returning the favor.
That grin of hers escaped as Steve confirmed her guess. They’d come face to face with plenty of genuine monsters and wanted a spooky furniture store. She found it extremely endearing.
“Well, I’ve memorized them the best I can for now, anyway. At least enough that I’m confident I can save your ass if need be.” Her arm still linked around his, Natasha pulled Steve toward the doors that would lead them out onto the showroom floor. “On your guard, soldier.”
"Always, ma'am," retorted Steve, mirroring the grin. He let his gaze wander as they entered the showroom, letting the sights be taken in. Just a number of ten foot by ten foot cubes, decorated to look like someone's living room. Each and every one seemed to have just something… off about them, which he attributed to the theme of Demonikea. He found he didn't hate it. In fact, he'd grown more accustomed to the design aspect when he'd had that remodeling done by Haunted House Restorations, won in that silent auction. Laudna had done great work and had taught him about "fun spooky."
And now Steve Rogers found himself enjoying haunted houses and other Halloween events, which is largely how he got talked into shopping here in the first place. "Almost makes me wonder how much we'll need to look into, if we end up getting our own place," he mused, letting the idea escape his lips without really thinking that they hadn't talked about moving in together yet.
Natasha’s pace was slow and easy as they wandered among the furniture. She wasn’t in any rush and was perfectly content to meander through all the various sections just for the novelty of it. No time with Steve was wasted, in her opinion. She was eyeing a table lamp that Yelena would love when Steve oh so casually threw out a mention of them living together. She slid her eyes over to him, an amused grin firmly in place. It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought about it plenty in the time they’d been together, but neither of them had actually vocalized it before now. “I wouldn’t mind wondering about that.”
"Oh?" asked Steve, turning to face that grin of hers. He could tell she wasn't joking or trying to rattle him. That was something you had to learn if you spent time around Natasha. Sometimes she said things just to get a rise out of you. Sometimes she was absolutely sincere. Most of the time it was near impossible to tell which was which. But with a trained eye and ear, you could tell.
"Sounds like the next table we break will have to be our table, then."
Being a trained spy, Natasha had an incredible poker face most of the time. In general, her expression showed exactly what she wanted it to and nothing more. The exception to that, it seemed, was Steve Rogers. As he gave her that look and brought up the table, a far more sincere smile escaped and Natasha ducked her head to disguise it. Half a second later, she realized she didn’t want to hide it, and turned her face upward once more. Her smile and eyes were bright as she closed the distance between them. “I like the sound of that.”
That smile. He'd face off against gods for that smile. It's not that it was exceedingly rare, but it was markedly different from her usual wry grins and amused smirks. Especially when you were the recipient. As she pulled closer, he reached out to wrap her in a comfortable hug. "Yeah, me too."
It was an easy decision, made without any kind of preamble or intention. Which sort of made it more natural and comfortable. No weighing pros and cons, no settling on compromises, no negotiations. It was nice. He grinned into the top of her head. "So should we hold off on this table for the moment, then?"
She folded easily into his arms, with the top of her head fitting neatly under his chin. That smile was still there, and she had a feeling it would be for awhile. Natasha loved sharing a home with her sisters- that was never in question. It had been the perfect solution for all of them at the time as they’d needed the closeness and support that living together could give them. A year later, however, things had vastly changed for all three of them. While she would (mostly) miss the antics and entertaining chaos that came from the three of them under one roof, Natasha felt certain that now was the time to move forward with something new.
She could feel the subtle shift as he smiled into her hair, and it sent warmth fluttering across her skin. “Not for too long, though.”