Agnes was obviously nervous. And the point was not lost upon Rebecca. As the young runaway stood there, staring off to the side, trying to wrap her head around the possibility of meeting her girlfriend’s parents, she was quickly becoming aware that Rebecca was watching her. She raised her gaze and instantly she began to feel just a little ashamed. This was something important to her girlfriend and all Agnes could think about was herself. But still the prospect was rather terrifying.

Her eyes locking onto Rebecca’s, she paused as she watched her for a moment. How could she say no to her? Despite her fear, she should have known better than that.

Agnes then watched as Rebecca flagged down one of her fellow, costumed workers. Agnes shyly nodded to her.

>> "Lil-- we, Venus, can you take the register off my hands for five minutes?"[/color]

After the girl agreed, Agnes was taken by the hand and slowly led outside of the comic shop. The bright glare of the sunlight, as compared to the dully lit interior of the shop, disorientated Agnes a tiny bit. But thanks to Rebecca’s guidance she soon found herself sitting next to her sweet redhead on a bench just outside the comic store. She sighed as she looked at that sweet face. Just once glance and she knew that no matter what, she was going to be doing exactly everything that Rebecca had said.

>> "Ah dornt want ye worrying 'bout my parents. Mah ma's totally harmless, and my Pa... well, mah Ma is harmless."[/color]

Agnes stiffened up a little at the sound of that. Apparently she had something to fear from her father? Of course she would! Rebecca was probably his little princess and here Agnes came along and changed that entire dynamic over night!

But her scattered and terrified thoughts slowly began to wane as she saw the tenderness in her girlfriend’s eyes and the sweetness of her touch. She took a calming breath as she forced herself to look closely at her love interest.

>> "Ye treat me better than a princess. They'll love ye…Pa might scare ye.”[/color]

Agnes whimpered a little at the prospect of being terrified by Rebecca’s father. Hadn’t she been scared by parental figures enough in her lifetime? But the runaway knew that she did not need to have the same worries as she had when she had to deal with her parents. Rebecca raved about her parents so much that it actually made Agnes a little jealous. And now she was being offered a chance to meet them. She knew, deep down, that she shouldn’t pass it up.

She sighed as she Rebecca cuddled up close her and she felt her hand gently lying on her lap. Reaching down she carefully placed her own hand over Rebecca’s and sighed. She really, really needed to get in control of her nerves.

>> "They'll be nice coz they'll knoo Ah care aboot ye, so dornt worry so much…It'd make me happy to take th' best part of America back with me tae Scootland."[/color]

Rebecca simply always had the right words on hand to just melt the young runaway’s heart. The kiss warmed her cheek and Agnes leaned down to kiss the top of Rebecca’s head, well the blonde wig anyways. But she finally nodded.

“O-Okay…I’ll go…” she promised. Then she grinned as she ran her fingers through the wig. “But only if you wear this since I’m sure it’ll scare the them enough to distract them from me.” she added with a light chuckle.

>> “O-Okay…I’ll go…” she promised. Then she grinned as she ran her fingers through the wig. “But only if you wear this since I’m sure it’ll scare the them enough to distract them from me.”

Rebecca's eyes widened at the joke, sitting up and nudging Agnes's side. "Yeah, if ye wanna see my Pa faint!" Rebecca laughed, getting up to her feet. She offered a hand to pull Agnes off the bench and closer to her body.

She wanted to stay there, and just enjoy more time with Agnes, but she had work. She could not just shirk her duties on the other girls. Speaking of other girls, she needed a revenge teasing. "Maybe we can jist bring Lexi along; Ah'm sure ye'll seem like a right angel next tae her." She added a wink, making sure Agnes knew it was a joke; there would be no blonde bombshells coming along for the ride. Rebecca was more than content with her willowy fairy.

Rebecca glanced back into the shop and groaned. "Ah hae tae get back tae work, dornt Ah?"

>> "Yeah, if ye wanna see my Pa faint!"[/color]

The look on Rebecca’s face was priceless and it made the young runaway want to fall over into a fit of giggles. It really was cute to see her girlfriend so astonished. And though she had never met this man, from how Rebecca described him, she could definitely imagine him fainting. But then also probably throwing a fit and blaming it on Agnes! Well, she couldn’t be too sure about that last part but it seemed like it was definitely possible.

