Wendy was already proving herself to be a valuable asset. The young woman was a hard worker and kept a surprisingly open schedule. Maybe she was not a social butterfly, but Stephanie was not going to complain if it's been she had a reliable babysitter on hand.

This came in clutch now that Stephanie and Raine’s plan to go out dancing was finally coming to fruition. It certainly took time; both women knew how to stay busy, even if one of them did so through less legitimate means.

Still, they clearly both wanted a night like this and they kept pretty consistent contact since their first meeting. It was not difficult, considering Raine works at the place where Malia spent most of her days. Stephanie’s initial impressions had not let her down yet. Well, with the exception of worrying Raine might be uncomfortable around mutants; that was fortunately wrong. Otherwise, she was genuine and easy to feel comfortable around. It was just… nice.

A nice thing in a friend to be sure. And that was who Stephanie was waiting for sitting at the edge of a bar near the door of The Ivory Keys. The evening was just starting, so only one of the two large pianos showcased by the first floor was in use. One of the pianists for the night was getting into practice by taking requests, playing to the crowd.

Steph hummed along to the music, nursing a glass of wine. Her fake ID came through, which was good; she would have felt like the worst criminal ever if she got busted for a fakie at a piano bar-slash-night club. Steph arrived early, so now she was alternating between checking her phone and keeping the door in the corner of her eye. She was excited to see her friend and enjoy a night of partying and she was in no way nervous. Nope.

Raine was cutting it tight. Worse than tight. Actually late according to Ryde and Suuper and any cabbie worth his salt. But Raine had an ace up her sleeve in the form of non-street-bound navigation. She took off her shoes and held them both in one hand. The other hand was needed for her odd ball swinging version of flights and falls.

Recalculating route...

Ciri was proving to be less than useful when she took the quick way. Raine paused at the top of a building she thought was close enough and let her phone recalculate her location.

Your destination is on the left. She zoomed and turned the phone around until she actually believed the GPS.

Excellent. Raine stashed her domino mask and shimmied out of her catsuit leggings. The night air reminded her that it was, indeed, still winter and perhaps she should have put something on for real that she could keep on, but she was a chronic jacket forgetter and she’d be inside soon enough. The roof access door was mercifully unlocked and Raine took a moment to shoot a text off to Steph as she waited for the elevator.

Allllllmost there. 🙃

Four or more stories down, she had gotten her heels on and checked her makeup in the backside of the shiny metal doors. Eh. The smokey eye look was semi-intentional. She walked hips first and with as much je ne sais quoi as her catwalk classes had given her. It wasn’t like the crowds parted or that anyone in the whole entire city gave a damn that she was there. But it felt good to get out.

She’d brought heels as high as she dared, but still it was a bit hard to see her. Raine didn’t blame Steph one bit. She raised her hand above the crowd to get her friend’s attention.

"I hope you didn’t wait long!” Raine had texted Steph a few options laid flat on her hand-me-down bathroom rug, and Steph had helped make her ultimate club choice. Black, short, with peekaboo cutouts. If Raine had much up top, it would have been better filled out, but a push up bra could do wonders, and she appreciated this choice because the structure of the dress had straps. Straps were wonderful assets in avoiding dancing-induced wardrobe disasters.

The plan was casual, so Stephanie was not policing when Raine arrived. It was a night out between friends and Steph was confident she was not going to get ghosted by Raine of all people. Their meetup time was the kind of time you added an ish to at the end. She was not nervous; she was just keeping an ever-present eye on the time because of her excitement.

Leading up to tonight, the two young women had taken to trading text messages occasionally when either found time or had I thought to share. Stephanie was proactive and striking up conversation because she did not exactly have many people to talk to who were not clients or her one-year-old.

After helping Raine pick out a cute peekaboo dress for the night, Steph devoted extra time into scanning her wardrobe for options. Older Steph did her a favor by leaving a diverse closet with several dresses to choose from. In the end, it was hard to go wrong with a little black dress, with lace patterns only partially obscuring her collar and chest. Classy but playful was what she was hoping to achieve, but she would find out if she succeeded as the night went on.

