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[tearsthrulife]

If there was anything Rahne was good at, it was rolling with whatever was thrown at her. This situation was unexpected, to be sure, and completely unlike anything she'd had to deal with before, but she was determined nevertheless not to let the breakup - and Lord, it sounded juvenile to describe it as such - throw her off too much. There was just

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[justsookie]

"Pink's not a bad color," Sookie offered, a basket of laundry propped up on her hip as she made her way into the laundry room. In truth, Sookie had more than enough clothes back in her hut to go without doing laundry for another couple of weeks at least, but these days she made a point of keeping busier than usual. The arrival of Rapture was already jarring enough, but knowing all that people had been through lately, some arrivals and some departures, some injuries and even some unexpected pregnancies, Sookie had decided to walk about the island as frequently as she could, on the chance that she might happen across someone who needed a talk. Someone who needed comfort

[tearsthrulife]

"Not really my shade," Rahne pointed out, tugging at a lock of her hair, though there was a smile on her face at the sight of Sookie all the same. The one thing which gave her, for lack of a better word, trepidation about having broken up with George, it was the number of mutual friends they had; she didn't want anyone to have to choose sides any more than she wanted to be the bitch who'd abandoned her boyfriend when things got tough. That Sookie wasn't so firmly Team George was a relief, definitely. "It's yuirs, if ye want it."

Tossing the shirt into the nearest dryer - she'd dry it with the rest of her clothes regardless - she bit her lip when she straightened, still looking at Sookie as she began transferring the rest of the clothing as well. "And I suppose I'm holding up as well as possible," she said, shoulders lifting in a shrug. "It's been quiet, at least."

[justsookie]

Quiet seemed to be one of those qualities people sought when all else was falling around them, Sookie thought to herself. One of the ways that people consoled themselves. Sure, losses happened, one's personal world could start to crumble under it all, but if everything was quiet, then at least there was something. With a slight quirk of her lips, one far from amused, and more like resigned, Sookie closed the distance between the two of them and gently picked at the shirt, at the uneven shade of pink that had settled into the cloth

[tearsthrulife]

The nice thing about Sookie, Rahne thought in that moment, was that she didn't push, offers there but without any implicit requirement to talk about her feelings the way that seemed to be so frequent among girlfriends. She'd never been a fan, neither of the persistence nor the talking itself, and tended to stay away from such things. As it was, this was simple, anyway; there was little to talk about. George's girlfriend from home had shown up, he was unexpectedly going to be a father, and she had done what was best for everyone, full stop, end of story.

"Oh, I vote we do as the guys do," she said with a surprisingly genuine smile, grabbing an armful of clothes to toss into the dryer, not wanting to waste time on something so menial. "Even if it ends up in talking about it anyway, at least we won't have to sit around being all maudlin about it."

[justsookie]

While Sookie had made a point of avoiding all alcohol in recent months, not wanting to do anything which put her ability to do her job at risk, there were certain events which merited an exception or two, and this had to be one of them. Sookie remembered the times when she had fought with Bill, times when they'd put their relationship on hold just over the course of a few weeks, and how much it'd hurt to have him separated from her then. But that was only a fledgling relationship- George and Rahne, on the other hand, had been together for months. And with both of them quickly becoming two of Sookie's closest friends on the island, seeing them in pain, and seeing them separate from one another, was no easy thing to swallow

[tearsthrulife]

"See, ye say that, and it gives me all the more reason to encourage ye to try it," Rahne said, biting back a wider smile. Her own clothes, she left as they were; knowing people around here, they would still be there when she got back, and if not, well, they were easy enough to come by. She just liked to avoid using the box when at all possible. That didn't mean she was opposed to resorting to it when absolutely necessary. "I'll at least hold off for a while, though. Make sure there's no one around who could use it for blackmail."

[justsookie]

"I know, I know. I call attention to my awful singin', and suddenly people are just lining up to listen to me try, 'cause they figure that a cute little blonde chick couldn't possibly screw up a tune or two too badly. But oh, they'd be surprised," Sookie laughed lightly, reaching out to hook her arm around Rahne's so that they could walk together. All that Sookie could remember wanting, whenever Bill wasn't around, was companionship. It didn't necessarily have to be a man getting involved in her life, it didn't have to be a romantic interest, but breaking up left a person vulnerable, and no matter what, some level of comfort was always lost.

Sookie would just have to help make up for it elsewhere. (She could only be glad that Rahne wasn't in constant tears about it; after being around for Arlene's numerous divorces, Sookie knew that plenty of women turned to waterworks instead.)

"Admittedly, I'm not sure that it's blackmail levels of awful. Unless we sing somethin' real embarrassing."

[tearsthrulife]

"Oh, it's a we now, is it?" Rahne asked with a short laugh, easily letting Sookie take her arm, falling into step beside her. Whether it was instinctive or genuine, she really was grateful for this and the other gestures, ones which allowed her to relax slightly, to stop wondering about who'd taken whose side. Sookie was here, and maybe everything wasn't as it ought to be, but there was at least one person she hadn't lost, and she appreciated that more than she could say. "Well, if that's what it takes to get ye to sing, I don't see why I couldn't manage a duet. It is for a good cause, after all."

[justsookie]

Obviously, a little song or two- embarrassing or otherwise- wasn't going to solve all of their problems. Sookie could still think of so many things that were bound to get messy, so many things which still stood a chance of going wrong, and in her heart of hearts, even beyond all of that, she still knew that a part of her genuinely wanted George and Rahne to get back together someday. What was less clear to Sookie was whether that was simply born of a desire for familiarity, or because that she saw something deeper between the two of them that stood a chance of overcoming such hurdles.

But being able to casually head towards the bar for a few drinks, being able to forget how stressed they all were, how tempers flared at times, it was a welcome break that Sookie felt she would have needed even without Rahne needing the same.

"Female solidarity," Sookie cited with a grin. "And maybe your lovely voice will drown out my horrible singing, sparing lots of ears when we finally get around to that dang karaoke machine."

[tearsthrulife]

"I think ye might be overestimating me there," Rahne said, but she was laughing all the same, and a part of her suspected that might have been the point in the first place. It wasn't as if she'd been moping beforehand, but she did feel lighter with a distraction and the promise of something entertaining to do with her time, which she'd been short on as of late, with the exception of ventures out into dinosaur territory for the hell of it. (What could she say? Occasionally she liked the rush, too used to her line of work back home not to.)

Still following along, she shook her head a little. "Ye've got a deal, though."

[justsookie]

"I don't usually overestimate my friends," Sookie confessed with a knowing grin, sure that (outside of the context of karaoke, at least) Rahne was every bit as remarkable as the day that they'd met, having lived through so many impossible circumstances, and still managing to maintain a relatively positive outlook in spite of all of that. She didn't buoy her hopes too high, didn't drown under the weight of disappointment, but instead always went about live practically, honestly, and had a direct sort of tone that Sookie could appreciate. "Mostly 'cause my friends are all so amazin' that they end up exceeding expectations every time. I don't do y'all enough credit."

She rolled her eyes playfully as the two of them walked out of the rec room. "'Course, I have to admit, I'm no expert on karaoke. Maybe I've pegged you wrong and we'll end up knockin' everyone on their backs faster than a harvest of mandrakes."