6/20 Instance: Cold Start

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: day after Captain Hardcore



Rachel: Rachel hadn't even known what time it was when they'd dragged themselves back inside, but it had been dark. The next time she was waking up, she was sharply sucking in a breath and felt clammy, the sunlight coming in from the window blinding her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she reached for the covers she'd kicked off herself and rolled onto her side, scooting toward the other side of the bed, slightly surprised to find Paige still there.

Rachel: She curled against her back, pressing a kiss between her shoulder blades before resting her cheek there. This was one of the best times, as she was still too sleepy to really think about things, so she simply enjoyed the closeness without question.

Rachel: Just as she began to drift back off, one of their phones went off, causing her to muttering some choices words against Paige's back. When it finally registered as hers, she reluctantly got up to find where she'd dumped the damn device, cursing the entire time.

Paige: Paige awoke to the sound of the phone, mumbling a bit. She opened her eyes as she felt Rachel get up, cringing at the cussing. She was never a morning person, but sheesh.

Rachel: Finally pulling the offending thing from the pocket of the pirate coat, she glared at the screen and tapped reject a few times more times than necessary. Who the hell called at...? Oh. At lunchtime. Huffing, Rachel tossed it to the couch and slunk back to bed, collapsing into it. Then, she realized she was awake, and there was no going back to sleep.

Paige: "Everything alright?" Paige questioned, wrapping an arm around Rachel's waist and snuggling into her. She placed a kiss on Rachel's shoulder, closing her eyes again.

Rachel: "Wonderful," Rachel grumbled, heaving a sigh. If wonderful meant no, anyway. While nightmares weren't an uncommon occurrence, that didn't make them enjoyable, and they were even more unpleasant when she had to rush out of bed to deny a call from her mother, who she still felt extremely guilty talking to, whether Paige resented her for it or not.

Paige: Paige winced at her tone, opening her eyes again. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

Rachel: She didn't want to get into this again and hoped to pass it off as her usual morning crankiness, not particularly caring if that made her a hypocrite with all her 'talking about things crap' right now, "I'm awake."

Paige: "Weeellll, let's fix that," Paige suggested, snuggling more into her.

Rachel: "I'm not even tired," Rachel shook her head. "I should just get up, I guess."

Paige: "We could have some breakfast in bed... I can go make something real fast."

Rachel: "Sure," she agreed, if only for the space, and rolled to pull her face from the pillow, bringing her hands up to rub at her eyes. "I'm going to take a shower while you do that."

Paige: "Alright!" Paige got her pink fuzzy robe and slippers on, heading for the door. "Anything specific you want?"

Rachel: Rachel shook her head as she rolled out of bed for the second time, answering as she headed for the bathroom, "Nope, up to you." Mostly because she wasn't particularly hungry. Breakfast was just the most unpleasant meal ever. Well, it was when you first got up. Breakfast for dinner was fantastic, however.

Paige: Paige bounced on down the stairs to make their breakfast, in a wonderfully happy mood for the moment despite Rachel's moodiness. Well, she had just woken up.

Rachel: While Paige was preoccupied with preparing breakfast, Rachel quickly showered and dressed, simply throwing her hair up with a tie because she couldn't be assed to straighten it. Then, she went to grab her phone and automatically redialed the missed call, hoping this would be short because she didn't have a huge window of time, nor did she really want an entire awkward conversation after having dragged herself from bed.

Paige: Paige made some toast, eggs, and bacon. "Mmm, Rachie is going to love this!" She took her time, making sure the tray was set beautifully. She even put a fresh flower on the tray before she headed up the stairs.

Rachel: Instead of pacing, as she was prone to do while on the phone, Rachel collapsed into the cushions of the couch, her brow furrowed as she listened to the voice on the other end.

Paige: Paige had to set the tray down on the floor so she could open the door. Once open, she brought the tray inside and set it down on the coffee table in order to close the door. She smiled over at Rachel, smile falling a bit at Rachel, watching her a bit. She pushed her concerns aside and moved to the bed with the tray.

Rachel: She bit down on her lip as she considered what had been said, briefly glancing up when Paige came in with a slight smile, snagging a piece of bacon from the plate after it was set on the coffee table despite her lack of hunger. Because it was bacon. Then, she decided the best choice was to cut the call short, as she didn't want to have this conversation with Paige in the room.

Rachel: "Breakfast... Well, technically, lunch is ready, so I'll call you back later," she said just before ending the call, locking the phone and tossing it back to the couch as she stood, munching on the piece of bacon.

Paige: Paige smiled better when she saw Rachel smile, patting the bed beside her happily. "I made loooots of bacon for us."

Rachel: "I see," Rachel commented as she finished off the piece she had ahold of, carefully sitting down next to her, muttering, "I'm sorry I woke you up."

