Written for the kink meme awhile back, now reposed from Archive of Our Own where it exists under the name "partingxshot" with more complete formatting for John's texts and stuff. Innocent fluff, nothing more and nothing less. Welp, guess I failed Ladies' Night.

Apologies for any mistakes about the setting; I have only Google as my guide.

"Your house is really pretty, Rose!"

Jade sits cross-legged, bare toes waggling. Her hair has grown even longer since the game, and she feels the tug as it rubs and frizzes up against the fabric of the sofa behind her. She can't seem to stop smiling.

"That's a surprising reaction." Rose stands in the doorway, holding two cups of iced tea and three packets of Splenda. Each glass has a tiny umbrella cheerily suspended over the rim, one yellow and one pink. "My mother designed it to be utilitarian above all else; I've always felt pressed by a sense of sterilization as I stole from my room under the cloak of midnight to alleviate a hunger undampened by one hundred Chinese take-out boxes and microwave personal pizzas."

Jade giggles and runs her fingers in helix patterns along the carpet. "She cooked for you more than that."

"You cut right through me," she says wryly, setting the glasses on the coffee table. She moves more slowly than Jade remembers, taking time to center them in the middle of each coaster and wipe the condensation from each rim. When Jade last saw her in real life they had been under a bit more pressure. It's interesting, watching each of her friends be more or less at peace. Dave is back to creating music. If the beats are slightly more urgent than before, darker, he doesn't seem to care. Rose is obviously doing alright, though she doesn't leave the house as much as Jade thinks she should. And John–

John is pestering her on her phone.

"I dunno, I like it! It's so…big and open, and clean," she says, reaching into the pocket of her green shorts to silence the buzzing.

"Hmm." Rose doesn't sit down, hovering almost awkwardly by her side. Jade cranes her neck up to try and see her face, but it doesn't work so well and she ends up leaning her head back on the sofa like the world's stiffest pillow. She is honestly kind of surprised there's no plastic covering the cushions.

"Soooo…what are we gonna do today?" she asks.

Rose shrugs. "I offer you the splendors of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve and little more."

Jade rolls her eyes as hard as she possibly can. "Jeeeez, Rose, be a little less excited, will you?" Then she smiles even harder, just to show she's not serious. You have to be careful with Rose; she can miss things like that if you don't hit her over the head with what you're feeling until she can't help but believe you. "Let's go out and do something in the city!"

"The city?" Rose says. She finally lowers herself to sit on the sofa, and Jade finds it quite natural to rest her head against her knee. "Please tell me you're not referring to the metropolis with which this state shares its name. I thought we had surpassed that little misunderstanding."

Jade gives a gigantic sigh. "No, silly, the city around here! You've talked about getting groceries and stuff, there has to be a city." She snuggles a bit closer to Rose's stockinged leg. She's wearing a skirt Jade hasn't seen before in their various webcam dates, and she wonders if Rose bought it new for the occasion. The thought makes her even happier.

"I suppose I shouldn't expect you to perceive the distinction perfectly, with your limited experience," Rose says. Her hand rests on her own knee, moving in flinches towards Jade's head. "But you might be substantially disappointed in the difference between a 'city' and a 'town.'"

Jade looks up towards Rose's face at around the same time Rose's hand makes it to where the top of Jade's head used to be. Instead it comes to rest briefly over her eyes before shuffling awkwardly up onto her forehead, mussing her bangs.

"Whatever it is I'm sure I'll love it," Jade says with satisfaction. She just sits and smiles for a moment, reveling, then ever-so-slightly leans into the warmth of Rose's palm. They are still for a moment before Rose quickly draws her hand back, but not before Jade can make out the slight nervous tremble in her fingers.

"Well, if you insist," she continues, cool and composed. "Just think, your first exposure to a normal human lifestyle, and I'll be there to witness it." She picks up a glass of iced tea and hands it over with all of the Splenda packets.

"Is there alcohol in here?" Jade asks.

"Yours?" Rose replies. She lowers her head closer, and Jade holds the glass up for Rose to sip. She does, slowly (everything slowly), and draws back with a smirk. "Of course not."

Jade just keeps smiling until her cheeks hurt.

x

EB: oh man are you there yet?

EB: did you start your lady date?

EB: woah, what if you guys are kissing or something haha

EB: uhhh if that's happening then pretend i'm not here and that this isn't awkward at all in any way ever.

EB: and that you can't feel me keeping a WATCHFUL EYE on your shenanigans, like the awesome big bro i am!

