Well! There was a lot in this strip really, when you think about it.
Firstly, there's Bubbles' body language in panel 1. Any remaining doubts about the level of the emotional stake she's invested in her relationship with Faye can be set to rest. She's very obviously nervous and defensive; she's probably worried that she's offended Faye and scared her off. Her relief in panel 4 is very obvious.
It's Faye that made me think. Her reaction pretty much established that she has no problems with AIs whatsoever. In fact, her reaction indicates that her best friend has just asked her to help her get undressed, which strongly explains that "Oh my God, what do I
say? What do I
do?" moment in panel 3.
Yesterday, I drafted a post about Faye's end of this particular interpersonal dynamic. Whilst I think it is very obvious that Bubbles is attracted to Faye in many ways (to the point where Faye's easygoing intimate teasing embarrasses her quite deeply), I've never seen any any indication that Faye has anything other than feelings of friendship in return. However, that changed today with just one line in panel 1:
"It's pretty... uh... sudden!"
This may be me over-thinking it but calling it 'sudden' is strange way to put it unless Faye had been
thinking of this for a while. I think that she's been thinking of Bubbles being 'naked' for a while and what might happen then. That said, Faye is a good friend and she knows how delicate Bubbles's emotional balance is and she doesn't want to let her rush into something for which she isn't ready.
Yes, my interpretation of it is that Faye actually also finds Bubbles desirable but, like the fundamentally good person that she is, she doesn't want Bubbles rushing into intimacy in a moment of emotional release for fear it may hurt her.
P.S.: I can get the crossbow; Faye has the spirit of a woman who wants to be an armourer for a medieval re-enactment society
and she lives with Pintsize. However, why does she need a
pry bar under her bed? I suspect that they may still be having problems with their front door or something!