Inappropriate like fucking.

"Mm, no I'm here to stop people stealing shit more than anything," he smiled, because Pete wasn't inherently awful, he just didn't have a lot of patience for that which did not interest him. "For real though, it uses surreal terrors to talk about humanity's anxieties, class struggles, societal fears... You could try something like..." He came around the counter, wandering down one of the aisles until he found what he was looking for, "The Power Fantasy. Has a bunch of supers that get treated like nukes instead of beacons of virtue, and it's all about the sneaky spy shit that goes on undercover to keep them from openly trying to decimate each other. Main character is black, and there's lesbians." He handed Gillian the comic, considering his work done. "You literally saw me sorting my pokemon cards. I'm trying to become a fuckin' scalper so I can buy somethin' nice for my girlfriend," he laughed, "not getting very far but it's better than blowing my money on crack, I guess."

Taking stock of Pete, namely how jacked he was and the fact that he was working at a comic book shop of all places, Gillian nodded once, "Yeah that makes a whole lot more sense. Humanity feels like a surreal terror a lot of the time so yeah, that sounds good. I might have to take it back, you may be a little better at selling than I thought. I take it you've read this?" She asked while she took the book and idly flipped through the pages, checking out the art style for a moment. "Yeah, okay you're right, I did see that. You're doing it for cash though, people really pay that much for Pokémon cards? Actually, that doesn't surprise me all that much, I know a guy who paid 15 grand for a lunchbox from the 80s or something because he collects them. What are you trying to buy for your girl? Back in the day my hustle was doing homework for lazy rich kids who wanted A's in their advanced math classes so they could do coke off of each other's assholes on the weeknight and still make mommy and daddy proud when report cards came around."

"Oh no, definitely seismic." Dulcie gave her a wink even if her cheeks were completely flushed. "It's been a while though, so we're going to need to take our time. Make sure we don't break anything." She laughed and stretched her arms above her head. "Ever met? Like ever, ever? But okay good. Because I want to keep it in my wallet and when people ask, oh what's that, I'll be like oh this? Just me and my gorgeous girlfriend on our first date in Miami." She let out a soft laugh at the question not because it was funny but because she realized she had never really had a conversation like this before. Most of Dulcie's relationships were short lived, she'd never even gotten to a year mark with someone. So this, this was a total change of pace. "Well this is my very first girlfriend survey so I just want to take in the moment." She paused and put her hands on her chest for a moment. "I think this is better than every dream I've had about this moment and believe me, I have had many. What about you? No regrets so far?"

"Ever easily, it's not even close. Sounds like it'll make for a good story. I should probably make sure I get a copy myself, there's more than a few friends from work invested in how the weekend goes. Believe it or not it is in my experience that men are much more gossipy than women, or maybe it's just the ones I'm around." Gillian nodded, going along with the survey bit as if she was making notes, but Dulcie's response turned her serious again, eyes softening, "Not a single one. I like being the one to make you this happy. I'd like being the one whose gonna make you do a few other things too." The flirty edge was back again, Gillian feeling more comfortable in the dynamic licked her lips while making eye contact that ensured what those 'other things' were very clear, the vibe only breaking when their food arrived. Once it did, Gillian changed gears to more casual conversation, "Since this is our first date I don't want us to be robbed of the experience just because we're best friends, so tell me something about yourself lately that I don't know yet."

"I mean what I'm not wearing underneath is probably a longer list," she told her with a wink but nudged her foot against Gillian's slightly. "I'm nervous too. It feels like we've been trying so hard not to that when we finally do it's going to be a little overwhelming. But in a really great way. And we'll take it at whatever pace feels good for us. I mean I kind of know what's gonna come after or who will come after," she paused, "ba dum dum tss," a snort of a laugh and she covered her face for a moment. "It's you and me, babe. It's gonna be great." She blushed even as she called her babe, getting used to it but liking how it sounded when Gillian was sitting across from her. It really was like all of her dreams come true, it was almost hard to believe. Almost. She gave her order to the waiter before happily taking Gillian's hand. "Hmm well I know it's cheesy but I want to find somewhere that has a photo booth for us to take pictures in. Something to commemorate this moment, you know?"

