It's Been a While (Rackie & Lani; Invite)

"Both with and without. I even recall asking you a very similar question some time ago-
when my Control Unit was still online. Stumbling upon "love songs" music genre made me reload all the data I've collected and read a few more articles on the topic. However... I'm still not sure..." Said the hybrid, impatiently playing with her hair. Nana closed her eyes for a second and realized something. It was a yet another Eureka moment. "Perhaps I'm asking the wrong questions..." She said with her eyes closed. "Perhaps romantic feelings come naturally and learning about them is meaningless without experiencing them... If so the question should be: When one can tell that they are in love..." Nunally spoke, satisfied by reaching a seemingly correct conclusion.

She raised a brow at those words. The notion seemed nonsensical; how could anyone possibly answer such a thing? Instead, she shrugged, not fully aware of any way that she could explain such a thing, "It's... just a feeling." Jasmine finally managed to say. She didn't know how else to do so.

Nana shrugged as well and smiled. "I guess, sometimes I'm difficult to understand.
At least you tried..." The meister commented before giggling quietly. I guess, when the times comes I'll know about it. She thought. Then she suddenly smiled slyly. "So, "What is Love" anyone? I've read it's a rather popular song" Said the meister, also suddenly. Did she want to get small revenge for Jasmine's reaction when she saw the song's title?

There wasn't really time for either of the Fosters to respond; hardly had she gotten a word out to ask before they'd parked. Joseph's brow raised at her in the rearview mirror, a mouthed "no," accompanying the expression. Beside him, Lily looked to her curiously, merely announcing that it was dinner time.

A shiver ran down Nana's spine when she saw his expression. "Forgive Me, Father, for I have sinned..." Whispered the meister, looking away. They had finally arrived at their destination! The girl was quite excited to try some normal food for once (and she kinda wished they'd let her pay for herself). Nana decided to remain silent for at least a few minutes, for her own safety

Joseph was the first one out of the car and was soon making his way to each door, opening them each for the girls. once everything was locked up, he lead them inside, immediately requesting a table for four. He'd managed to be polite enough, for once, though that was probably more for the girls' benefit than anything else.

Nunally observed Joseph's behavior quite carefully- mostly out of fear of angering him again. Hm...At least he can behave politely when he wants to. The meister thought. It made her realize that out of the three siblings, Joseph was the one she wasn't able to understand. Compared to how much she had learned about Jasmine, she barely knew him. The realization caused her a small heartache.

The way that Lilian fell into step behind her brother seemed so natural that it was like instinct, as obedient as a duckling to its mother. Jasmine was ever the casual one among them, falling into step behind the wide-eyed girl that was still taking in the American world around her. Jazz wasn't used to higher-priced locations, but she didn't gawk in the same way, seemed more irritated by the area than anything else.

Nunally was walking beside Jasmine, collecting her thoughts and trying to stop thinking about her worries. She rubbed her eyes slowly and sighed. I feel a bit like a third wheel. The meister thought, observing her weapons discreetly. Nana wasn't even in the mood to start looking around the place for opportunities to learn something new.

Once sitting, Joseph finally managed to loosen up, relaxing into the booth that they had been brought to. Lily instinctively moved to sit beside her brother, leaving Jasmine and Nana together, again. "So..." he said, the first to speak as he set about pulling out his phone. "Where are going next?" His sister, meanwhile, were doing the smart thing and actually checking the menu.

Nunally looked into the menu, to check if she could find something interesting for herself. She knew nothing about regular food, meaning she had no idea what would be tasty for her and what wouldn't. The hybrid let her computer handle analyzing the menu, so she could reply to Joseph's question. "Depends on what you need, Joseph. You've probably already gotten most of the things you needed for the apartment. Hm...What about the electronics? Things like a refrigerator, a TV, and other things? Unless I have missed something, I don't think you have been looking for those" Spoke the meister, looking at him. Nana was waiting for the apartment shopping to end so she could go shopping for new clothes (and perhaps ask Jasmine to help her with choosing something decent).

