The song was playful and clean, like many of Quick’s songs, so it was safe to sing around Malia. Playful, however, was apparently not safe around Stephanie, whose eyes betrayed her at every turn. She remembered how things went at the club. (Ugh, how could she forget?) More importantly, she remembered Raine pushing for space, which was fair. They were friends and that was where things would stay.

And for that reason, she really needed to control her winking. Sure, it could have been a friendly, cheeky gesture, but it was too close to the borderline of flirting.

Fortunately, the next song was very pretty and not nearly as playful. Steph did not know this one, so she rocked her daughter gently to the swaying song and listened to Raine’s beautifully sung words.

”When you kiss me, heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see "La vie en rose"

Malia drifted into a peaceful sleep in Stephanie’s arms, and the mother could not blame her; she felt at ease listening to the melodious serenade. It was just like at the piano bar. Raine’s voice disarmed her. Without even realizing it or considering the romantic weight of the words, Steph was smiling, her gaze locked on Raine.

"When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom"

Raine was so dumb.

She'd thought that coming here, she could maintain the guard on her heart. Malia was asleep now. She'd done a friend's worth of duty in showing up and soothing Steph's worry. Malia was asleep and on the mend now. She should pack up and slink away.

But roses were blooming. She'd come here with ulterior motives, selfish motives. Raine turned toward the opposite wall. She couldn't stand seeing Steph smiling at Malia in one breath and beaming at her in the next. She had come here for Malia. She needed to focus on that.

"Angels sing from above
Everyday words seems
To turn into love songs"

She hadn't planned to be serenading the girl she so desperately crushed over. She needed to not sing a love song next. Just a normal song. Raine turned to see if Steph had managed to get Malia set down or if she planned to hold her all night. And, inevitably, her eyes swept up to check on the other woman's face just in time for the finale.

"Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be la vie en rose"

Raine let that hang in the air between them as she imagined it: coming home and cooking dinner together, singing Malia to sleep, and welcoming Steph to bed soon after. She would tickle her. They would share the day's concerns. Raine would hang up her domino mask... maybe for good.

She picked up the rhythm of the song's chords and hummed for a bit while she tried to think of a different song that didn't involve love.

If there'd been more to La Vie en Rose, it was lost in wholesome fantasy.

It was easy to see why Malia adored Raine. Truly, the kind-hearted blonde was easy to adore. The song entranced her, letting her abandon her concerns and misgivings. Without those, it was so easy to see. Nights singing lullabies to Malia, sending her to a restful sleep. Sitting close on the couch, entwined with one another, wrapping up a long day. Nowhere to go but their bed; maybe that was the kind of life worth living smart for. No secondary personas. Maybe Shelby could take the mantle of Silhouette and leave Steph with a simple life.

It was nice to envision, and for one song, Steph could allow herself that.

The soft music and warm words had their intended effect, lulling Malia into a deep sleep her mother only hoped would last. Quietly, she led them toward Malia's crib. The infant was set gently on her pillow, and Stephanie double-checked the baby monitor.

After taking a moment to watch her daughter rest, she silently led them back out to the living room. There was still a sense of... something in the air after the final chords faded. Stephanie took her wine glass and finally broke the silence. "You're something special, Raine Faust."

Raine trailed a few steps after Steph, feeling all the world for a minstrel, to see mom in action. It was a tricky transition, one Raine had experienced a hundred times with dozens of kids, Malia included. But for a mom it was somehow ten times the stakes. If Steph couldn't get the angel down, there'd be no...

No what? Raine checked her expectations. There would be no nothing anyway. Even if it made her heart swell to see Steph tuck a wild stray strand behind her baby girl's ear. It was like a renaissance master's painting, a play of soft light and making an important moment out of a humble one.

Raine strummed one last chord, one string at a time. A perfect book end. She should go just so she wouldn't ruin it.

Instead, Raine sat herself down to take a sip of her glass of bodega wine. It wasn't great, but it was sweet and light. Okay, maybe she could relax for a few minutes. A reward for a sleeping baby well into her dreams.

And a compliment to make her swell with pride.

"You did all the hard lifting. To sleeping babies—" She tipped her glass toward Steph so they could clink them and drink. "Hope Malia gets some healing rest. You too."