"Oh my God, you're such a fucking dork." Gillian said in between her soft laughs at Dulcie's joke, and thankful for her for putting her at ease (not unlike) how she always did for her. "It is going to be pretty great, isn't it? Seismic. Not putting any pressure on it obviously, but that part has never been an issue for us from night one." Idly, Gillian played with Dulcie's fingers while she listened to her, "I'm not unaware that you are cheesy. You are the cheesiest person I've ever met so it's really not something you have to give me a disclaimer about. I'm down for it, a photobooth shouldn't be too hard to make happen. So I know it's only date 1 but we've been moving like a couple all weekend. What do you think so far, it's the first girlfriend survey, but it won't be the last.

"Well yeah but this is like...no one's ever done something like this for me," she admitted, her cheeks already flushed from being called 'babe.' "No but Dua Lipa travels a lot and every time I see pictures of her and her new husband I'm like wow she really is live laugh loving this life. I mean I was planning on putting out on the first date so this is awkward...." she let out a low whistle before laughing. "I didn't buy this new thong for nothing you know." She was blushing again, not that she ever stopped as she tucked her hair behind her ear before reaching for her wine. "I haven't. My face is gonna be sore later. I'm..really happy right now. To be here but especially to be here with you." She held up her glass with a big grin. "A toast, to us."

A small part of Gillian felt like shit on the strength of no one going out of their way to treat Dulcie like this, herself included, but the bigger part was just grateful that she got to be the one to finally do it. She didn't exactly have the outlook down to a science yet, but she wanted to believe that their timing is what is was meant to be. "You're a fucking tease." She winked at Dulcie and took a sip of her wine to give herself a moment. "If I'm being honest, I'm weirdly nervous about that. Not because I don't want to, because trust me I want to, it's the after you know, really no turning back and no turning back from what comes. And I know I know I shouldn't think of the bad things that I'll think will come and I'm pushing those things aside but I'm just sharing so you ground me back to reality. I think telling me more about what's underneath would help a lot actually." When Dulcie called for a toast Gill laid her glass up, keeping eye contact with her date, "A toast to us." Moments later, their waiter came around and Gillian let Dulcie order first then Gillian herself. Once they were alone again, Gill held her hand out over the table, silently asking for Dulcie's hand, "Is there anything else you want to do before we leave tomorrow?"

Dulcie had felt like she was in a dream the entire trip to Miami. From the moment she packed her bag and found herself in the airport she was buzzing with excitement. Traveling with Gillian wasn't new to her but doing so while she could hold her hand and cuddle up with her on the plane was definitely new. But Dulcie wasn't going to waste time enjoying it. The day on the beach was much needed after a busy work week and she had to do her best to not guess at what Gillian had in store. She had played her music loudly to chill her nerves as she got ready, glad she brought options until she finally picked her outfit.

Everything was the epitome of so far so good, and while there was that little pessimist within Gillian that always had her diligent and waiting on the other shoe to drop, she silenced that voice as much as possible. Being around Dulcie helped with that immensely and making her happy and feel loved, put a battery in Gillian's back that wasn't running out anytime soon. "Pick up your jaw, babe. You shouldn't be this shocked, I told you I was sweeping you off your feet with this date." She was rewarded for the seating with a soft kiss which Gillian gladly received, "Good. You deserve it." She told her before she pulled out Dulcie's chair, then sat at her own, "Does Dua Lipa have a restaurant here? You've mentioned it a few times, not that I'm complaining in the slightest. That's presumptuous of you though to think we'd do anything that could halfway get you pregnant. What if I don't put out on the first date?" She teased Dulcie as she took a sip of water, "You look beautiful you know? I don't think you've stopped smiling since we touched down."

"Mhm well, I think I can be fairly persuasive so I'm willing to take that bet." She reached out to lightly brushing her fingers along Gillian's neck before following it with a soft kiss. Gillian was right, she did have people who had her back and it was good to know that no matter who she was with or what she went through she'd have a support net to fall back on. "You like it," she mumbled before kissing her back, pulling her a little closer. "There is no one else," Dulcie said, making sure their eyes were meeting. "There never was anyone else," she added, a slow smile growing on her lips. "But we can't become girlfriends before we go on a date. I mean what kind of girl do you think I am?" She was sure Gillian could hear her heart racing but she tried to drown out the sound with another kiss, wrapping her arms around Gillian's shoulders. She pulled away after a moment, trying not to get carried away but she didn't move away from Gillian. "I mean...unless you want to still see other people, I could call that girl back from the party," she teased, brushing her nose against Gillian's. She was pretty sure they were on the same page, she wasn't going to waste time getting jealous about the idea of Gillian with other people.