But then her little minx grinned and decided to throw in a joke of her own…

>> "Maybe we can jist bring Lexi along; Ah'm sure ye'll seem like a right angel next tae her."[/color]

Agnes rolled her eyes but she couldn’t help the smirk that appeared on her face. God, just the idea of that brash, busty blonde, amongst the family of the one that she loved, she could feel her brain trying to implode. Then the wink and giggle that followed made the runaway grin in return. It was funny, but she was SO going to get Rebecca for that later. The second she got an opportunity, she was going to tickle. And she was not going to stop tickling until her face turned as red as her hair.

But, she would bide her time until there and just chuckled along. She was still extremely nervous about the whole thing but maybe the trip would indeed turn out well. Agnes had never been out of the country before. Hell, she had never even been out of the city! This would definitely be interesting.

Standing with her sweet girlfriend, Agnes sighed as she squeezed her hand.

>> "Ah hae tae get back tae work, dornt Ah?"[/color]

She smiled sweetly as she leaned up and kissed her softly on the forehead.

“Yeah, if you want to, you know, keep your job and make the big bucks,” she said with a sigh. “How about I hang with you for a bit and then walk you home?” she grinned. “I need to keep rebuilding my collection anyways , besides” she stated with a slightly devilish grin. “I get to hang around and see you in costume a bit more.”

>> “Yeah, if you want to, you know, keep your job and make the big bucks. How about I hang with you for a bit and then walk you home? I need to keep rebuilding my collection anyways, besides, I get to hang around and see you in costume a bit more.”

Rebecca's cheeks pinkened; she would have to bring the costume home if Agnes found her so attractive in it. Having her girlfriend around could be a distraction, but Agnes was a comic book fan, so she would be able to do her own thing when needed. "Ah'd love that, bit Ah cannae be tae distracted. Ah'm sure ye can flip through a comic if Ah need tae work." Rebecca kissed Agnes's cheek as a final display of affection before she had to be professional. No love for a superheroine.

The bell jingled as the girls reentered the shop, and a certain busty blonde perked up instantly. Lexi left the company of a group of teenage boys, who were less awkward in appearance than much of their clientele. The blue gloves grasped Rebecca's shoulders, which was leading nowhere good.

"I'm so glad you're back!" Not good. "We have a little sale for you. Those boys are big fans of Spectacular Girl," she gestured to the group she was surrounded by originally, "and I may have mentioned that our Spectacular Girl learned how to control metal."

Rebecca did not glare often, but this warranted one. "LEXI! Hoo did tha even come up!?"

Almost oblivious to Rebecca's anger, Lexi rolled her eyes and smiled. "That's not important now. There's a huge tip in it if the cute redhead can make some coins dance, so get going!"

Lexi, taking advantage of her hands on the poor girl's shoulders, spun her around and nudged her in the customers' direction. Rebecca looked back at her girlfriend, still figuring out what was going on. "Ah... bit, Agnes! Ah cannae--"

The blonde dismissed the concerns with the wave of a hand. "Don't you worry; what kind of Ascendant Woman would I be if I didn't help out my bestie, Spectacular Girl?" She patted the thin shoulder of Rebecca's girlfriend. "I'll keep an eye on this little pixie for you."

Rebecca was filled with that ominous feeling one got before a natural disaster, but she was at work; what choice did he have? "Um, okay, Ah gue--"

"Great!" Lexi linked her arm around Agnes's and began dragging her off to another area of the shop. "So, Agnes, right? Sorry I took you away from cutesy girlfriend time."

The bold woman's eye caught the fluttering action of wings behind her captive. "So those really are wings-- I'm jealous." She eyed them more closely. "They look kinda like bug wings... hey, have you ever read Larva Girl?" It was a logical conclusion to reach that if the bug girl read any comics, it might be that one.

"If so, I've got something to show you!" She tightened her arm's hold on the skinny arm in her possession and quickened her pace toward the corner of the shop.

Agnes smirked as Rebecca kissed her once more. She was going to try her best to not be too much of a distraction. The young runaway liked to play around, but she knew when to be serious. This was Rebecca’s workplace, after all. It simply was not right for her to be bothering her while she was at work and trying to earn her living. So, Agnes vowed that she would leave her alone and busy herself with glancing through comics and looking through their backlog for comics that she was missing.

