Deepen their relationship? Well, she wasn't entirely wrong with that comment although Alice reckon it probably wasn't exactly in a way the woman imagined, given they were just friends. But she was supportive and actually seemed pretty nice which was a bit of a difference to their previous experience. It's not like the other realtors had been bad but, well they hadn't really talked like people. Kept really professional and all but it was like talking to someone not entirely interested. This woman seemed genuinely excited to show people around.

Maybe the place wouldn't be too bad.

"Well, I did get the hint eventually," giving her friend a quick smile, "even if it took a while." The game was easier this time, not that Alice was much of an actor anyway but being a version of herself was a lot more comfortable. That and Mari took the lead, which made it so much easier for her.

Well, a two bed might actually be a good idea, wouldn't that actually be cheaper in the long run if she had a roommate? From the few places she'd looked at she'd gather it generally worked out easier to share rent and bills, at least a little. And Mari seemed interested, which was the main thing.

Alice, well Alice hadn't been expecting something as nice. It wasn't huge sure but it was like one hundred times better than some of the places they had seen. For one there were no cockroaches in sight and the walls didn't have a single sign of mould. In fact they didn't have much on them at all, being stripped back to red brick. Which, well was kind of cool actually.

"Holy crap," she shouted, rushing over the kitchen after Marisol. It was kind of great. Small, but comfortably so. Kind of like having everything in easy reach and there was definitely enough storage for two peoples worth of tools and equipment. Christ even the island counter top was proper wood. Nothing fancy but it was really well made. Running a hand over it, she gave her friend a serious look. "I will cook for you everyday here if you let me."

"Ok, there has to be a catch," Alice proclaimed looking over to the woman showing them in. "Bad neighbours, haunted drains, former murder house? There is no way this place hasn't been snatched up already." It looked pretty damn good for what Mari was wanting and if the only issue was she needed a roomie it was a good deal.

The woman gave a warm smile at their obvious excitement, and shook her head to the questions. "Nothing like that at all dear. Most people here are married couples and older folks, if it is haunted they are remarkable quiet, pleasant ghosts and I honestly doubt there's even been a disturbance report about this place."

Maybe it was the sum of her past experiences apartment hunting, but this place blew away Marisol’s expectations.The hardwood floors were clean and deep brown, which went well with the red brick walls that gave the apartment a classic, cozy feel. She could imagine a modestly furnished living area, where she could still move furniture out from the center for space to practice steps. Just as important, she saw herself bringing a plate of food freshly made by Alice into the living room to enjoy on a couch.

In fact, it was surprising how naturally Alice fit in the space in her head. When Alice made the comment of cooking here everyday, it sounded logical. Not as fake fiances, but instead as the real Marisol and Alice. The dancer wanted that.

As the realist, Alice asked about the catch. Marisol had wondered if there was something secretly wrong, but did not want to tarnish the luster. To her surprise, the woman claimed nothing was wrong. It was just a nice apartment with cozy tenants.

”This place is perfect,” she mused aloud. Was it a dream apartment? Not quite, but for something so tantalizingly close to her budget, it was more than she could ask. ”The price is a little outside of what I was looking for, but… hmm. I mean, maybe I can find myself a roommate?” Not that she looked forward to the hunt for someone she could tolerate living with.

The tour guide smiled, tilting her head in confusion. “Well, why doesn’t your fiancée move in with you? Or wait, are you two not quite there yet? Sorry if I assumed.”

Oh right. This woman was being unbelievably nice to them. Maybe it was about time they came clean in their relationship status. After all, since Alice was not engaged to Marisol, the reason for her to move in was…

Actually, what was the reason for Alice not to move in again? She was planning on finding a place of her own in a few months, but… why? Wordlessly, Marisol looked to Alice, wondering how she might respond because honestly? It sounded like the best idea she had heard all day.

Alice found it hard to disagree. The place was as close to perfect as she could imagine. It had that kitchen, the main room was a decent size and it seemed like the rooms were an OK size. Definitely bigger than hers at the mansion and while it was a little smaller than she'd be looking at herself it was a very respectable size. For anyone.

OK so some of the ideas Alice got from time to time wren't the distracting kind and more the useful ones.

Which is why she already had half the calculations done in her head when the woman obviously asked why she didn't move in herself. It made sense, from the outside at least. They were fiances in this instances and her moving in would be a really good idea. It'd work out a fair bit cheaper overall, she'd obliviously enjoyed being shown around and as far as the lady showing them about knew they had already taken one big step, why not live together after all.

Only Alice couldn't actually think why them living together would be a bad idea. She needed to look for one anyway and it was in her budget, it kind of meant she could be lazy and not need to look for one in a couple of weeks while getting a damn nice apartment. With someone she knew she gelled with. "Not at all, it's actually a pretty good idea. I'd need to make a couple of calls to hash it out but I think with the numbers I've got in my head it should work." If Marisol wanted to actually live with her, that is. "I mean, if you're alright with that Mari?"