"I'm not gonna crack. Good luck with that." Gillian wasn't trying to push Dulcie into the arms of anyone else but she'd told her the night they acknowledged their feelings that Dulcie could still explore, that she didn't want to hold her back if she herself wasn't fully ready to be full on girlfriends so she had to ask. "I wouldn't dream of disrespecting the kind of girl that you are, of course." Gillian was deliriously happy and in awe of Dulcie and how firm she could stand in her feelings, Gillian had always admired that. "I don't want or need to see anyone else. You're it." It still felt bizarre, being this intimate with Dulcie but it also felt a little less so every time they were. Still, Gillian was still terribly afraid of too much too fast so she kissed Dulcie one last time then separated herself and went to Dulcie's kitchen, raiding the pantry, "You have such bad snacks in here. This organic shit is for the birds."

"I will get my answer eventually," she teased, the idea that they had their whole lives ahead of them both filling her with joy and mild anxiety. What if all the time in the world was too much time? It was a silly thought and she realized that the minute she felt Gillian's fingers on the skin of her stomach. "Soul scissoring?" She let out a snort of a laugh because she could imagine Tahani saying that and it was incredibly accurate. "She should trademark that. Especially during pride month. She threatened you?" Dulcie pouted not because she was sad but because she was touched. She loved Gillian and they were best friends in so many ways but there would never be a replacement for Tahani and Odessa. They had taught her what unconditional love was and she was so much better for it. "I mean I had to go to a higher power. I can't help that they are incredibly powerful." Dulcie was sure her face was hot now, the words coming out of Gillian's mouth feeling surreal.

"That's what you think, but I'm pretty tough to crack. I could go to the grave with this information for all you know." The way they spoke now, with the optimism of time together, a guarantee of yet to be lived happy moments as a couple was overwhelming for Gillian but she had her head on straight and being overwhelmed adjusting was far preferable to losing Dulcie. "Yeah she did. I'm weirdly glad that she did. Just further confirmation that people have your back." The irony of Gillian being a lone wolf and yet constantly finding herself falling for girls with tight knit groups of friends was not lost on her, "You're corny as fuck." She told Dulcie before kissing her again, and gave a little resistance when Dulcie tried to wiggle out of her grip, but let her go right after, "Okay first week of July - it's a date. Consider it booked. Is that what you think of me as? You kind of sort of definite girlfriend? Does that mean you aren't seeing anyone else?"

"Just how many years are we talking here?" She was smiling again, buzzing with the idea that Gillian had been pushing down these feelings all along. "I'll talk to her," she promised, more for herself than Gillian. Tahani was one of the most important people in her life and would be forever. She didn't want to let something like this linger, especially when it seemed like she and Gillian were moving towards something serious. She wanted them to co-exist with joy and she figured it was time to forgive her best friend for something that hadn't been done maliciously. It's not like she couldn't understand why the two would be attracted to each other. If given the chance on either side Dulcie would have probably taken it. She bit her bottom lip as she watched Gillian move towards her, warmth already stirring in the pit of her stomach before she felt Gillian's lips on hers. She wrapped her arms around her, sighing contentedly against her lips as she kissed her back. "You're such a tease," he mumbled, pressing her forehead against Gillians. "Can't believe I'm about to get flown out for a first date. All that manifesting really worked. Well that and the etsy with I paid last year."

"Approximately none of your business amount of years. Yeah somewhere around there." Gillian answered slyly, truth be told she couldn't pin point a moment, it just became her reality at some point once she realized not having Dulcie in her world wasn't an option and she wasn't dumb enough to do something so destructive because she couldn't keep it in her pants. She told herself that there would always be other women for that, but for the companionship they provided each other, that was irreplaceable. "She's also really happy about it, says we've been soul scissoring, which I hate is actually funny as fuck. I even got threatened so that's pretty cool." As they weren't constantly physical, Gillian made their kissing count, flirting with sliding her hands underneath Dulcie's shirt, but (barely) restrained herself and instead held on to her hips lightly, "Bitch, you put a spell on me? That makes so much since considering you have me walking around like a crazy person. That being said, fuck it. Let me know when you're free and I'll book. You'll look amazing, fall even more in love with me. It'll be a whole vibe."