With a jingle of the door they had once again returned to the interior of the comic shop where Agnes immediately spied the first thing that she really did not want to see at the moment. That busty chested, blonde haired woman had turned from a group of gentlemen and immediately caught sight of Rebecca.

Now, Agnes really was not scared of losing Rebecca to that girl, Lexi. But what she was more irritated by was that she really couldn’t tell if the woman was being playful, serious, or she was just a messing with them? Rebecca said she was harmless and Agnes really hoped so. The last thing she wanted was to get in a fight with someone because they were just joking around.

But as these thoughts raced through her head, she steeled herself up as Lexi dashed over, and squeezed Rebecca by the arms.

>> "I'm so glad you're back! We have a little sale for you. Those boys are big fans of Spectacular Girl…and I may have mentioned that our Spectacular Girl learned how to control metal."

>> "LEXI! Hoo did tha even come up!?"[/color]

>> "That's not important now. There's a huge tip in it if the cute redhead can make some coins dance, so get going!"

>> "Ah... bit, Agnes! Ah cannae--"[/color]

>> "Don't you worry; what kind of Ascendant Woman would I be if I didn't help out my bestie, Spectacular Girl? I'll keep an eye on this little pixie for you."

>> "Um, okay, Ah gue--"[/color]

And with that, Rebecca had left her to go do her job. But it was obvious that she did not want to leave Agnes alone with Ascendant Woman. Unfortunately a combination of her job duties and the bossiness of Lexi had crumbled Rebecca’s resolve so that she had to run off to do her job. Agnes gave her a meek wave goodbye and tried to keep a brave face. She would just take her leave from Lexi and go peruse some of the shop’s comi—

>> "Great! So, Agnes, right? Sorry I took you away from cutesy girlfriend time."

Agnes winced! She had almost been able to make it away from the boisterous blonde. But Lexi had turned her attentions on Agnes so the runaway put on her mask of friendliness. She really hoped that the blonde was only joking before or she was going to have to punch her…

“It’s…okay. She working. I understand,” Agnes said with an nod. “I’m just, you know, going to go over there…” she had started to say and made a move to head towards the a random part of the shop. A glance at the woman eyeing her, though, made her wings inadvertently flutter. She really, really hated how easy it was to tell that she was nervous. She needed to get those wings under control.

>> "So those really are wings-- I'm jealous…They look kinda like bug wings... hey, have you ever read Larva Girl? If so, I've got something to show you!"

Agnes blinked and had nodded to say that she did read the comic book Larva girl when suddenly she was seized by the arm. With a gasp, and a tiny plead of a “help me!” look towards Rebecca (who sadly had her back turned JUST at that moment), Agnes was dragged away to a separate part of the shop under the busty blonde’s guide.

She could only hope things would go well.

Agnes tried to shy away from her, but Lexi was far too determined for that. She was Ascendant Woman; she would keep a firm hold on the arm of her new semi-willing friend and lead/drag her to their destination.

"Sorry if I sorta assumed you like Larva Girl, but it's not often we have awesome mutants like you come in, and I've always had a thing for Larva Girl-- she's super underrated, and! there are rumors she is going to develop wings in the next big story arc! Isn't that cool?" Lexi had an issue with geeking out sometimes; the issue was forgetting to punctuate her sentences.

They reached the wall of comics she was looking for and Lexi stood behind her new friend, doing her best not to absent-mindedly touch her wings. "You probably keep up with the main comic, but Larva Girl has a great appearance in two comics of Awesome Arachnid that you simply have to check out!"

Lexi was a few inches taller than Agnes, so she reached over the girl's shoulder to the comics in question, unaware or unfazed by her chest pressing against Agnes's back. She moved to the side to see Agnes face to face and hand her the comics. "You can even have them at a discount, because you're Becca's sweetheart, and because you have to read them."

Agnes was stolen away. She felt like a ragdoll under the immense grip that the girl, Lexi, had been able to display. She really did not want to be left alone with this woman, she just wanted to continue shopping and chat with Rebecca whenever she got an opportunity. Unfortunately that was just not going to be in the cards today.