No longer than an hour earlier, Stephanie was an anxious mess and Malia was miserably sick. Now, the young child was medicated and pleasantly drifting off into her dreams. As for the mother, she was at ease, content, and alone with a woman she knew had some kind of effect over her. They had clear guidelines, so she had to be careful, but it was hard to think about that after Raine single-handedly saved her evening.

They were friends before things took a... sexually charged turn at the club. Just because hooking up was a terrible idea did not mean they could not be friendly.

Stephanie raised her glass in response, hoping the soft clink did not pierce the veil of Malia's rest. "To sleeping babies. And thank you. I'm hoping we both get some actual sleep tonight. But," she sat on the armrest of her couch, "not just yet. It's been a while since I've gotten to spend time with my friend."

Sipping her wine, Stephanie's eyes fixated on the ukulele, still surprised that was somehow the instrument holding sway over her. "You know, I knew you had an amazing voice, but I guess I didn't realize how much I needed that tonight. I know Malia is asleep already, but, well." Was it weird to ask this? She was soft-spoken in her request. "Would you mind if we kept going? Maybe another song or two for an overstressed friend?"

> "...I'm hoping we both get some actual sleep tonight..."

Steph meant herself and her baby. Raine cut her mental meandering off with a harsh mental reminder before she tried to find further meaning in any part of Steph's statement. Steph and baby needed rest. Raine was just hanging out. Making up for lost time spent on making regrets instead of memories.

Raine wanted to apologise about the last time they'd hung out, but what came out instead was— "We're good hanger outers." She took a serious swig of wine and tried not to look like she was dying on the inside or outside even as Raine was sure she was doing both and failing at hiding it. A state of embarrassment that fast faded into curling lips and a toe curling thrill.

Oh. Steph liked her singing? Well Raine really liked to sing.

She tried not to smile into her glass, but was entirely too flattered to avoid it. Besdies, she'd tried to hide in her glass for too long. Now the wine had mysteriously all teleported into her belly.

"I like, no, I love singing for people. Bonus love points when singing with people." She indicated with an eyebrow that was much appreciated, but had to admit it didn't always work out. Okay. Okay. She was sold, but she would not sing a love song. She had to know at least ONE not-love sing for f***'s sake!

Raine traded glass for ukulele.

No wait. She did know a not exactly love song, but she was gonna mess it up if it was from memory. She held up her finger and Raine fished her phone out of her back pocket for a quick search. Yessss. She settled and resettled ehr shoulders as she fit her fingers into place.

"This one's fun to sing." Raine admitted with a small smile.

Also having the phone meant she didn't have to make eye contact, but she did have to risk the beat to scroll on the lyrics every once in a while.

Stephanie smirked at the way wine seemed to drain from Raine's glass. For such a goodie-two-shoes, Raine knew how to down a drink. Of course, she knew that from the club. Stephanie was relaxed and ready to sip hers, because she learned a lesson: perhaps they both should not get trashed at the same time. Better to be safe than sorry, right?

And it was easy to relax. This felt like those first weeks of getting to know Raine, before they were a few millimeters from crossing a line. This feeling was why Steph let her guard down around Raine in the first place. Now that they were here, she had half a mind to apologize for the club, but that would have to wait. Raine was ready to start and Steph, sinking against the plush couch, had her eyes and ears ready to just appreciate Raine.

The chords had Stephanie's head swaying from side to side, but she would not lose the lyrics. Raine kept her eyes mostly to the lyrics, letting Steph just appreciate the way Raine got into her song. It was appropriate, given how their night started with a call. It kept to a theme, playing with romantic imagery. Stephanie blushed, thinking about rolling with Raine in sheets, covering her in kisses, but her smile remained. Maybe it was something they would never cross the line to make a reality, but the picture gave her a warm feeling. She'd appreciate it for a song.

The song ended, with the last reverberating strums, and the promise. "You can call me, baby, call me anytime..."

"You never disappoint, do you?" Steph bit her lip, trying to think of something clever to say in the face of Raine's song. Then again, maybe it was an opening. "Can I though? You sure you wouldn't mind taking calls at all hours of the night from the girl who turned our night out weird with her troublesome libido?" It was self-deprecating and spoken as an honest joke. Steph did not want to make things awkward tonight, but she did want to apologize, even if she was unsure her libido was entirely to blame. "Sorry for that by the way."