"You're being so... flowery," Tahani flourished her hand, given Gillian's mostly vague comments. "Us with a little more honesty? You sicken me in the best way. I didn't even know you had it in you to be sweet," she teased, clearly loving every second of this brand new information. Obviously she was glad Gillian had got her shit together, but mostly she was over the moon for Dulcie. She deserved to have everything she'd ever wanted and more, and if Gillian was one of those things then so be it. "Your foundation isn't solid yet? After all this time? Excuses, excuses," she sing-songed, tipsy and getting more giddy by the second. As if Gillian should have expected anything else when Tahani was a menace even when she was entirely sober. "You're what with her? I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that, it's so loud in here..." she grabbed Gillian's hands, pulling her in so there was no choice but to make eye contact, "I'm very proud of you. And I'm really glad I don't have to kill you and make it look like an accident to avenge you breaking Dulcie's heart. That would have sucked because I actually really like having you around."

Even though it admittedly felt good to be getting everything that was inside of her head out to someone safe, flowery was a bridge too far and Gillian shot Tahani a look that said as much. "Our foundation for friends is unshakeable sure, as more than that I don't know, I've loved a lot of girls and they've all gone away for one reason or the other, none of those reasons being me so I'm being very intentional." She rolled her eyes at Tahani's antics, "You're a fucking cartoon, you know that?" Gillian wasn't averse to physical contact so she didn't put up a fight when Tahini took her hands, (as if it would be a fight she'd win against an excitable Tahani). "Thanks…I guess. So did you know? How long she's been actually into me, like beyond just being attracted to me? I'm not an idiot, I knew that." It was true, Gillian being Dulcie's first time meant that the attraction had always been there, but Gillian had chemistry with most women so it didn't stand out. She could even admit to times where Dulcie probably was crushing on her, but Gillian for a long time truly had no idea Dulcie thought of her in that way, especially once she hit her self proclaimed 'hot girl' era. She knew how she felt, like she could see they would be good together but she also saw how all of her girlfriends left and Gillian had internalized that if she wanted Dulcie to stay a fleeting romance wasn't worth eroding their friendship over - only she never counted on the feelings on Dulcie's side to be more than fleeting, having sustained all of this time. "Please, I might have bought you'd hire a hitman, but you're not about to get your hands dirty. Too much effort and not enough time between your Vanity Fair shoot and when you have to relieve the babysitters, bitch."

"Ooh, see there's an idea because those ladies love drama... Hold up I just have to call Nixon about something completely unrelated," she jangled her purse as if she were looking for her phone. Gillian had been such an interesting addition to her life, a friend but also a challenge, someone who could absolutely keep up with her and kept her on her toes. While there had been that whole hiccup where they'd slept together, she was glad it hadn't ultimately ruined things for Dulcie. If it had, it might have been the first time she'd actually felt guilt. "Okay, bitch, wait..." Tahani was so serious she put her glass down, needing two hands available to be able to think properly. "This whole time you two have been like, spiritually scissoring and you still won't just, like, lock it down? What does taking it slow even mean? Then again, I'm probably not the best judge of that given my track record but– you haven't even been on a date yet?! Oh this is so good, I mean like, I could cum right now. Go on, go on, tell me more."

"Yeah, I mean I wouldn't say it like a fucking degenerate such as yourself, but we've been us…with a little more honesty between us." Part of what Gillian liked about being Tahani's friend was that while their relationship was born independent of Dulcie, they both had just as much love and affection of her so she knew talking to Tahani meant the woman had Dulcie's best interest in mind, which was a relief because that's what Gillian wanted too - yes, everyday that they walked towards their new and likely inevitable direction Gillian got more comfortable admitting how she felt, reassurance that the two of them wasn't a horrible idea felt nice. "Just like locking it down isn't…enough. This is important, I want to make sure the foundation is solid. And yeah, I don't want to get her pregnant, I can't dunk a basketball so I'd be a little fucked." She shrugged, "Like I said, slow and it means a pace that doesn't freak me out. I'm in love with her, you know? She isn't business as usual. If she's not endgame then I'm meant to be alone." Gillian ran her hand over her face to mask a frankly goofy smile, "That's so fucking weird to admit out loud. I spent a lot of time pushing all of this shit down and now it's just like...accept it or lose her." Gillian knew she probably sounded like an insane person and unlike Tahani had ever seen her, but the genie couldn't exactly go back inside the bottle.

