Nic knew that. And he knew he'd need to find something better than push ups. But to make it easier on the both of them, he tried to explain a little, "... You can't surprise me like that if... you don't want that to happen. I need... to be focused, but right now I'm thinking too much about this." He gestured to the computer. "I want it to be special too, but that won't happen while..." He paused, something starting to dawn on him. While what? This was just the first step of stress for him. There was still so much to do...

Laurel nodded slowly after he'd paused, "I understand." she said quietly, "We're both on the run so we can't afford to get distracted. I wasn't thinking." she decided with a sigh, "Sorry, I won't do it again. Perhaps..." she paused for a moment before holding out her hand, "we should just shake hands for now?" she offered seriously though there was tease in her eyes and her mouth twitched upwards slightly.

Nic didn't seem to like that idea.

Laurel giggled slightly before simply grinning at Nic, "No? Then what? Do I need to always ask your permission before I kiss you?" the tease was out in full now.

Nic frowned, trying to remain serious about the conversation. "... Maybe," he replied. "Or give me a chance to say no."

Laurel sighed, letting the teasing drop as she nodded. "Fair enough." she replied with a small smile, "Is loving someone always this complicated?" she inquired after a pause.

Nic paused a moment before shaking his head.

Laurel paused again before shrugging, "I suppose it doesn't help when both parties are doing things illegal." she decided. Another pause, "Can... I touch your hair?" she asked a little awkwardly, frowning a little at how strange that sounded.

Nic didn't seem to think it was a strange request. But he thought about it for a moment before nodding a little and sitting down so his head was easier to reach.

Laurel smiled as she stepped forwards and gently ran her fingers through his hair, smoothing it back out from Nic's previous abuse. "There." she said quietly but continued to lightly touch his hair.

Nic seemed to be doing better. And like usual, he didn't say anything.

Laurel continued to play with Nic's hair before suddenly jerking her hands from it and taking a few steps back. She seemed to have had some thought... that or her slow, naive mind finally caught up... for within moments her entire neck, face and ears were covered in a deep blush.

Nic didn't turn around for a moment, giving Laurel a little time to recover before he looked at her, a little confused.

As soon as Nic turned around, the blush grew deeper and after a moment she proceeded to flee the room.

Nic quietly watched her flee. When she was gone, he let out a deep sigh. Yep, this was going to take awhile.

Laurel ran straight for Raven, once she found him she buried her still fiercely blushing face into his chest and hugged him tightly. Frei looked up from the tablet she had been reading and blinked at the two of them. She'd told Raven she wanted to check the archives.