"I'm bringing a lot of my own stuff, but that will only go so far with Lily added to the mix." He continued to look through his phone, testing and checking things wordlessly.

Jasmine found herself rolling her eyes, "We're doing that next, most likely. I imagine he wants your input, there. You'd be able to check the symptoms or something." Seeing Lily's face screwed up in confusion, Jasmine began leaning over the table and explaining various things to the girl.

Nunally rolled her eyes and sighed, placing her arms on the table. "Well... In this case, I can safely assume that we've already got everything for the apartment... Which means that I can probably start planning shopping for clothes. Seeing me in the same clothes every day must be uncomfortable for you all..." The meister said quietly, trying to plan things in a way that would satisfy everyone.

Jasmine shrugged, trying to make it out not that she didn't care that the girl only had one pair of clothing, but that she didn't mind the unease of seeing it; she didn't hold Nana at fault for it, in short. She'd been there, herself, and understood the situation herself. It wasn't the same, not really, but at the same time, she could sympathize.

"What do you like to wear? Or... what would you like to wear...?" Lily asked, her sweet voice breaking back through even as she scrunched her face up at the calorie counts; how did American food have so much fat in it?!

Nunally grabbed her own chin, trying to answer Lilian's question. It's not like she had any preferences, she would wear anything. However, took her role into consideration, after all, she was a meister, one of many students of the famous Shibusen. Nana was supposed to turn her weapons into Death Scythes.
"Hm... I'm not really sure, but... I know one thing- skirts are very impractical when you're a meister... So I definitely need to replace my skirt with some trousers. Hm, now that I think about it, I need a jacket for colder days and nights. Hm... I think I like wearing shirts, like the one I'm wearing right now..." Replied Nunally, trying to use the internet to help herself a bit.
The girl absolutely forgot about the menu she was checking just a moment before.

"Food first," Joseph said, not even looking up from his phone as he reached across the table to place his hand over top of hers. Normally, he'd be doing such to force the other person to put down their phone, but Nunally's computer brain didn't allow him that liberty. Instead, he went with what he could, and not even Lily was able to see the barest hint of pink that appeared at sides of his face, creeping towards his ears. In fact, the blushing was so slight that it didn't go beyond his side burns and was easily eclipsed by his hair.

Jasmine laughed, amused to find someone actually trying to scold the cyborg off of the "computer." "He's right, you know." She said, noticing how the waitress showed up as if on queue to ask for their drink orders. Lily immediately ordered a hot tea, Joe a glass of lemon water. Jasmine opted for a "pop," and seemed to be snickering to herself over the phrasing; her and Tony had a long-standing, almost inside joke of an argument over whether "soda" or "pop" was proper.

Nunally understood their intentions, even blushed slightly at the touch of Joseph's hand. The meister nodded, shutting down her computer.

Code:

Shutting down...
Hasta la vista, baby!

When the waitress showed up, Nana decided to order a simple glass of water, mostly due to her lack of knowledge about the taste of the drinks her friends had ordered. The girl preferred to be careful with what she was ordering

Jotting their orders down, the waitress quickly dismissed herself, to return shortly with biscuits and drinks. Opting to eliminate his hypocrisy, Joseph put his own phone away, glancing at the menu for but a moment. Passing his menu over, he decided to see what everyone wanted. Lily seemed excited to try some lobster, a fact that made Jazz's bank account cry even though she knew she'd never be allowed to pay. She was content, herself, to have pasta; Joe pressured her into letting herself splurge on one with lobster, crab, and shrimp in it. Joe, meanwhile, had opted for steak and shrimp.

"And what about you?" He asked, bringing Nunally back into the conversation once more, "I know you probably haven't had something so expensive before --- seafood's not cheap --- but maybe you at least know what vitamins you need? That might help..." He sounded awkward, unsure of himself, and that frustrated him.