As much as Tahani's eyes widened and head cocked to the side in shock at being called a has-been, she didn't entirely explode on Gillian. She'd learned her friends ways and while she wasn't entirely immune sometimes she could manage it. "Yeah well I'm also a hot model dating a basketball player so how about that for a cliche," she added with a tipsy little giggle. "You're actually an asshole and I can't believe you'd do this to me, the blondest person you know," she drew a finger down her cheek like a tear, ready to have to literally beg but it seemed Gillian was feeling generous. Given her slight level of intoxication it did take her a second to click on but when she did, oh did she light up. "Stop, shut up. No fucking way... I swear to god you better have a u-haul lined up because if you ever leave her I'll run your ass out of town oh my fucking god are you serious?" She paused for a breath, brows knit when she stopped to think, "Wait, how long are we talking?"

"It's a classic one, if you ever tie the knot that gay who runs the real housewives is going to be beating down your door." Tahani amused Gillian to no end, the girl was a force in a way that was very authentic to her, and for taking care of her kids the way she did Gillian already had nothing but fierce respect for her. Still, she wasn't above making her work for some gossip and she would have made her work even harder if she wasn't secretly dying to talk with someone about her feelings. She smirked and that smirk fought for dominance with a full on grin and lost. "I'm not going to ever leave her and I'm very serious. But it's also not a full on relationship or anything like that, not yet anyway. We're taking it very slow, really fucking slow. We only kissed, a really good fucking kiss and that was about 6 months ago. With maybe some more kissing here and there but I think I'm ready to ask her out on an official date."

Dulcie could feel her cheeks heating up, but this time from embarrassment. She and Gillian really knew how to ride a rollercoaster during their conversations. "It's fine it's just..something I don't like to think about. I mean no, Tahani is my best friend. I love her. And I don't know, you always feel a little territorial over your best friends. But in this case two of my best friends hooked up with each other and it just," she made a motion of her hands exploding. "I tried to get over it but like there's this little part of me that's insecure about it. And now I'm wondering if Tahani feels weird that I didn't tell her myself. I mean she's one of my biggest cheerleaders I just...stopped myself." She stretched out her legs so one of her feet was touching Gillian's leg, wanting the contact so she didn't feel like she was drifting away. "I guess it just takes time, you know? I mean Tahani is...Tahani, total babe. Who wouldn't want her?" She shook her head, not wanting to feel jealous of one of her greatest friends and she was confident in herself but there was always a part of her that would wonder if she was worth staying for. "I mean..." she started, a small smile growing on her lips. "It wouldn't hurt if you came over here and kissed me."

Gillian made sure she really listened to what Dulcie was admitting to her, a simple 'it wasn't that deep and didn't mean anything beyond sex for either of them' wouldn't be helpful or put Dulcie at ease. From the sounds of it, it wasn't something Gillian could even fix in an instant unless she finally cracked the formula for time travel. "Would it help if I pointed out the obvious being she isn't the one I've to varying degrees of success suppressing feelings for years? But like you said it takes time and I don't want her in the most respectful way possible because I consider her a friend. As far as how she feels about you not telling her, I don't know, but I don't think it's anything that couldn't be worked out with a conversation if there's anything to work out at all." Gillian felt relief flood her body when a smile returned to Dulcie. "Oh yeah well if it'll help then I guess I could…" Gillian snaked her way up to Dulcie and teased the girl, hovering her lips over Dulcie's, moving ever so slightly closer and then further away until she finally let their lips touch and she kissed the girl long and slow.