The mobile device in front of her on the bar buzzed and Steph snatched it up. Raine was on the way, which was the uplifting news she was looking for. Now that her phone had done its job, Stephanie could shift her focus exclusively to the door until--

> "I hope you didn’t wait long!”

The voice came from behind Stephanie, catching her by surprise. Swiveling around on her bar stool, it was not the only surprise. The dress had been cute on the floor, but it was hot on Raine. The cutouts at her sides offered a glimpse of her toned, athletic figure which also accounted for the legs on display. And then there was that mischievous little window at the center of Raine’s chest.

And Stephanie was lingering on Raine for seconds, but she was sure they accounted for hours in awkward silence. ”No! Not at all. I mean, I’m glad you’re hear.” Slowly, Stephanie was easing from initial excitability into her trademark relaxed tone. ”I was just enjoying the piano and sipping at my first drink while I waited. Didn’t want to get started without you, right?”

Stephanie had been preoccupied with her phone and waiting on Raine. Now that some of her processing power was free, she noticed how the piano bar was busier than when she sat down. In fact, the accompanying band was joining the pianist on stage to get the night going in earnest. Their timing was great, evidently.

”I was going to be cool about this and order you a drink, but I actually didn’t know what you’d order,” Stephanie admitted, feeling lame not to have enough experience to feel confident in her ability to pick a drink for a woman who was actually of legal drinking age. ”You don’t need me, though; you’re a strong, independent woman who can order her own drinks.”

And that felt lame, too. Since when had Stephanie Graves been lame? ”You didn’t have trouble finding the place, did you?” Directions in this universe could be an obstacle for AV refugees, from what she saw on the internet forums. She could certainly agree to that struggle.

There was a pause. Like, maybe she'd broken Steph for a moment. Or, oh god. Was her bra showing? She thought she'd checked every angle! But before Raine could step in close enough for girl-confidence level confrontation, Steph's brain booted on and Raine was thoroughly distracted.

Alcohol. Steph was 18. Alcohol. She literally had not even thought about it until this moment. Raine was encouraging bad behavior! Steph was so mature and cool, it was hard to remember sometimes how young she was.

Be cool, Raine. "Oh did you get your ID for this universe?" She knew enough not to just shout SHOW MY YOUR FAKE ID, B**** but it had to be fake, right? Or Steph lied about her age... Raine's eyebrows were skeptical. Very, very skeptical. She wasn't about to ruin today over such a small thing, but Steph clearly had a wild side.

Not that Raine the vigilante didn't...

Okay, realizing she didn't have a leg to stand on gave Steph a hell of a lot more leeway. Raine slid into the spot next to Steph and felt weird with how tall her legs were on the chair. The heels made just that much of a difference.

And it wasn't like there was a huge difference between 18 and 21.

Raine let it go. She raised her hand and ordered herself a sauvignon blanc because Steph was right. She didn't need anyone else to order for her. "Once GPS behaved, it was no trouble. You know... I dabbled in bartending, but it wasn't for me. Maybe in another life..."

She ran her hands through her hair because it was both her pride and always in her way, and worked to unknot her shoulders. "Can you imagine me as a bartender?"

Steph’s grin grew wider and wider as she saw the thought process in Raine’s expression. She could see it sink in that Steph was here drinking illegally. The scandal of it all!

A little too pleased with the surprise, Steph shrugged a casual shoulder. ”Of course. There’s so much you need an ID for, right? Seemed like an essential to me.” Getting a fake was easy when you made connections with criminals. Steph was sure with some practice, she could fake one herself. She considered using the older-her’s license, but she looked too weathered in the photo, and there was no way Steph was passing for her mid-thirties.

Raine seemed like such a good and pure person. Steph did not want her feeling uncomfortable, but at the same time, she did find it amusing that Raine might see her as a bit of a bad girl. A fake ID was not the biggest deal; she doubted it’d taine Raine’s opinion of her completely. There were plenty of other deep, dark secrets to do that.