She really hoped she would be. There wasn't really a down side to them getting the place.

And Alice had plans, mostly of the cooking variety and how she could expand her set up once she got a PC up and running but some of them included decorating and furniture. Of course the most important part was lurking as well. She'd have a place to herself. That she could bring girls back to. If she ever got lucky. Which was unlikely but still a nerd can dream.

Marisol never thought about asking Alice to move in with her because… well, she assumed if she was not living with her girlfriend, she should not drag a friend into a living situation. She did not think a friend should have to deal with her like that. She also worried about getting frustrated with a friend as a roommate. Maybe they would be smothering or high-maintenance?

But Alice gave her no reason to think that. She was the model of independence and Marisol was sure she would spend plenty of time doing her own thing. More importantly, it did sound nice having a friendly face to come home to rather than a stranger. Plus that friendly face wanted to cook for her? That was hard to say no to, honestly.

Marisol waited for Alice to politely shoot the idea down, but her stomach fluttered when Alice actually supported the idea. Lighting up, Marisol nodded eagerly. ”Definitely! I mean yeah. Um, yes please.” She needed to tone down the eager, even if it fell in line with their personas as an engaged couple. ”Move in with me?”

The landlady beamed at the scene she got to watch unfold. After the emotional journey she was taken on, Marisol was unsure of how she could tell her they were not engaged. Maybe they could hold off for a while. Or say the engagement broke off months down the line. That happened, right? They would figure it out. For now, Marisol was just thrilled by the new, exciting idea of living with Alice.

So, Alice had a roommate apparently. Was it normally that easy? And did it usually happen while pretending to be fiances in front of a stranger who looked about ready to burst with excitement when the situation had unfolded in front of them. In fairness, Alice was also pretty excited. She'd never actually lived with someone her own age before, not really, so it was going to be pretty cool to be able to hang out with someone without even leaving your own place.

And it was Mari, so they clearly worked well together in terms of friendshipy stuff. True, Alice would probably have to keep her room a bit nicer than she normally did but that wasn't much extra work when she had the prospect of her own kitchen to play around with. Their kitchen technically but she got the feeling she would be using it the most with her unique power situation.

"Of course I will dear," she said smiling down at her friend. Only some of it was even an act, "we'll need to run through budgets and all that stuff but I'm sure we have a little bit of time." Turning to woman who found them a perfect place, "do we need to sign anything or put down any money now or?" Frankly, Alice had no clue how it worked. At all. Christ she didn't think most people in her family knew how renting a place worked.

"No, at least not now. You're both clearly wanting to take the place and I can get the documents put together and sent across to you to look over and sign, if that's OK with you two?" The woman looked like she was ready to hug someone if anymore 'excitement' happened so Alice made an executive choice to get out of arms reach as soon as possible."

Stepping away with phone in hand, "Give me a couple of minutes and I should be able to confirm everything is OK." The phone call itself didn't take long, msotly it was incredulity from her mum that she a) had found a place and was ready to get the paper sorted as early as she had and b) was actually wanting to move in a friend. That part got repeated a few times and the extra emphasis on friend was almost getting insulting after a while. Did her Mother think she was totally socially inept or something? On the upside, she got the go ahead and even managed to nab a little benefit for them both in the process.

Having wealthy family was worth it some times.

"Well, that's settled then I guess," she remarked as she rejoined the two of them, "I can sign whenever we have the contracts to read. Even scored a little bit extra I can tell you about later Mari."

No amount of cautious realism was going to get in the way of the warm fuzzy feeling Marisol knowing she was going to be living with one of her best friends. she only had so many these days, and she had not been the best friend during the rush she put herself through in the last few months.

Hopefully, they could work out as roommates and it would help them strengthen that friendship. It was comfortable knowing Alice was really on board for this, which became clear when she started taking the reins on plans to sign the lease and move in. Marisol stood back and watched in appreciation as that clever, methodical mind worked.

While Alice made calls, Marisol explored the space, picturing lazy mornings with Alice’s easy company. She might get to finally meet Alice's sister, and Marisol would invite her aunt and uncle, as well as her little cousin Chase to check out the place when things were settled in.

Maybe this really could be a new chapter. before she could wonder if this was really happening, Alice returned triumphant. They could sign the lease, and there was more good news to follow. Here's hoping that was the beginning of a trend. She could use it. ”Well then, darling,” she beamed, snagging Alice’s waist and pulling her into a hug, ”I guess this is actually happening. I, for one, can’t wait.” And in character, and maybe just in the moment, she kissed Alice’s cheek.

A celebratory kiss, of course.