"Oh no he's definitely still my favorite. You're just a very close second." The smile she had a moment ago fell slightly as Gillian told her she had told Tahani. There were a million thoughts running through her head. The first being how Tahani must have felt hearing it from Gill and not her. Second the fact that they were hanging out a cocktail party. Dulcie knew logically that not only was Tahani way in love but that she cared about Dulcie. Still, it picked at a deep insecurity inside of her and she pulled away slightly. "I mean no it's good she knows I just..should have probably told her myself. I guess," she paused and groaned, knowing she had to be honest. That's what they promised. "I still get jealous about the fact that you two hooked up. And not just jealous of her but jealous of you too," she admitted. "You're both so important to me and it's just, when it happened it really fucked with me a little bit. I wanted so badly to be cool about it but you know me, when have I ever been cool about anything?"

Being so enamored with Dulcie's smiling it was immediately noticed when her smile fell. She had stepped in it, she knew that but was caught off guard because if anything she thought Dulcie would be happy that she got along with one of her best friends. Dulcie pulling away from her made Gillian inwardly panic that she'd done the wrong thing like she crossed some sacred friend line but then Dulcie clarified and Gillian saw that it was worse, "Oh…" It was all she could say for a moment while she listened intently, "I didn't know it fucked with you, I'm sorry." She didn't regret per se hooking up when she did, grateful of the results that came about, but had she'd known more about how Dulcie still felt about her and that it would screw with her she probably would have made a different choice that first night. "Do you have some kind of lingering…anything for her or am I wrong about that part." If she had a thing for Tahani, that was news to Gillian, but she'd deal with that if it was part of this whole thing. She wasn't so obtuse though that she didn't know the bulk had to do with the two of them, "If I knew it would hurt you I would have never gone there. What can I do to ease your not cool about it feelings?"

"Okay well that's rude. I want you to be like one of those cartoons with heart eyes. Very dramatic." She was sure her cheeks were flush, just the feeling of being under her gaze enough to make her blush. But being flirted with? Being desired by Gillian? It was like a surge of electricity was running through her. She let out a laugh and covered her face. "You're probably right but I'm okay with that. Easier than spreading the word myself. What about you? Have you told anyone besides Arc?" She poked Gillian's side slightly but she was curious. The thought of Gillian telling someone about her made her chest feel warm.

"Yeah, that's what I'm known for, drama." If Dulcie wanted heart eyes she need only look at Gillian when she got bashful, because the older girl's eyes never failed to fill with adoration, adoration that she was no longer hiding how cute she found Dulcie when she got bashful and or giddy. "Oh Arc doesn't know. I'm still figuring out how to break the news that he was never actually your favorite in the apartment, it's gonna break his heart." She joked then gave Dulcie a real answer, "I went to some cocktail party thing with Tahani the other day and told her about it. Part of me figured she would know already but turns out I beat you to it."

"I am thinking about what I'm gonna wear. It's our first date, I want to make sure your eyes are popping out of your head the minute you see me." She knew that Gillian would indeed have everything handled and Dulcie was letting herself be romanced as opposed to trying to control every aspect of it. Gillian was one of the few people she could let go with like that and it required a lot of trust. Fortunately, they had that in boatloads between them. "Odessa. I was with her the day after we first kissed. She could tell I was giddy. And Chuck because he's like a fucking dog he could smell it on me somehow." She laughed as she remembered the conversation. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell more of her friends it was just that she was enjoying it just being them right now. Well that and she liked to not think about Tahani and Gillian hooking up but she wasn't going to say that out loud. "Oh and I guess Chase because nothing is a secret between him and Oddie and he's always encouraging me to go find a date."

"My eyes pop out of my head when I see you now. I've just got a really good poker face, Hernandez." The line between sincerity and flirting was extremely close together; the only difference between this and her usual shameless flirting was that instead of attempting to get a reaction of sorts she was more so embracing the newfound luxury of honesty she was allowing herself to have. "Dulcie, should we maybe tell congress? If Chuck knows then all the gays in Rosewood do." She was joking of course, she didn't have a desire to stifle whoever Dulcie wanted to tell, she herself was an island and the only person she told was Tahini which could be not quite a conflict of interest, but a little messy. Still, Gillian didn't trust a lot of people but the mother of two became one of the few plus she cared about Dulcie just as much as she did, which Gillian saw as an upside and a safe place.