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"I want to move to New York and live in your apartment, with you."
"You tried to kill my friend! And me!"
"I never tried to kill you. I made you macaroni."
"This is an insane idea."
"Maybe but I know deep down you like it."
Yelena scared Kate, but she also excited her. She wanted to be friends with her and maybe fight crime with her. So yes, while the idea of letting her move in with her sounded insane, there was something in Kate that wanted to say yes.
"Please. I don't make a lot of noise, I clean after myself, I can cook macaroni and I can defend us."
"I can defend us."
"Ok, maybe we can both defend ourselves. But the other things are good too."
"Can you cook anything besides macaroni from a box?"
"Who cares? It is good."
"Fine, I'll teach you."
"Does that mean I can move in?"
"Yeah.... You're not that bad and I do have the spare room."
"Good, I'll get my stuff."
Yelena came back an hour later with a bag of clothes and an impressive load of weapons.
"Is that all you have?"
"Yes?"
"You don't have a bed or bedding or towels or anything?"
"Oh. I never had to provide any of these before. Hideouts always came fully equipped."
"Ok. Let's go to Ikea."
"What is that place?"
"You'll see."
They made it through the show rooms with minimal argument. Mostly a few comments from Yelena about how that dog of hers would ruin that, to which Kate took offense. Lucky was a good dog, he would never cause damage to their apartment.
Yelena looked at all the beds for an excruciatingly long time before she found the one she wanted. She first considered a daybed, but Kate convinced her she'd be more comfortable in something bigger. In the end, Yelena picked a black bed with lots of storage, because she needed her weapons close. And Kate didn't say anything to that, it seemed something Yelena would need to work on in the therapy Kate hoped to eventually convince her to go to.
Then Yelena picked a black dresser to go with the bed. She chose a white and grey floral bedding. Along with basic white towels. After that, they shopped for decor pieces, but Yelena didn't see the point of any of it. Why would she have stuff with no use? Kate convinced her to at least get a few frames for pictures of friends and family, like Natasha. And a black and white print so the wall wouldn't feel so empty.
They spent the rest of the afternoon putting the furniture together and decorating the room. Kate suggested they paint the walls, but Yelena liked them white. Kate thought it felt a little cold all black and white and grey, but it was the aesthetic Yelena had chosen and she was allowed to make the space her own, according to her own tastes. Kate had left the store with a coloured lightbulb. She could now pick the ambiance of her room and she made it purple, her favourite.
For now, the common area was unchanged, but as they lived together, maybe Yelena's tastes would bleed into the space.