"Is any of this really necessary?" Storm asked as she watched Iris dart around the house like a hyperactive hummingbird.

"No, but it gives me something to do!" the tiny brunette said as she continued to set up painting supplies.

"The living room looks fine the way it is, though!" Storm knew her protests weren't going to get her anywhere, but protest she did.

"I know, but in the same way that there's no point in changing it, there's no point in not changing it, you know?" asked Iris.

"No. Not at all," Storm deadpanned.

"It's just a little home improvement!" Iris continued. "What's the harm in it?"

"What's the point in it?" Storm countered.

"What's the point in not doing it?" Iris replied.

"Ugh, you can't just keep answering my questions with more questions!" Storm frowned.

"Can't I?" Iris asked back, turning to give Storm a cheeky smirk.

"Real mature," Storm deadpanned again. Iris only laughed a little before continuing to go about her business.

For a few minutes more, Storm watched her in silence, but once she had most of her supplies set up, she finally asked Iris again.

"What's with the home improvement?" she asked. "And please be serious this time!" she added quickly.

"Well, to be honest, I'm just bored," said Iris. "I still love getting to do nothing all day, but I've grown antsy in the past couple of months and as much as it's fun to relax all the time, I can't help but think that this quarantine time is also an excellent chance for me to do a lot of improvements everywhere with nothing else to worry about! Seriously, think about it, when will an opportunity like this ever come again?" she asked.

"Fair enough," Storm admitted. "I just can't believe you got sucked into the home improvement craze!" she shook her head. Iris was far from the only one to suddenly become interested in home improvement. Some of their friends were fixing roofs, some were cleaning attics, some were replacing carpets, some were repainting walls, some were refurbishing and remodeling, some were buying new furniture, some were fixing or replacing old utilities and electronics and some were either starting or maintaining gardens.

Across the board, everyone was doing something to either fix up or spruce up the home, and it was all for the main two reasons Iris had listed. The first was basic boredom. When there was nothing else to do, chores finally got done. The second was that sense of opportunity. Like Iris had said, as much as quarantine was a chance to be lazy with no consequences, it was also a chance to be productive with no consequences (in the sense that someone could start some sort of home improvement project and actually get it done without the rest of life getting in the way). In fact, Iris' own parents were currently fixing up their home, and that was part of what had driven Iris to try to fix up her and Storm's.

But Storm, ever the practical one, saw no purpose in this endeavor because their house looked fine just the way it was. Usually she was the more hardworking one of the two (while Iris was the lazy one) but for once, their roles had reversed. While Iris was busy getting ready to repaint the living room, Storm could only shake her head. To her, unless the work had a necessary purpose to it, it was just a waste of time. Because the living room did not need a fresh coat of paint or a color change, although Iris was doing work, it was not meaningful work which, to Storm, thusly rendered it pointless and useless. But Iris would not be deterred.

"I'm not asking you to help, it's ok if you think what I'm doing is silly," she said as she pried open the first can of paint. "This is just a little something for me to do for myself."

"But now I'm going to feel bad watching you do all these chores," Storm sighed ruefully, and that was the truth. As well as considering Iris' labor to be a waste of time, it also made Storm feel very guilty to see Iris working while she wasn't.

"No, Storm, I told you already that it was ok!" Iris reassured. "Besides, see this as my payback for the day you cleaned up our junk room!" she added with a smile, thinking back to the earlier days of quarantine when she'd be up all night and asleep all day.

"But you did finally help with that," Storm pointed out.

"Only after you woke me up," Iris reminded. "I'm still not happy about that, by the way," she added with a playful scowl.

"Oh, cry me a river," Storm rolled her eyes, but she was teasing too.

"But anyway, like I said, just see this as me paying you back for cleaning the junk room," Iris repeated as she knelt down and got ready to paint.

"Even though that was a practical task we both helped out on and this is just some petty little pet project?" asked Storm. Iris' only reply was a small laugh, but she did not turn around as she raised her brush and got to work.

For the next 15 minutes, Storm simply watched Iris work. Both of them were silent, lost in their own little worlds. But after a moment, Storm finally decided to act. Even though she still didn't have much of a drive to help Iris repaint stuff, she still wasn't going to remain idle if Iris was at work. Instead, she helped clean stuff up and move it out of the way so that Iris could continue her work unimpeded.

"Thanks," Iris smiled up at Storm as Storm offered to get another paint tray since the other had spilled over a little, causing the paint to stain the sides and bottom. It was easier to clean it now while the paint was still wet.

"Had to help somehow," Storm smiled gently, winking at Iris before she departed to rise off the current paint try and fetch another.

Once she returned, she sat down beside Iris.

"Oh, were you going to help?" Iris blinked in surprise.

"Well, nah, I was thinking I could just keep you company?" Storm asked. In a very rare moment of sheepishness, she gave Iris an awkward and hopeful smile that was just as cute as it was "out of character".

"Ohhhh, so you mean you're gonna sit around on your butt all day and watch me do all the work?" Iris demanded, but the smile on her face gave away the fact that she was only kidding. And before Storm could even answer, Iris continued to speak. "Because that sounds good to me! Your company is the best work you can provide! I got the painting, you got the talking!" and Storm was more than happy to oblige.

So for the rest of that day, while Iris painted the walls, Storm watched her work and kept her entertained with idle chatter about everything and nothing. It was actually very relaxing and even though Storm was still a bit disdainful of the whole "home improvement" craze, she could at least see the bonding value in it. Sitting around and watching Iris paint had not been on her itinerary before, but by the end of that day, she found herself feeling quite happy, and it was a sentiment Iris shared 100%!

AN: This was inspired off how many of my friends are currently picking up household improvement projects, including my parents! (Who are painting the bathroom as I write this).

And (possibly not) funny story, I actually spilled half a can of paint just last night when I tripped over it. That was 2.5 hours of carpet cleaning I'll never get back. But it certainly helped inspire this fic! So I guess that's one good thing to come out of that mess, LOL