”Hmm… Raine the bartender.” Steph mulled it over, eyes flitting between her sweet friend and the dutiful bartender behind the bar.

When it clicked, a smirk played at her lips. ”Actually, I totally can. You, trying to be the most attentive barkeep in history. Probably wholly unaware of all the people there falling for the cute bartender. Unless I’m totally wrong and you actually spent your whole shift flirting shamelessly.” Steph gasped, covering her mouth in surprise. ”That’s why you’re not a bartender anymore, isn’t it? Scandalous!”

She lolled her head to the side for proper side eye. "So much. Proper ID is important." Emphasis on the proper, but Raine had already let it go, so it was more of a tease than an admonition. She resolved to let it go better, and smiled gratefully at the waitress who delivered her drink and took a refreshing, hefty gulp. Wine didn’t take any time at all

Raine the bartender. She wished she could do the flips and the bottle twirls. It'd cost her more than an entire day’s wage when she’d tried. Steph's imagining was far superior to reality.

"Me? Flirting the whole time?” Raine was mock scandalized. ”I would never! It’s far more humiliating. It’s just not lucrative when you butterfinger the bottles. Some of those suckers are mighty expensive.” She tipped her glass toward the bright and shining display.

"Plus, yeah there was flirting too.” She held up her glass to clink against Steph’s in salute to the flirts that had cost her a job… not that she expected to lose her job at the daycare for this. Okay that seemed like bad juju to even think about.

"On the plus side, I guess you know I’d make a terrible thief?”

The shock must have subsided, because Raine’s cheeky word choice was picking on Steph rather than scolding her. Steph dragged her out to a bar, so why hold it against the eighteen-year-old when she found a way to get a drink? The wine was top notch and Steph smirked, matching Raine’s long swig.

According to Raine, she lacked the coordination to throw expensive bottles around at the bar. Steph could hardly blame her; she would not risk it unless she had some good way to cheat.

What Raine could do? Flirt. Stephanie raised an eyebrow as Raine confirmed, despite her earlier mock-protest, that flirting was a part of the job. ”Nice to know if we had met back then, you would have charmed every penny out of me for your tip.”

That last point though. Oh, the smile Stephanie could not control. ”Oh, I’m sure when I need to pull a gang together ‘one last time,’ I can find a place for you.” Steph sipped her wine, mentally scolding herself. No heist movie jokes!

After a teasing back-and-forth with the group who recommended it, the pianist and her band were playing to the crowd with a lounge-friendly version of a duet rap that came with its own piano pieces. Steph’s attention was on Raine, but she was catching some of the lyrics from the other side of the room.

Damn, why are you Playinwitme?
You don't even like girls, ha
So I need you to tell me, baby
What you want just like the Spice Girls

Steph almost wanted to point out that she understood that reference, but bit her tongue. That did get her thinking though; Raine had admitted to flirting, but Steph’s digging was turning up nothing. And she was digging, she realized. It did not matter if Raine was straight or gay, but Raine knew where Steph stood. If she was queer, she would have told her new friend in solidarity.

”So what’s your flirting game? Assuming you have game,” she teased playfully. ”Gonna chat up some handsome guy at the bar? Or do you just plan on seducing one with your dance moves when we go upstairs? Either way, I’m totally fine playing wing-woman.” Yes, because realistically, Raine was straight and that was good. Because they were just friends obviously, and there were plenty of attractive people they could both pick from tonight.

Raine would have charmed Steph? What with the pity over the soul-crushing sound of bottles dropped? Nah. Steph was just being nice, that was all. And the jokes about going on a heist together proved it.

"Nono, maybe you didn't hear me. I said I'd be a terrible thief! Why would anyone invite a terrible thief?" A mock gasp for a sudden realization. "Are you setting me up to be the fall girl?" She was teasing, of course. Raine being the master of gravity, only fell in the directions she choose... like head over heels for a not-available-hot-mom.