EB: (hehehehe)

x

Rose describes downtown Potsdam as "charming" with a slight derogatory twist to the word. Jade thinks it's entirely fantastic. The oldest buildings are red brick and many-windowed, looking out over lines of plump green trees onto neat paved roads and the lazy weekend activities of their inhabitants. Jade has never seen so many people in one place in her entire life.

Rose can barely keep up with her as she bounces from one adorable storefront to the next, greeting everyone she passes and even shaking the hand of one serious-looking businessman three times her size. She only stops to think when she feels Rose's restraining hand on her shoulder, and remembers that she's not positive on the appropriate way to act with strangers and should probably slow down and watch for a bit. She smiles sheepishly and darts into a bookshop, Rose trailing amusedly behind her.

They go on like this for some time, zig-zagging across the street on spontaneous detours and stopping to pet every dog out on a walk. For the most part people seem friendly, though she gets a few stares; she knows she's being overwhelming but it feels like she's finally a part of the world at large and she really can't help it.

At one particular high point, when she can barely keep herself from skipping, she grabs Rose's hand and swings it back and forth between them. Rose gives her a startled look that quickly smoothes over into her normal placidity and Jade wonders again if she's doing this right. Holding hands is something people do on the first date, isn't it?

Rose doesn't complain. When Jade gives a tentative squeeze she gets one in return.

x

EB: you should buy her a present!

EB: like uh, flowers or something.

EB: or maybe a boombox, after you have stood outside her house with the boombox.

GG: uh oh…

GG: but she already bought me one!

EB: a boombox?

GG: noooo, a present! :P

x

They stop at the farmer's market, a small display of tables and tents laid out with produce that Jade secretly thinks looks kind of dull compared to the fruit on her island. This doesn't stop her from clapping her hands together – earning her a strange look from the vendor – when Rose reaches into her purse to buy them a bright green apple each.

The texture is firm but juicy. Jade knows a thing or two about ripeness, and she has to admit that New York is pretty good at apples. She savors the tart taste, sucking each lingering bit of flavor off her teeth as they leave the downtown area behind. When she looks up, Rose is smiling at her, edges softer than usual apart from the line of steady smugness straight down the middle. She feels a flush blossoming over her own cheeks.

"It's with a unique mixture of pride and second-hand embarrassment that I see you dumped unceremoniously into real life." She has barely nibbled at her own apple, leaving dainty bite marks here and there in the vague shape of Lalonde teeth.

"Wow, rude," Jade says conversationally as she crunches down, talking around the chunks. "It's just really exciting, you know?"

"You sound like another acquaintance of ours," Rose says, twirling her apple by its stem.

x

GG: well it was just an apple

GG: but its a really good one! :D

EB: well

EB: that's probably okay too!

x

They stop at Lawrence Ave Elementary, ignoring the "no trespassers" sign to plop down on the wooden swing set.

"This is where I went to school in my formative years," Rose says, tossing her apple core towards the playscape.

"Was it nice?"

"Impartially, yes," she says. If Jade didn't know any better she would think Rose had rolled her eyes.

Jade scoots her swing over, toeing along the woodchips, until they're close enough to bump hips. Then she leans around the swings' chains to kiss her quickly and matter-of-factly on the mouth.

Rose blinks for a moment, lips suspended in a small sort of "o" shape that Jade promptly darts back in to peck again. She's pretty positive that this is something you're allowed to do on a date, after all, and she's wanted to do it for a very long time.

Finally Rose closes her mouth, wetting her lips with her tongue. Then she begins to laugh: actual, unfettered laughter that has nothing to do with dark humor or desperation. "How did we possibly think," she manages, "that taking you off of that ridiculous island would be safe for the world at large?"

Jade giggles a bit and notches her foot around Rose's leg, breaking contact with the ground and letting gravity pull her back towards the center. Rose wraps her other leg underneath, securing the two of them together until they are hanging slanted, meeting in the middle.

x

EB: and this is the really important part!

EB: right before your date ends, give her a really smooth kiss!

EB: actually you should probably fall asleep in each others' arms or something like that haha.

EB: while watching a really excellent romantic movie, like maybe city of angels or i guess one of your animes if you really want.

EB: either way, just let her know that she is really special.

EB: or i know, you could serenade her!

EB: oh man let me just get a list of songs i'll be right back

x

"Jade."

"Hmm?" She kicks at the woodchips contentedly.

"Switch off your phone. I can hear John's retroactive fraternal instincts buzzing their way into my shame centers." Rose readjusts her grip around their swing chains, holding them together.

"Okay! But we have to stop for ice cream on the way home."

"You are killing me slowly but exquisitely."

"Only for you, sugarbuns!"

Rose stares at her in abject horror.