Agnes was taken away to a secluded corner of the store where Lexi began to look through the comics for the exact ones that she had in mind. As she did so, Agnes looked off to the side and stole glances from Rebecca as she tried to set about working, talking to her trio of customers and trying to close the deal. It was obvious that this was important for her job, but gawd, Agnes wished that her girlfriend would come and rescue her. She REALLY needed Spectacular Girl at the moment.

Unfortunately, she could only turn around, politely, as Ascendant Woman went on with her speech.

>> "Sorry if I sorta assumed you like Larva Girl, but it's not often we have awesome mutants like you come in, and I've always had a thing for Larva Girl-- she's super underrated, and! there are rumors she is going to develop wings in the next big story arc! Isn't that cool?"

“Very,” Agnes responded with a smile. Truth be told, she really was a big fan of Larve Girl. Ironically enough considering her powers. She always felt that if any superhero were real, then she would have definitely gotten along with her.

>> "You probably keep up with the main comic, but Larva Girl has a great appearance in two comics of Awesome Arachnid that you simply have to check out!"

There was a spark of interest. She heard some of Awesome Arachnid but had never really delved too deep into his story arc. She didn’t always care for his everyman problems because all he seemed to do was whine about being a superhero. If you are going to change the world, you simply cannot whine! But he did have some interesting stories and she really did not even know that he had any arcs with Larva Girl!

Hmmm…maybe that would be something to look int—

She paused. Her breath caught in her throat when she suddenly felt something…no…somethings…pressing against her back. Her wings, flattened against her back, were unable to flutter with their nervousness but they still strained against the massive…assets…that were firmly pushed against her. Agnes eyes widened as she tried to scoot away, but unfortunately her exit was blocked off by the young woman’s arm as she reached for the comic books.

Trapped! She was trapped by Lexi and those barely covered hills that seemed to have had their own gravitational pull. Unable to escape, Agnes waited and glanced at Lexi out of the corner of her eye as the young woman slipped around and held out the comics for her. Gently, Agnes took them in hand.

>> "You can even have them at a discount, because you're Becca's sweetheart, and because you have to read them."

“T-Thank you,” she said with a flushed look on her cheeks. But quickly she managed to push down that redness as she glanced at Lexi. “You…don’t have to do that. I don’t mind paying full price. Umm…thank you…again…I’ll read them…” Agnes said as she tried to scoot around the young woman for any means of escape…

>> “T-Thank you. You…don’t have to do that. I don’t mind paying full price. Umm…thank you…again…I’ll read them…”

Lexi shook her head at the humble response denying the offered discount. "Oh, hush. You're taking the discount. 'Sides," she added, placing her arm around Agnes's shoulder, "I usually give discounts to blue-eyed hotties anyway."

Rebecca waved goodbye to several happy customers, with metal marbles floating around her head like a halo. Her girlfriend and her mischievous coworker were approaching her at the register. Spectacular Girl sighed. "Were ye good, Lex?"

Lexi rolled her eyes at the outrageous accusation. "Of course I was! I just suggested some comics! Jeez."

Rebecca heard the claim, but her red-faced girlfriend made her think otherwise. "Es this true?"

Agnes wanted to break for daylight. She really did. The second that she saw an opening between Ascendant Girl’s arms, and the rest of the comic shop world, Agnes knew that she would bolt for it. But unfortunately it just seemed like every exit she wanted to take was either guarded by a white clad arm or very pronounced bust hidden behind a costume with its own window! Agnes was feel just a tad bit uncomfortable around Lexi now.

>> "Oh, hush. You're taking the discount. 'Sides…I usually give discounts to blue-eyed hotties anyway."

Agnes sighed but said nothing in response as a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and ushered her back towards her redheaded girlfriend. It was at this point that Agnes realized that she really didn’t care for Lexi all that much. She was too forward…too pushy…too…

She sighed as she came to a realization.

Lexi was far too much like Rhythm, her first girlfriend. That was probably why she didn’t care for the blonde too much. Rhythm was very coarse at times and it was that exact attitude that caused her to get into trouble. For example, bludgeoning a bunch of police officers near to death and making out with a psychopathic killer in front of news cameras! Though she didn’t know if Lexi had done something like that, it would have probably only been a matter of time.

She sighed though as she saw that indeed she was looming closer to her sweet, redheaded girlfriend.

>> "Were ye good, Lex?"[/color]

>> "Of course I was! I just suggested some comics! Jeez."