Raine drank to that. She was going to drink that right out of her head, even if it took all night. Steph was off the table. It wasn't fair to jeopardize Raine's day job and it wasn't fair to Malia.

> ”So what’s your flirting game? Assuming you have game...”

Raine very nearly spat her wine out. Was that... was that a challenge?

"In my vast and varied nun experience?" Oh what the hell. They were friends, right? The piano music had shifted to what Raine thought might be Lizzo. The waitress helpfully stopped by and asked if they wanted to open a tab and get a refill. Yes. And yes. Raine rounded on Steph as soon as the waitress was out of earshot.

"I'm an abject failure, Steph. It's easy with guys. They'll come up to you. If they're too chicken, then they're flattered when you choose one of them. So it's like no pressure. Guys are easy. Girls. I think girls are going to be the death of me." One especially in particular. Raine did not look at that one in particular. She just fulfilled her self-promise and drank to the bottom of her glass.

"One time a pretty girl took my hand and we started to dance and I started just... shaking? She thought I was having a fit, I'm sure."

Learning her lesson, Stephanie held her tongue and chose only to smirk as Raine reminded her how out of place she would be on a heist team. In a dress like that, Raine could be one hell of a distraction. To her or the victim? Still unclear. ”Nah, I can’t set you up like that. We’re a team, obviously.” That’s what they decided when they vowed to bring each other out for a night of fun, right?

And fun meant a little bit of flirting. They were surrounded by the beautiful people of New York, and both deserved to cut loose a little. So maybe Stephanie was choosing to egg Raine on. If she was going to be a good wing-woman, she needed to know how Raine approached a guy she was interested in.

Despite her humility, it sounded like Raine had a handle on flirting with guys. She had a point; there was a cultural expectation when it came to men approaching women. It sounded like she was comfortable enough to manage a suitor.

Sipping her second glass of wine, Stephanie nearly choked on the liquid when she mentioned girls. Girls. Raine did like girls. How had that not come up already?

And it totally did not matter. Raine was another bi girl. Great! Their dating pools overlapped, but there were plenty of options to go around. Hey, was she feeling suddenly parched? Downing most of a glass of wine should fix that.

That was better. Now she could focus on what was honestly an adorable struggle Raine had with sapphic flirting. Stephanie grinned. ”But if she already had your hand, that’s a good sign! Heck, my biggest issue is figuring out if the woman I’m chatting up likes women or if they're just friendly.” Not that she had any examples of that.

”It sounds like you need to get out of your own head,” Steph pointed out, setting down her empty glass to gesture at Raine. An empty glass that was quickly refilled. This place really knew how to dole out good service. Steph rested her hand on Raine’s forearm. ”You’re a cutie Raine. I don’t see why you should be intimidated when a woman’s giving you green light signals.”

They were a team. And teams stuck together. They worked out strategy, together. That's exactly what was happening when Steph grinned at Raine. That wasn't a sign. It didn't mean she liked her-liked her. They were a team.

"I mean, I know it was a good sign. I think maybe I just wasn't ready." Which was embarrassing to admit. She'd been raised conservatively enough that even with her parents on the other side, she knew they'd be disappointed. Even now it was hard to shed those expectations for what she thought she wanted. Well... it was hard on paper. In reality, all it took was a little skin to skin and Raine just flat out short circuited.

"I just can't seem to handle--" There was a hand on her. The hand belonged to Steph and so all of her nerves became hyper aware that it was THERE. Yeah. She couldn't handle. But she also somehow didn't dare move. You’re a cutie Raine echoed like bells in her head. She was gonna get that tattooed... somewhere. No wait. that was a TERRIBLE idea. It sounded good because it was Steph and her little bit of drawl.

"But... They're so... soft. And judgy." She turned the full force of her puppy dog eyes on Steph. Surely she would have mercy on Raine... "How do you know which ones are bad news?"

They were a team. This was not a date or a night of flirting; it was Women-Loving-Women solidarity! Because they were both women who loved women apparently, which was great! Raine was right; women were harder to figure out than the comparatively easy-to-handle men of the world. Steph carried herself with confidence, but her experience was more limited than she wanted to admit.

