"That was fun." Amanda leaned her hands against Nolan's chest for balance as she stood on her toes to press a kiss to his lips.
"Yes, yes, it was." He tugged on the sleeve of her leather jacket and began to say, "We should-" when Irisa barged in and threw her knives on the coffee table with a jarring thud, either not noticing or not caring that she had interrupted a private moment.
"Hey, watch it." Nolan motioned towards Irisa's knives as Amanda bit her lip and straightened her clothes. "You're going to ruin the table throwing those things around like that."
Irisa shrugged. "It's already ruined."
Amanda arched her eyebrows, noticing the sad state of their coffee table for this first time. Irisa had a point, an extremely valid point. That table belonged in an abandoned warehouse, not someone's home.
"Yeah, well." Nolan frowned, visibly struggling to come up with an argument. "You're…" He ran a hand along his stubble. "You're going to ruin it... more..." he trailed off with a look of failure on his face. A lost cause. Amanda patted his shoulder sympathetically.
"Whatever." Irisa tossed her jacket on top of the knives. "I'll get a new one if it falls apart."
Nolan gave Amanda an exasperated look which she returned with a knowing smile. She liked watching them in their natural habitat. It reminded her of living with Kenya. They had spent half their time arguing about pointless things like dishes and what time Kenya came home at night. The constant bickering had frustrated Amanda at the time, but after all these years, she wouldn't trade the memories for the world.
"So are you two together now?" Irisa asked. "Or is this thing going to be over in a couple months again?" She frowned. "Am I going to have to watch Nolan mope around here all day and work off his excess energy by punching biomen in the ass?"
Amanda teased Nolan with wide eyes and a cartoonish grin. "You moped over me!?"
Nolan straightened his shoulders and firmly stated, "I mope over no one."
"He's lying," Irisa said. "And avoiding my question."
Amanda looked to Nolan, hesitant to answer Irisa's question first. She thought they were together. Everything between them felt right this time, but they hadn't exactly talked about it, and she didn't want to be presumptuous. And besides, Irisa was Nolan's daughter. He deserved to take the heat on this one.
Nolan met Amanda's gaze with a smile, looking for silent reassurance that Amanda gladly gave before he turned back to Irisa and confidently declared, "Yes. We are."
"Ok." Irisa nodded nonchalantly as she grabbed an apple and took a bite.
"That's it?" Nolan asked, a wounded expression crossing his face. "That's all you have to say when your dear old dad finally gets his act together? You've been giving me shtako for years."
Irisa crunched on her apple. "What?" She studied their faces as she chewed. "Are you getting married or something?"
"No!" they both exclaimed in unison.
"God no," Amanda added under her breath as Nolan mumbled, "Absolutely not."
"Right…" Irisa gave them a blank stare, waiting for an explanation for their outburst that they didn't have.
"Marriage is a big step." Nolan nodded his head up and down like a bobblehead with a loose spring. Amanda had never seen him so nervous. "Really BIG step."
"So formal," Amanda added, and as uncomfortable as Nolan looked, she was sure her expression outmatched his.
"Exactly," Nolan agreed. "It's not something I'm thinking about," Nolan admitted.
"Me either," Amanda agreed.
"Glad to see you two have matured since the last time you tried this." Irisa walked towards her room, saying, "just don't get too loud" before closing the door.
Amanda looked to Nolan and shrugged. "At least we agree on the whole marriage issue."
"And that's all that matters." Nolan's discomfort dissipated as he turned to face her. "It's kind of romantic, really."
"We have what everyone wants." Amanda grinned. "To be on the same page as their partner."
"Mmhmm." Nolan nodded. "We've got this."
"So you want to go back to my place and enjoy not being married some more?" Amanda asked. "We can flaunt our illegitimate union in an apartment maintained by the taxpayers. No daughters to walk in on us or ask invasive personal questions."
"No one to interrupt your private moments." Nolan gave her a dreamy smile. "You live such a privileged life."
Amanda furrowed her brow playfully. "Isn't Irisa like 26?"
"What's your point?"
"My point is that you too could live a privileged life. You could get a place of your own. I pay you both enough."
"Are you criticizing my lifestyle?"
"No," Amanda said. "I think it's sweet you two still live together." She opened the door and led Nolan into the cool night air. "And besides, if I were going to criticize your lifestyle, I'd start with your furniture choices."