1/28 Instance: Processing Failed

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: before First Date


Rachel: Despite having invited Rogue out to lunch, Rachel had been relatively quiet and was distractedly pushing the food around her plate with her fork. She bit down on her lip, looked over to her friend, opened her mouth, and promptly closed it, returning her gaze to her plate. After a few moments, she repeated the process.

Rogue: Rogue laughed a little and took another bite of her food. "Do Ah need ta give ya tha heimlich maneuver ta make ya spit out tha words ya chokin' on?" She tossed a grape at her friend's face.

Rachel: She blinked at the grape rebounding off her face and watched it roll along the table until it came to a stop. Then, she blinked up at Rogue and slowly shook her head, managing a slight grin, "No. Well, I don't think so as long as you promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone?"

Rogue: "Oooh, Ah do love a good secret!" She leaned forward in her seat and sipped from her straw, eyes intent on Rachel's face. "Spill it!"

Rachel: Rachel laughed, setting her fork aside as she leaned back in her seat, "You can't freak out either."

Rogue: "...What kind o' secret is this? Are ya pregnant with Nur's baby an' didn't tell anybody f'r fear o' it bein' an abomination?"

Rachel: There was a long moment where she simply stared at Rogue, mouth agape. "...I cannot even begin to tell you how horrifying that is, and I don't even want to know how your mind conjured that one up." In answer to the question, she added with a smirk, "Also, it's the same kind as all other secrets - the kind nobody knows about."

Rogue: "What c'n Ah say? Ah'm just disgustin' like that sometimes." She gave Rachel a questioning smirk, "Ah do like those... But will Ah like this secret since y'all're so nervous 'bout tellin' me? Only reason y'all've ever been nervous is 'cause ya afraid Ah'll hit ya."

Rachel: Reaching for her drink, Rachel looked up to her, gave a shrug, and answered honestly, "I don't know, but I hope you don't hit me..." she paused for a sip, "My face is the only thing I have going for me lately."

Rachel: She set the cup back down and pushed a hand through her hair, putting on a serious expression, "I'm not an awful person for possibly having a crush on someone this soon after my husband died, am I?"

Rogue: Rogue's eyes went wide in surprise and she leaned back in her seat, soaking that in. A crush. Wow. After a moment, she shrugged, "No. Ah wouldn't think so. Ah mean, sometimes, that's how people cope, ya know? Killin' people, then crushin' on other people."

Rachel: The serious expression didn't last long because she wasn't able to contain her snickering. "...I suppose laughing at that does make me an awful person though."

Rogue: Rogue smirked, "Nah." She leaned forward again, grin getting broad on her face. "So who is it?!"

Rachel: "Okay, so... This is the part where you don't freak out..." Rachel warned as she leaned back in her seat, pushing a hand through her hair. She took a deep breath, "It's... Paige... and I sort of asked her on a date..."

Rogue: Lots of thoughts were running through her head on who the person would be, but not that one. She stared at Rachel, confused for a moment, not sure she had heard right. After a long moment of just staring at her best friend she fell back in her seat, slumping against it. She had no clue what to say to that. I mean, she liked Paige fine. So that wasn't an issue... But...her best friend wasn't supposed to like girls. She married a boy!

Rachel: Rachel squirmed uncomfortably in her seat and reached for her glass, taking another sip. A long sip because Rogue still wasn't saying anything. Setting the glass back on the table, she worried her lip and eventually broke the silence, "I'm considering this as going well because you haven't hit me yet... Though, I don't know what to make of that look..."

Rogue: Rogue opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, so she closed it again. She stared at Rachel for another long moment, then opened her mouth again. "Is this a prank?"

Rachel: Rachel shook her head, "I actually have a date with her... Except now I wish I'd thought to use something like this as a prank..."

Rogue: Okay. Not a prank. Rogue tried to let it soak in. Rachel. Liked. Girls. Nope. Not making any sense. "This... Ah.. Bu... Mmm." Rogue frowned and took a breath to try again, "Y'all don't like girls."

Rachel: "Well, I haven't exactly... looked at any other girls..." she trailed off with a shrug.

Rogue: Now Rogue was really confused. "But... Ya like Paige... So..." She paused. That had felt weird to say out loud. She shook it off and started up again, "So ya had ta look at her. Right?"

Rachel: "I... Well, yeah... A bit..." A lot. Rachel reached for her drink again, wishing there was more than just coke in the glass, "I mean, it's not like I'm completely off guys..."

Rogue: "Well that's... good?" Rogue frowned, "How? Why? When?"