Paige: "But now I get to have breakfast in bed with you... this is like, amazing and wonderful!" Paige kissed Rachel's cheek softly.

Rachel: "You could have breakfast in bed with me all the time," she pointed out with a slight roll of her eyes, deciding to try the toast next.

Paige: "Well... not really... you are usually asleep when I get up for class." Paige took a happy bite out of her bacon. Mmmm delicious. She reached for her coffee next, savoring her sip.

Rachel: That was true enough. She usually was because she liked to wait until the last possible moment to get up and get ready. "Well, you could wake me up..."

Paige: Paige laughed at her for that one. "I'll try that tomorrow," Paige grinned at her. "And I'll make sure to wear a full body protection suit when I do!"

Rachel: Rachel snorted, shaking her head, "I'm not that bad."

Paige: "Iiiiiiiiiii believe I've met you in the morning, my sweet one," Paige kissed the tip of her nose.

Rachel: "Are you sure?" she asked, setting the toast back down after taking a bite from the corner, "Maybe you just aren't doing it right."

Paige: "Well, there's ooooone way that I can get you up," Paige teased, kissing her cheek. "But only one."

Rachel: Rachel decided to take more of an interest in that than breakfast because she still lacked an appetite, looking over to her with a raised eyebrow, "Oh, really?"

Paige: Paige smiled at her and tucked a bit of red hair behind Rachel's ear. "Yes. And it's ok that you don't like mornings. I like them enough for the both of us."

Rachel: "You like them enough for the entire world," she grumbled as she slouched against the pillows, shooting a look to the clock. At least she hadn't overslept for the class she had to teach because work would provide a small distraction, but she didn't really want to get out of bed either.

Paige: "I totally do!" Paige laughed and slouched back with her, resting her head against Rachel's shoulder. She took Rachel's hand in her own, lacing their fingers together. "We have to get ready soon."

Rachel: Rachel stared down at their linked hands for a while, idly running her thumb across Paige's knuckles. Before all this, breakfast in bed would've been far more enjoyable. Not that it wasn't enjoyable now... Sighing, she breathed out, "Yeah..." Then, she added more lightly, "Well, you do. I'm already dressed."

Paige: "And you look beautiful," Paige kissed her cheek. She sat up just a bit, using her free hand to eat another strip of bacon. "I remember when Mom wouldn't let me eat bacon. She was afraid I'd put on too much weight."

Rachel: Rachel had reached for her cup of coffee and taken a sip, promptly choking at Paige mentioning her family. That was the first time it'd really been brought up. Wheezing a little, she set the mug aside and swore off food or drink for the rest of the day.

Paige: Paige winced a bit at the cough, glancing over at Rachel. "Are you alright? Do you need some water?"

Rachel: "Fine," Rachel insisted, "It was just..." Too hot or too cold? Which was more believable? Well, it'd been sitting there for a while... "A bit cold. Wasn't expecting it." Lukewarm would be more accurate, but catching her off-guard had been completely honest. She hadn't expected any mention of Paige's parents, and it immediately made her feel like shit.

Paige: "Oh, I'm sorry! Do you want a fresh cup? I can go get you one really quickly."

Rachel: Yes, because she wasn't sure functioning without caffeine was possible. "No, it's fine. You need to finish breakfast and get ready... I can handle getting my own coffee..."

Paige: "Well, I do... but I can get you a fresh cup of coffee too if you want to. Maybe we should get one for the room.... Now there's an idea!"

Rachel: "Don't worry about it," Rachel replied, releasing her hand to get up to find shoes. As an afterthought, she added, "Yeah, that's not a bad idea."

Paige: "Should we go pick one up after work today?" Paige finished her bacon, sliding out of bed on the other side.

Rachel: "Sure..." she answered as she slipped on the first pair of sneakers she came across, "Provided there's no crazy X-men business or any other craziness."

Paige: "Sounds fun! We can go by the Godiva store too. Mmmmmm, now I can't wait for school to be over!" Paige bounced to the bathroom, looking for a clean towel.

Rachel: Rachel simply nodded, her gaze drifting to the doorway of the bathroom as she retrieved her phone from the couch, fairly displeased that it'd wedged itself between two cushions. Part of her simply couldn't wait for this day to be over. Tucking the device in her pocket once it was freed, she crossed the distance to the bathroom, leaning against the door-frame, "Well, I'm going to go, so I'll see you then?"

Paige: Pausing in her search, Paige wrapped her arms around Rachel and kissed her softly. "I love you... have a good day, ok?"

Rachel: Relaxing slightly in the kiss, Rachel brought a hand up to cup Paige's cheek and lingered in the kiss for a few moments, eventually mumbling, "In the clean laundry, and yeah, you too."