"W-Well... Uh..." Nunally murmured, completely not sure what to chose from the menu and the prices were making her $200 cry in despair. Without her computer, she couldn't check what vitamins and substances her body needed. However, judging from her own condition, she guessed she needed just anything. She bit her lip Nana think, think, think. The girl thought. In the and she just gave up. "Uhm..Uh...W-Well, Joseph... I uh... Just... You can choose for me." The meister said, feeling a relief to leave ordering in his hands.

He managed to tilt his head in such a way that the shadows covered the wide smirk that spread across his face. A silent chuckle rocked him, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Lily, though she didn't say anything. She was, however, grinning.

Shouldn't have done that, Jasmine thought, hiding her own expression as she looked around the menu once more, wondering what he might order for her.

Nana noticed his smirk, then Lily's grin. I might have committed the greatest mistake of my life!
The girl started reading through the menu in a hurry, trying to deduce what Joseph might order. I should have chosen for myself...Stupid me. In the end, Nana put the menu away and started looking around the place- finally in the mood for some sightseeing.

The entire restaurant had a wonderfully blended theme of nautical and elegance. The booths were topped with railings like those you'd find on ships; the larger tables were shaped like giant captain's wheels. Portkeys revealed little pocket hints of the kitchen. Photographs were spread evenly about the walls, noting famous ships and harbors, as well as purely scenic images of the open ocean, spreading out towards the horizon. Were she to check the silverware, she'd notice that the ends were carved in the shapes of lobsters, and the salad forks were actually carefully designed as tridents.

I feel even more uncomfortable now... Thought the meister, who started regretting her urge to feed her curiosity. She closed her eyes and started thinking about something comfortable- but her memory wasn't merciful- She suddenly remembered one accident that happened during her time at her creator's laboratory: It was a boring day, filled with the usual chores. Nunally was cleaning the main office, the Professor asked her to do it. Then his assistant came in and started making jokes about getting her a maid outfit. The professor scolded his assistant, telling him to never even think about it again. Nana both sighed with sadness at the memory of her creator and his overprotective attitude towards her and clenched her teeth regretting not punching his assistant in the face during her last visit to the lab (which occurred during the malfunction of her control unit, caused by a power armor known as "Omega" ).
The meister quickly returned to reality and looked at her friends. She smiled, filled with happiness- her friends were her new family.

Soon enough, the woman was back with their biscuits and drinks. Being him, Joseph went ahead and put in everyone's orders, adding fish and chips --- for silly little Lily's benefit --- in as an appetizer. As the waitress jotted down their order, she seemed to be paying more and more attention to the man, stealing looks occasionally. Joe didn't seem to notice, but Lily groaned as soon as the woman winked and scurried off.

Nunally watched the waitress very carefully. At first, everything seemed fairly normal- she was doing her job. However, Nana quickly noticed that the waitress is crossing the professional border between the customer and the worker. The meister instinctively turned her computer on, crossing her arms over her chest. She started scanning the waitress' wavelengths, behavior and face expressions. This flirtatious bi-... ugh woman! Nana thought narrowing her eyes. Right after the waitress walked away, the girl realized that her behavior was quite unusual. It was a completely new feeling for her. It was like anger mixed with something else. Jealousy? Nana wanted to find a different answer, but nothing else seemed to fit the definition. The meister looked around, when she saw the same waitress on the other end of the restaurant, the feeling returned. Nana started staring at their table, feeling that a blush appeared on her cheeks. A ton of different thoughts stormed through her mind- "Why am I jealous? She isn't even a meister!" "T-That woman is quite attractive, to be honest. I wonder if Joseph likes such type of beau- WHAT AM I THINKING ABOUT! STAHP!" "But seriously...She is probably way more attractive than I, a girl from a glass tube, will ever be. ENOUGH WITH SUCH THOUGHTS!"
The meister's blood started boiling from the thoughts, she pouted and puffed her cheeks. Her feet started moving up and down really quickly, in a nervous way