”I’ve been there. Not being ready is valid,” she assured Raine with a sagely nod. ”That just means we get to redeem our past failures.” Sure, Steph had done her fair share of redeeming in the last two or three years. That did not change the fact that when a woman came onto her for the first time, she was absolute putty and missed an appointment with a local crime boss. She had to skip town because she was enamored with a party girl.

Steph tilted her head, curious as to what came into Raine’s mind to trail off her words like that. Something must have hit her. Much like two quickly downed glasses of wine were beginning to hit Steph.

The thief was about to ask what Raine was thinking about when Raine’s soft voice spoke up. Stephanie leaned in closer to hear her friend better over the catchy piano chords. Proximity left her vulnerable to the power of Raine’s puppy dog eyes, which were so cute, Stephanie could feel herself melt. She was pretty sure Raine could have asked her to do anything with that look and she’d comply eagerly. This girl held a dangerous power.

”Well for starters, girls with looks like that,” she nodded to Raine’s expression, ”are bad news. Puppy eyes are so unfair, and yours are like a ‘get away with anything free’ card.” Actually, that could totally be useful for a heist.

Okay, focus. Raine did ask for advice. ”I think you keep your eye out for mean girls nonsense. Backhanded compliments, overly sweet fakeness.” Steph would fight the woman who would toy with Raine callously. ”I think most of us are just like you though; nervous, but excited to meet another queer girl. And yes. Girls are soft. All the more reason to get over your hangups, girl!” Steph was proud of her best-guess advice and oblivious to the way her fingertips were running along Raine’s forearm as she spoke.

She was so lucky to have Steph. Puppy dog eyes brimmed with hopeful near tears. Yeah, because she felt all that stuff, but also because she was being pet by a beautiful woman who made Raine's engines turn over. They were talking about lovin' the ladies and she was being encouraged. By the one she'd mentally sworn off.

Sort of like chopping jalapenos and then rushing to put in her contacts, Raine was feeling more pretty than smart.

"Hah! I am not trouble. I'm a stable, responsible woman with a job. Kids look up to me. Strangers smile at me in the street." She did have to reclaim her arm in order to take a drink from her refreshed drink. She should have just asked for the bottle at this rate. With her arm back some small pressure released from her chest. That was... normal. So, so normal. Was that... piano Beastie Boys? Huh.

She would take the mean girl stuff to heart. Raine couldn't let the soft, luscious lips and curves and sumptuous curve of... The waitress stopped by again and Raine shook herself out of her reverie with a quick smile. She rolled her neck before she took a hefty gulp meant to cover a few too many thoughts. She would stay and try out a girl long enough to get to know her, first. Then maybe let her heart go wild. That sounded like a plan, though the plan was predicated on Raine meeting a woman and keeping her cool.

"This may not surprise you a whole lot," Raine let her head fall to the side again, avoiding the face-to-face confrontation, "but I am not super great at going with the flow."

It was only when Raine reclaimed her arm that Steph was aware she had been occupying it. She was comforting her friend through contact, which she assumed was how friends were there for one another. With her hand free again, she would retreat to her wine. The wine was also her friend, and the more she deepened that friendship, the easier the night was feeling.

When it came to being an adult, Raine was indeed doing well for herself. It did not negate Steph’s point; none of that made her trouble. Those eyes made her trouble, but that was an accusation she would keep to herself.

Based on the everything about Raine in their short time as friend, it really was not a surprise that going with the flow was a struggle for her. Stephanie grinned, shrugging her shoulder. ”I mean, going with the flow got me pregnant at seventeen, so maybe take my life advice with a grain of salt.” The past year did a lot to force Steph to handle her life better. She was still learning and failing, of course. A responsible person would not have hooked up with the cute blonde she met while strolling Malia through the park. Being out with Raine right now, with the blonde wearing a dress like that… was this a responsible choice?