>> "Es this true?"[/color]

Agnes eyed Rebecca. It was the perfect opportunity to tattle, to reveal just how pushy and sultry Lexi was trying to be with her. But…Agnes didn’t want to ruin Rebecca’s friendship, especially since this place was her job. Besides, there was every possibility that Lexi was just a tremendous flirt and that the runaway just didn’t know any better. It was not like she was flirted with very often. And when she was, half the time, it turned out to be boys.

She sighed and simply nodded her head. She held up the copies of Larva Girl and Awesome Arachnid that Lexi and pulled for her.

“Yeah,” she said with a soft smile. “Said these were good reads.”

>> “Yeah. Said these were good reads.”

Rebecca eyed her girlfriend, followed by a much more stern eyeing of Lexi. Unable to find a crack in either girl's armor, she sighed. "If ye say so..." Rebecca took the comics from her girlfriend and began typing the order into the register.

Lexi watched as her coworker pressed the buttons, grinning. Her fun was just about done, but she had two things left to do. Before the order was finished, Lexi leaned over the counter and whispered into Rebecca's ear, (which caused the Scot's spine to tingle.

"Agnes is a cute little thing and a sweetheart. She's invited to any of my parties, because I approve. She's quiet and kinda shy, but if she put up with me for you, she has to be head-over-heels in love with you. I think you're a lucky gal, honey."

Rebecca stopped entering numbers, unsure of how to respond to what was uncharacteristically sincere for the outlandish blonde.

Lexi moved away from the counter and wrapped an arm around Agnes's neck and pulled her closer so she could whisper her message to the other half of the relationship as well.

"You are a gem and a good sport for dealing with me. If you were single, I would try to snatch you up, but you are dating my favorite coworker. I think you are great for her, and she's blossomed since you two got together. I hope she brings you to all the comic shop parties, which you are always invited to. Just keep her safe and treat her well, because I'm pretty damn sure she loves you."

Lexi pulled away and, in a regular volume, finished with, "Kay, Aggie?"

The buxom blonde looked back to Spectacular Girl and mentioned, "I promised she would get our discount, so make sure to add that. I'm gonna go seduce some boys into buying a truck-load of comics. Bye, girlies!" With a playful wave and a grin, Lexi left the couple.

Rebecca was confused, and her mouth was stuck slightly ajar. She finally snapped out of it and looked down at the register, hitting the discount button. Her eyes returned to her girlfriend, who got her own little secret message. "That'll be $3.20, hun." Trying to be nonchalant, she fished for information. "So... did Lexi say anything interesting to you?"

It was obviously that Rebecca was trying to piece together something from her experience with Lexi but Agnes was a difficult nut to crack. She stood there, looking innocent and holding up the comic books. The truth was, that though Agnes was not entirely comfortable with Lexi, this was going to be Rebecca’s co-worker for who knew how long. The last thing she wanted was to ruin that relationship, even a work relationship, because Agnes may or may not have been misreading the girl’s signals. Though Lexi was increasingly blunt and brash, she was Rebecca’s friend and that was not something for the runaway to step in between of.

So, being the good girlfriend and not wanting to draw any lines in the sand, Agnes merely nodded to confirm that everything was fine and showed her sweet, redheaded girl the comics that Lexi had given her. When it was all said and done, Rebecca believed her.

Lexi then excused herself but before she could get very far, she pulled Rebecca off to the side and Agnes tilted her head as she whispered into her ear. Though Agnes could not hear the conversation, she was not sure of how much she liked it. Maybe it was because she could not hear it, maybe it was simply because she was far too close to Rebecca than she would have liked. Whatever the case, Agnes was over it…until Lexi returned to her and hugged her tightly to say her goodbyes…

>> "You are a gem and a good sport for dealing with me. If you were single, I would try to snatch you up, but you are dating my favorite coworker. I think you are great for her, and she's blossomed since you two got together. I hope she brings you to all the comic shop parties, which you are always invited to. Just keep her safe and treat her well, because I'm pretty damn sure she loves you…Kay, Aggie?"

Agnes nodded but said nothing.

