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Zari leaned on Sara’s shoulder, a worn-out expression on her face. “Are we done yet?” She whined.
They watched as Charlie bounced up and down on a mattress, an Ikea pencil sticking out of their pocket. “If we hadn’t broken the bed, we wouldn’t be here.” They bounced one last time, then stood to join their partners. “I still don’t understand how that happened,” Charlie added.
“Let’s not talk about it in public.” Zari picked the pencil out of Charlie’s flannel pocket and wrote down the number of the mattress and the bed. “So, uh, which bed do you want?”
“This one’s good.”
“I’m going to check if it’s sturdy enough before we buy it. If we’re back here in a few months, I will blame you.” Waving a hand at Zari and Charlie, Sara moved to read the information.
Looping an arm around Zari’s waist, Charlie said, “Why blame us? You helped too.”
“Don’t!” Zari pried Charlie’s fingers from her waist and joined Sara. “So, is it sturdy enough?” She squinted at the information. “How are you reading that it’s Swedish.”
“Gideon got me a translator lens, it’s a prototype.” Sara straightened and slowly looked from left to right so Zari could see the translucent technology on her irises.
“How is it? Any good?” Stepping closer, she could identify the parts in the lenses until Sara’s eyes dropped to her lips.
“Pretty good, a little itchy.” After a quick kiss, Sara looped an arm through Zari’s. “Charlie, babe, let’s go. We’ve found what we need.”
Charlie took the opportunity to loop their arm through Sara’s free one, their fingers wrapped around Sara’s bicep.
As they walked through the maze that is Ikea, Zari fluttered her eyelashes at Sara. “So, I heard Ikea has ice cream…” She trailed her fingers over Sara’s clavicles, distracting Sara enough to have her trip over her own boots.
“You don’t have to flirt with Sara to get ice cream, Z.” Charlie held Sara upright until her combat boots once again followed their rhythm.
“Yeah, I like ice cream just as much as you do, babe.” Sara looped her arm around Zari’s waist, partly as an expression of affection, partly for safety.
“So can we go get ice cream?”
“Yes.” Sara pulled the map out of Zari’s back pocket, attempting to figure out how to get to the ice cream, as Charlie carefully manoeuvred them out of the way, into a pile of carpets. “Alright, we need to grab what we want to buy first. The ice cream comes after we pay.”
Like a ball of energy, Zari hurried them to the large hall where they quickly found their bed and mattress, then shoved the cart toward the register. “Time for ice cream!”
Charlie and Sara exchanged a look, then started chasing their girlfriend down the corridor. “Z, I don’t know what’ll happen if you crash that thing!” Charlie yelled.
Skillfully, Zari slowed it down, stopping the cart just in front of the register. With an innocent smile on her face, she turned and waited for the others to catch up. “C’mon, it’s ice cream time.”
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Sitting in the doorway of the jumpship, Charlie, Zari, and Sara ate their ice cream.
“If we have to buy another bed, can we get ice cream again?” Zari asked as she placed her feet on Charlie’s lap. Her torso rested against Sara’s, who promptly wrapped an arm around her.
“If we have to buy another bed I’m going to research what the strongest one is,” Sara grumbled.
“Z, we can go for ice cream whenever we want. We don’t need to break a bed for that.”
A spark appeared in Zari’s eyes. “Can we go for ice cream on our next date?”
“Obviously. But not here. I’m taking you both for the best ice cream in the world.” Charlie smiled at their girlfriends.
“As long as we don’t break the bed, I’m game.”
“That’s not the attitude of a winner, Sara.” Zari wiggled her eyebrows.
“I have you two. I’m already a winner.”