Or that was what a sober Steph would worry about! Comfortably tipsy Steph gestured to a table of friends near the piano singing along with the Beastie Boys song to varying degrees of success. ”But sometimes it’s nice not to think beyond the moment. They’re clearly going with the flow. So content singing, they don’t have to care if they’re off-key.”

Propping her elbow against the bar, Steph let her cheek rest against her palm. She locked eyes with her friend. ”We’re out having fun. We don’t have to overthink things tonight, right?” When you just enjoyed the moment, focusing on that keeps you from getting too wrapped up in what ifs.

Once again, there was a reason Stephanie had a baby at eighteen.

Oof. Raine exhaled and tried to keep her eyebrows out of her hairline when Steph admitted just how she got pregnant. Not that Raine hadn't already surmised that there was no permanent man in the picture, but... that was just one big oof that deserved another clink of the wine glass and a swallow of courage. Pregnant at 17 was something else entirely.

"Then we find you a nice girl tonight. No chance of— ohmigod. Malia needs a little sister, though." She interrupted her own train of thought once she'd thought it through. Malia was adorable and the world could use more Malias. Raine didn't want her to grow up lonely like she had. Not that Raine got any say in Malia's life as her sometimes daytime caretaker.

The Beastie Boys melded into something far more sing-a-long-able... Adele? And Malia really needed a sibling.

"I'm having fun." Raine insisted as she stood. "Here. I'll pick your next genetic donor." Of those caterwauling... yeah. No. Raine stood and took her glass in one hand, her other hand found Steph's hand. "C'mon we have to get closer to the action if we want to get in on any fun." She tugged her friend to her feet and had to steady herself and her heels before they could both be off, but they were both on their way eventually.

And as they drew within spitting range of the piano, Raine realized she recognized not only the song (though those singing were not at all helping on that front), but she recognized where they were in the song. Adele. Setting Fire to some Rain. She jumped right in.

"'Cause there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew," She winked at Steph and put her wine glass down so she could properly belt out the parts that needed belting.
"All the things you'd say, they were never true, never true,
And the games you'd play, you would always win, always win”

Raine bumped Steph with her hip. "C’mon.” This was the part everyone knew...

It was comforting to know Raine was not judging Stephanie for her youthful decision-making. People were not afraid to look down on a young mother, so Stephanie did not always give out details to people who have not earned them. At this point, Raine knew she was eighteen and Malia was one, so simple math suggested Malia was an unplanned pregnancy, but Raine never made her feel irresponsible or stupid for it.

In fact, she apparently thought Stephanie should have another kid, which made the single mother promptly choke on her wine. ”Yeah, because I have my shit together dealing with one kid,” she pointed out, giggling all the same. ”Maybe she just needs a bestie. It’s clearly your turn to have one, and we can get you squared away tonight!”

Raine was not the only one having fun, though she was the surprisingly proactive one taking Steph’s hand. Gathering herself, she had the sense to snag her wine glass before being led along by the firm hand of the one woman in this universe Steph trusted to lead the way.

They masterfully navigated around the crowds and Stephanie realized how much louder the music was this close to the stage. The song was one she had certainly heard, but that was big between when she went to sleep and when she woke up in twenty-nineteen.

Raine knew it well, though, and sang with confidence. Steph remembered in the back of her tipsy mind how Raine asked how she would feel about singing. Now she understood why, because Raine’s voice was gorgeous. Steph’s eyes were on the blonde, oblivious to the performers on stage, because she was not expecting that.

Her mesmerization was broken when Raine gave Steph a bump of the hip and encouraged her to join in. That was going to be an interesting challenge. But… well, she had to give it a shot, right?

”But I set fire to the frame!
“Watched it burn as I licked your face!
“Let it turn while I died 'cause I heard it dreaming up your game, you're lame…”

Her voice was not bad, but that did not matter when she was basically trying to mumble through the lines. She winced and leaned in toward Raine to admit, ”I sorta missed a lot of music over the years.” How freaking lame after Raine proved she sang like a muse!