The blush on her cheeks was so fierce but she was not entirely sure if it was from anger, embarrassment, or just nervousness. Lexi was far too brash for her taste, but she surprised the runaway be exhibiting a tenderness. Maybe that was what Rebecca saw in her? If so then maybe Agnes should give the woman the benefit of the doubt. Didn’t mean they were going to be best friends, but it was as close as they could probably get at the moment.

>> "I promised she would get our discount, so make sure to add that. I'm gonna go seduce some boys into buying a truck-load of comics. Bye, girlies!"

Agnes watched momentarily as Lexi skirted away. Slowly she made her way back to the counter where her girlfriend was ringing up the purchases and found her breath again. Lexi was like a stormfront that was hard to ignore. She hoped that she would not be scarred for life.

>> "That'll be $3.20, hun…So... did Lexi say anything interesting to you?"[/color]

Blink, blink, Agnes turned her attention back to Rebecca. It took a second for her to realize that she had been asked a question. Immediately she raced through her memory to recover it until finally she snagged something that sounded like what the redhead would have asked her. Money was involved…right?

“Oh, yeah,” Agnes smiled as she lifted up her purse and fished out a five dollar bill to pay for her items. But as the question shifted to Rebecca’s next, Agnes was not sure at first of what she could say. “Oh,, nothing really,” Agnes said with a shrug. “Just, you know, kept pushing these comics, and the new run of ‘Larva Girl’, and said I was invited to a party or something like that.”

Lexi's comment was still fluttering in Rebecca's head: "Just keep her safe and treat her well, because I'm pretty damn sure she loves you." Love? First of all, how would Lexi be the one with a love radar?

Secondly... Love? Neither of the girls had dropped the L-Bomb in the relationship-- it was probably too early for it, she thought. Did Agnes really love her, though? Rebecca thought about her own feelings before, but she was always uncertain. Agnes was her first significant other; how was she supposed to know when her feelings evolved beyond like? Was it at level sixteen or did it require a stone? (She needed to stop hanging out with Akshay.)

>> “Oh,, nothing really. Just, you know, kept pushing these comics, and the new run of ‘Larva Girl’, and said I was invited to a party or something like that.”

The last part of that matched up, but would Lexi really bother whispering a topic like Larva Girl? That devil-woman left whispering questions filling Rebecca's mind, saturating her capacity for curiosity. "Oh... right, that's cool. She told me tae bring ye tae th' parties, bit Ah understand if you'd rather not. Lexi's more than a handful." WHAT DID THAT BRAT REALLY TELL YE?

Agnes’ thoughts were still in a whirl. What did Lexi mean when she mentioned that Rebecca “loves you”? Like…love[/b] loves her? It was an odd thought to have because Agnes had never really even thought about the L-word yet with Rebecca. Obviously she never got that far with Rhythm, and with Jasmine, well, for as long as they were together the word never really came up. But hearing that word in the same sentence with Rebecca…it was enough to make everything pause.

Did Rebecca really love her? Was Lexi telling her the truth or was she just being mischievous? What about Rebecca? They’ve been together for months now, was that enough time to really know how they felt about each other? Agnes cared for Rebecca, deeply, but was it enough to label it as love? And how did Rebecca feel?

It was amazing how that one statement from that blonde could have thoroughly sent Agnes for a mental tail spin. But she couldn’t let that show on her face. She didn’t want Rebecca to know what Lexi had said because what if Rebecca really didn’t feel that way yet? That would prove to be rather embarrassing. So, Agnes did her best to appear as calm and relaxed as normal, smiling as her sweet girlfriend.

>> "Oh... right, that's cool. She told me tae bring ye tae th' parties, bit Ah understand if you'd rather not. Lexi's more than a handful."[/color]

Agnes shrugged as she continued to smile sweetly.

“She’s your friend, sweetie,” Agnes said with a nod. “If you want me to be there, I will. Besides, she isn’t all that bad. Just…I guess takes some getting used to?”

As she stood there, waiting for Rebecca to finish bagging and boarding her comic choices, she had to admit that she could not help looking at Rebecca in the light that she was. The cascades of her beautiful red hair, the gleam of her mismatched eyes, the curl of her lips whenever she smiled, all of it pieced together to create this mosaic of a gorgeous, intelligent young woman that Agnes cared about deeply. But even though her days rose and set with images of Rebecca, was that love?

The runaway didn’t know. She would have to think on that and, maybe, discovery a little more about how Rebecca felt too…