It wasn't a love song. It was worse- a booty call song. Raine strummed lazily even after the song had finished just as an easy backdrop to their conversation. No real song pattern emerged, but it kept them from awkward silences and gave her plenty of opportunity to stretch her fingers on the frets.

> "You never disappoint, do you?"

She could absolutely disappoint and did regularly. Like when she shot back "I aim to please." Because she hadn't meant it. Except, she had. She just didn't plan on acting on that as she wanted. She strummed along and tried to think of any other non-love songs, but this time she added an additional addendum. No booty call songs either. Maybe a song about something totally un-lustful. Like a tree. Or America.

> "Can I though?"

Steph seemed determined to draw Raine into conversation and the blonde focused her attention where she'd not been allowing herself to focus: Steph's troublesome libido.

"You weren't troublesome to me." No, but Silhouette had been. Just the thought of that brought some color to her cheeks. Never again. Never ever. "I'm sorry too. We didn't exactly set ground rules so heat of the moment and all that. If you're good, we're good. Mostly, I'm glad you made it home safe and all that. Normally I would have texted to check in." But there'd been an incident with a thief and a safe room that'd made her lose most of her vigilante uniform. Stupid. Raine tried to keep her cringing internal.

And still, she couldn't think of a non-love song. Love was something to sing about, after all.

"Have a song request? You can find almost any chords on the internet these days."

The night at the club was a speed bump in their friendship, but it was comforting to know Raine did not hold the night against her. Maybe that was why they needed the speed bump; just a reminder to slow things down. Raine was just glad she made it home, which was true. Kind of. She eventually made it home, but not after the club. No, first she had to take a very physically and emotionally confusing detour through a Mansion, a panic room, and a vigilante's clothes. "I think we were both a little off-kilter that night. Let's just resolve to send those check-in texts next time."

Now that they had the apologies out of the way, they could return to music. Raine moved the choice to Steph, who mulled it over with her near-empty glass of wine. There had been a song in her head the last few weeks, but... well, maybe she should preface it so Raine did not get the wrong idea.

Swiping through the music app on her phone, she searched for lyrics and spoke. "I think I have one, but... so the chorus is kind of thirsty." At least she was picking up on the slang of her adopted generation. "But the song isn't really that. Er, look for." She showed her screen to Raine, feeling the pink in her cheeks preventing her from naming a song like, "Undressed."

After giving Raine time to find the chords she would need, Steph took a breath and eased her way into the lyrics, which thankfully started slow. If asked, she would say Raine was not the one she was thinking about as she sang, which was true. Again, kind of. Maybe she did think of Raine as the one girl at the club that made the others fade away. Maybe Zero was still the one she had vivid memories of, longing to peal away that outfit one more time. Hell, maybe her thoughts and feelings toward that troublesome heroine were misplaced after how things went with Raine.

At the very least, having misplaced feelings for Zero felt somehow safer than dealing with feelings she had for her friend.

The beauty of ukulele covers was that, knowing chords and your basic up and down rhythms meant Raine could look up any song and perform on the spot. She supposed it might be that way with guitar, but the uke was so perky and the cords consisted of a maximum of 4 strings being pressed. To Raine, it just fit. She had to watch for the bridge and the chorus, but... god, Steph was knocking it out of the park.

Raine's focus was divided, but not so divided that she wasn't listening to the most sensuous rendition on a very thirsty chorus. Delivered just as promised. Raine tried and failed not to fill in the mental pictures to go with the words. Why could she see it so well?! Raine faltered, going a bit stupid herself and the song unraveled.

"Sorry. That was a good one. I- I hadn't heard it before."

She was warm. It was hot, right? It was in part the heat from her cheeks and probably some from the wine. She set the ukulele down and her hand brushed Steph's thigh. Just a tiny touch, it had to be just millimeters of skin, and yet somehow all of Raine's nerves seemed to bunch there where she'd briefly made accidental contact.

Was she so touch-starved that even just that made her crazy?

"Do I look lonely?" She blurted the words. It was the song's fault, but a legit question. Who did she have, really? Was she throwing herself at everyone who passed because... because she was lonely?

Stephanie felt responsible for giving off some mixed signals, though how mixed were they at this point? Maybe the signals were right and she was the one all mixed up, her tipsy head filled with thoughts of Raine and Zero. But... more and more even the thoughts of Zero became thoughts of Raine as those striking eyes stayed with her.