Rachel: "Since, like... Christmas? Or, well, after we got back from Fiji..." she answered, actually bothering with taking a sip from her drink, "I don't really know how it happened, but she's really awesome... except all the pink, but I can deal with that..."

Rogue: And that was another thing. They were complete opposites!

Rogue: Rogue sat for a bit longer then finally picked up a fry and munched on it thoughtfully. "Fiji made you like pink-loving women."

Rachel: This one had an easy reply. "Then, it's your fault because you took me to Fiji."

Rogue: Rogue frowned. "Fiji was fun though..."

Rachel: "It was a lot of fun," she nodded, not sure if she should be worried about how calm Rogue was. While she'd said not to freak out, she hadn't really thought that'd stop her from freaking out.

Rogue: And that statement made Rogue's mind go all sorts of places she never wanted it to go. Ew... Ew ew ew. "Why?"

Rachel: Rachel blinked, "Why what?"

Rogue: "Why girls?" She wrinkled her nose. "Isn't that.... Gross?"

Rachel: She stared for a few moments, trying to determine whether it meant what she thought it meant. She decided it did and shrugged, "I guess I'll find out?"

Rogue: Ew! Ew ew ew ew ew! Rogue felt the urge to flail, but promised she wouldn't freak, so kept it from happening by sitting on her hands. "Ya haven't... Knocked boots yet?"

Rachel: "No!" Rachel shook her head, also trying to resist the urge to flail, "I don't even... I, just... No!"

Rogue: Rogue blinked at her, "So... You don't like her."

Rogue: Now she was even more confused!

Rachel: Rachel was reaching the point of confusion as well and reached up to scrub at her face, speaking into her hands, "No, I do... I just haven't done that with her..."

Rogue: "...You seem... grossed out by it."

Rachel: "The idea kinda freaks me out since I've, y'know... never done it..." she admitted, blowing out a breath. "...With a girl, that is."

Rogue: "...Does she want to?" Ew.

Rachel: "It's Paige. Probably not even occurred to her," Rachel shrugged.

Rogue: "So..." She frowned, confused still. "...How?"

Rachel: Ugh. She hadn't even really thought about this aspect of it. "I'll let you know when it happens."

Rogue: Rogue blinked at her. No. No, no, no. "No, no, no. Ah really would prefer not ta be let in on that part o' ya life, Firefly."

Rachel: Finally, they had an understanding. "Good because I really don't want to discuss it with you."

Rogue: "Ah ain't important," she made a puppy-eyed face at her.

Rachel: "Well, you are important. If you weren't, I wouldn't be telling you I have a date with her," Rachel reasoned, "I just don't want to discuss my lack of a sex life with you... or share details when I do have one. I mean, I didn't share anything about Josh either."

Rogue: "But ya could've. Ah'd have been okay with that. Ah shared some stuff 'bout mine with Sam... But only tha important bits."

Rachel: Rachel raised an eyebrow, "But you're not okay with anything involving Paige? Even if it's important?"

Rogue: "That's just... It's gro... Not mah thing?"

Rachel: "That's fine because I didn't plan on sharing either way," she managed a slight grin. She almost preferred Bobby's freak out to the talk.

Rogue: Rogue frowned at Rachel's grin. She was amused by this? Arg. "Why girls then?"

Rachel: Rachel was torn between being amused, wanting to die on the spot, and slight irritation. "It's not really girls. It's just Paige because... Well, you don't really want to hear me gush about her, do you?"

Rogue: "Maybe Ah'd understand better if ya did?"

Rachel: Damn. She'd been hoping to get out of it. Rachel glanced down to her dish, taking up her fork to shove her salad around her plate a bit more as she started, "She's nice, caring, understanding, fun, smart, her cheeriness is infectious, she doesn't hate me for being a terrorist... I can just stop there, right?"

Rogue: Rogue frowned and tilted her head in confusion. Nope. Still didn't understand. "If that's all ya got, yeah?"

Rachel: "I'll spare you," she shook her head, letting out a sigh, "You about ready to go?"

Rogue: "Yeah, we can go." She reached over and put her hand on Rachel's wrist and looked her in the eye, "Ah support ya... Ah'm just... It's weird..."

Rachel: Rachel met her gaze and nodded, "I know. It takes some time to process."

Rogue: Rogue gave a humorless laugh, "Yeah, no kiddin'."

Rachel: "Well, I'll go pay," she managed a small smile, "Least I can do since I broke you."

Rogue: "That is a great way ta put it, Rae... Thanks."