Author's Note: Written for Fanfic100 prompt #12: Orange. It's set at some point in the vague sort of future that will never happen because Marvel can't let their characters be happy. (Bitter what?) Thanks again to my beta. Cheers!
Disclaimer: Characters mentioned are used without permission and are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc. I do not own them and am simply borrowing for my purposes. Please don't sue.

the orange dress
by, Caliente

It was a cool, sunny winter afternoon in Newark, New Jersey. Inside a much warmer, modestly appointed apartment, Rahne Sinclair stood very obviously trying to smother a laugh. The person in front of her was glowering violently in response. "It's very… orange," the Scot said finally.

Danielle Moonstar threw her hands up into the air, making a frustrated noise. "That's it! I'm not wearing it! I'm not!" She marched back to her closet as Rahne watched, hiding a smile behind her hand. "She can find someone else to be a bridesmaid because I'm out. I'm out! I don't care if its Sam getting married, I'm out." Dani caught sight of herself in the mirror and deflated with a sigh. "I look like a fruit." Now Rahne really was laughing which prompted Dani to throw a pillow at her. "Not like that."

"Look, Dani… I dinnae know much about dresses," Dani rolled her eyes at that comment, "but it's not really that bad…"

She blinked at her friend. "Fruit, Rahne. I look like fruit." Then she sighed again and signaled for her friend to unzip her. "Why's he even want me in this stupid thing, anyway? I'm just gonna be in the way." Dani glanced over her shoulder at Rahne. "You should be in the wedding. You're the cute one."

Frowning slightly, Rahne averted her eyes from her friend as her cheeks tinted. "Ach, I amn't." Dani hung her dress on the hanger, grabbed a robe and turned to face the other girl with a raised eyebrow. (She didn't mind her state of undress, but, for her conservative friend's sake, she figured she'd cover up.) Rahne folded under Dani's gaze. "And I might've…" Rahne took a deep breath then explained as fast as she could manage, "tried t'kiss Sam a few years ago." Dani's jaw went slack and Rahne's flushed deepened. "It was when I was, you know, a wee bit feral."

Understanding dawned on Dani and she gave her friend a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Yeah, well, I guess I can see Lila vetoing you, then." She smiled and winked at Rahne, who forced a weak smile in return. "But, still… why me?" She knew she was being self-absorbed but reasoned her friend would be thankful for the change in subject. "Shit… I was the only left, wasn't I? His only truly platonic friend." She groaned, covering her face with her hands. "This just keeps getting better and better."

It was Rahne's turn to roll her eyes as she took a seat on the bed as well. "I dinnae think Sam ever had a more than platonic relationship with Shan," she observed. "Or Sally. Or Maria."

"Is she not evil again?" Dani asked absently, propping herself up on one elbow. Being trapped inside had definitely shortened her attention span. "Wait, didn't she lose her powers too?" Rahne shrugged. Dani ignored the look she was giving and continued pressing the point. "Still—"

"Still nothing," Rahne interrupted, voice just aggravated enough to make Dani feel abashed. Rahne only got like that when the people she cared about were being especially thick—though it was usually directed more toward the likes of Julio and Roberto than her. "You really can't see it, Dani? Think about it. About Sam. You've got a special relationship. Always have. Co-leaders of our first team. Pushing each other."

Against her better judgment, Dani tried to interject. "But—"

It was no use. Rahne was on a roll. "And then when you were older—you were always there for each other. He offered you the X-Men. Challenged you. Remembered to be there for you." There was a tinge of guilt in her tone at that. "And you-you were always there for him to fall back on. Supportive of him but still keeping him grounded."

"I don't really think—" she tried again.

Rahne would not be stopped. "What was it you told me? 'He's not my type.'?" Dani kept her mouth shut this time, opting to just nod instead. "I think—just my opinion, mind you—that you and Sam… you're friends but… it's like, even though you don't always get on, you-you need each other. More'n you need most o' the rest of us. You may not be the best of friends but still…" Dani nodded again, more slowly this time. She'd never thought of it quite like that but maybe Rahne had a point. Exhaling slowly, her friends voice grew more placid. "Just my opinion, though."

A long moment stretched between them. "He's always been so much better to me than I was to him," Dani said finally, more subdued. "I was never the friend to him that he was to me." She looked at the dress and sighed. "I don't deserve to look like a fruit at his wedding."

Rahne vainly fought a smile. "I dinnae really think that's fair, Dani. I mean, you've always been there to pick up his slack. Nobody else ever told him what he needed to hear."

Dani pulled a face. "That's just a nice way of saying I was the only one bitchy enough to be mean to the nicest guy to ever cross the Mason-Dixon line." She sighed and shook her head only to find herself being hit in the face with a pillow. "Hey!" she cried, sitting up and looking accusingly toward her friend.

"Och, just stop feeling sorry for yourself already," Rahne told her. "If you can't see the obvious, then you're right—you don't deserve to stand up there with Paige, Bobby, Guido and whoever else they've got in the wedding party."

Blinking at her friend, Dani smiled. "Yes, ma'am!" she conceded with a salute. She stood and headed toward the closet, opening the door to look at the dress again. "Why do you think Lila picked orange, anyway?" Dani asked offhandedly as she began to search for a warm change of clothes.

"Isn't it obvious?" Rahne returned, smirking faintly. Dani glanced over her shoulder and quirked an eyebrow at her friend. "She doesn't want to be upstaged by anyone else on her wedding day. She wants to look best."

Dani found herself grinning back as she pulled on a favorite pair of jeans and thermal shirt. "Fair enough." It was her day, after all. "But I think I'll hope she has to wear fuchsia next time she's a bridesmaid all the same."