There was the briefest moment of contact as Raine brushed her thigh and Steph's breath hitched. The touch left her alert, like her whole body was waiting for something to follow.

>> "Do I look lonely?"

The held breath finally released. It was not a question Stephanie expected, and while her instinct was to say no, her brain had to catch up as she wondered: why that question? Was Raine lonely? Was Stephanie, the girl who had an ongoing affair with her nemesis and yet pined for her best friend? "You look beautiful," she admitted, resigning herself to a smile, "but no, I don't think you're lonelier than anyone else. I'd ask it back, but... well, I guess I don't feel lonely with you around."

Stephanie had no clue how to best explain what was happening with Zero, whether it was sexual tension or she was pulled in by the blonde's gravity. (When did she develop a thing for blondes?) Regardless, Raine was not someone Steph needed to fill a space. Having Raine there made the night more complete. Keeping her gaze locked on Raine's eyes, Stephanie spoke softly. "Thank you, Raine." It wasn't Steph thanking Raine for coming to her in a time of need. She just wanted to thank Raine for being with her, whatever that meant.

She said it was Raine, but Steph... looked... beautiful.

"No. Thank you." Raine slid her hand over Steph's. Friends could... she could do this... as a friend...? "I feel like you see me when everybody else is passing by."

The cogs in Raine's brain slipped a few teeth. If Raine were a thermometer, her face was filling with red from the bottom up. If she'd been waiting for a sign —a nail in the coffin of her fight against desire?— This was it. She was undone.

There was a hair, just one little rebel. Raine reached slowly toward Steph's face so that Steph would have plenty of time to tell her no, to get the hair herself— But Raine desperately wanted to tuck it back behind her ear.

Steph saw Raine because Raine was the one who made her feel real. She wanted to say it; to tell her the way she saw life with Raine around and the things she would give up for a life like that.

The words never came, because Raine's hand reached, finding the stray strands of hair draped in front of Steph's face. As her friend moved to tuck the strands to the side, Steph closed her eyes and leaned her cheek into the warmth of Raine's hand. By the time her eyes fluttered open, all she could focus on was Raine.

Biting her lower lip one last time before she found her courage, Stephanie leaned forward slowly. She wanted to give Raine the moment she might need to decide things needed to stop. She would eliminate nine-tenths of the space between them if Raine could meet her there. She didn't need to; Raine found her somewhere in the middle and Steph melted into she softest kiss she could remember. The kind of kiss that made you feel safe.

Their first kiss was the closest thing to perfect Steph could imagine, and it bled into the next kiss, and another. Stephanie wove her fingers into Raine's hair and her free hand rested at her hip. It was a chaste touch for now, but those kisses were definitely deepening...

They'd both tentatively tested the waters: A soft touch, a slow lean. They left themselves plenty of outs. Instead of doing what they probably should have, those little touches, that first kiss... Raine swerved off the proverbial highway, there was no way in hell she was going to miss this exit.

"I'm not-" Raine was aware that at some point she'd managed to get them both horizontal-ish on the couch. She was out of breath because there was so much real estate that needed her attention. She wasn't pumping the breaks exactly, she just wanted to be sure of one thing.

She often forgot about their age gap, not that it was huge. But she'd come over and plied her Steph with wine and peace of mind. Was that... was that wrong somehow? "I'm not taking advantage of you, am I?"

It was very easy to get lost in a moment. Easier still when the moment was this good. The thought of it crossed her mind before, constantly after almost losing control on the dance floor. Finally being this close to Raine, bodies pressed and lips at play, it was better than she imagined. More fulfilling. When had kissing been fulfilling?

This was probably dangerous.

A kiss like this felt nothing like the casual making out Steph liked to believe she was good at. It felt intimate and somehow familiar. The way she looked at the woman who subtly found her way on top of Stephanie did not feel casual.

Raine broke the kiss because they both knew they were at the precipice of the point of no return. Stephanie could take this out. She could admit this was more than she was ready for. Raine was more than she could let herself want. But God, did she want this. "I promise you're not. I want this, Raine. I want you. Badly," she added, her last admission murmured into Raine's lips.

It wasn't a game or a con or a lustful need. Steph just needed Raine; as much of Raine as the beautiful blonde was willing to give her.