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When Rhonda Rosen kissed Quinn, she was technically 79 years old. She knew from a young age that her type was musicians, both Marjorie and Joyce can account for that, but it took her 79 years to find the extra criteria that she was looking for.
79 Years to find Quinn.
Falling for Quinn wasn’t something that came suddenly, it happened slowly, over a series of conversations, of carefully tested boundaries. It didn’t just appear, it was just there. Through each interaction, through each new perspective gained. Each wall that Rhonda had put up the second Mr Manfredo’s hands were around her neck, taken apart brick by brick with so much care. All of it led to this moment right now.
From the second her lips pressed against theirs, all Rhonda felt was hunger. It was just a small brush at first, but when they pulled apart and looked at each other, she knew that she wanted - needed - more. It felt like an out of body experience, the way they melded to each other, her hands grabbing the back of their neck, playing with the baby hairs there, while Quinn grabbed her round the waist and pulled her deeper.
No one had ever kissed her like this, with reciprocal slow hunger Quinn both simultaneously devoured her and cradled her with the care of someone holding something irreplaceable.
It fueled her.
They did eventually break apart, sighing and grinning at each other, the weight of change didn’t feel overwhelming like it normally does for Rhonda, but like some pieces had finally slipped into place. For some messed up reason, everything bad that had happened to her, felt worth it - to be with Quinn right here.
“We should probably - talk?” Quinn breaks the quiet silence, their hand clasped round Rhonda’s own, tracing her fingers.
Rhonda hums, showing that she’s listening, which Quinn takes as a sign to keep going.
“Well, I mean - I don’t know about you but I don’t want this to be a one time thing” They say, uncertainty hanging in their voice - it’s sickeningly endearing.
“I don’t want this to be a one time thing either… I’ve waited 62 years for someone to get close enough to me again, I’m not losing that”
The grin she gets in return is blinding, brighter than the sun, and yet she doesn’t want - nor wish to look away.
But something nags at her, deep in her gut… what Maddie said earlier at the fair.
She’s waited this long, but how much time do they really have? And with Simon still stuck here, all their focus has to be on getting him out, regardless of the weight in her heart.
Quinn can see her pensive face, can tell that there's something else they need to consider, and knows about that one tiny detail. Their own face shifts from the smile into a look of concern, and Rhonda can’t stand it.
She reaches out and pulls their lips onto hers once more, careful not to get carried away. Just a simple kiss, to reassure, to validate.
“I’m just- Maybe we shouldn’t tell everyone? Not just yet.” She says after they pull apart, her hand staying on their neck with her thumb rubbing their cheek. They look so precious like this, so small and soft in her hands.
They nod slightly, melting into her touch.
“Is it… Because of what Maddie said? Or…”
Rhonda sighs, part of her wishes this was easier, that just for once, things could be straight forward but it’s just how it goes when you’ve died way before you should’ve. She nods slightly before shifting their positions, pulling Quinn's arm into her lap before burrowing the side of her head into their clavicle, hoping to find some abstract feeling of safety in their embrace.
“Partly yeah, we’ve got a lot going on, with Simon still stuck here, Wally fussing around trying to suck up to Maddie - and the big ugly truth that we don’t really know how much time we actually have together…”
Quinn makes a sound of noncommittal agreement, and Rhonda doesn’t miss the way their hand grips hers just that little bit tighter.
“So we… pretend?”
“No. God no Quinn I could never pretend to be anything but-” Damn it, Rhonda was about to say anything but in love - but thats… a thought that should not be voiced until later. “I think we just keep things how they used to be when we’re all in the group. But when we’re alone, we can do whatever we want - we’re just removing the new found… physical aspect of it and don’t say anything about it”
There’s silence, and for one second, Rhonda feels a fear creeping up her spine. That this is where Quinn draws the line. It’s stupid of course, but the fear is there. Who’s to say that Quinn doesn’t want more than just her company out of this? Who’s to say that all this was, was something that they could use to boast?
The stupidity hits her the second Quinn’s lips brush the crown of her head, breathing her in like they need her more than oxygen. Which, well, they are dead so they probably do need her more than oxygen.
Quinn then pulls away so that they can look her in the eye properly, the softness in their expression is like mortar for the cracks in her heart. Each heart ache she’s ever faced is slowly getting fixed by Quinn - and she wouldn’t want it either way.
“That's fine Rhonda, I only really want you”
Fuck.
“G-god, how did you get so, so - So Charming?” Rhonda splutters out, it would be embarrassing - to have her stuttering like all the girls she used to laugh at when she was still alive. But well, it's Quinn.
Quinn who smiles like they’ve just won a nobel peace prize for curing some disease or whatever they hand them out for these days.
“What can I say? You bring it out of me” They respond “I need to get some practice in anyway, I’ve never been anybody’s - well, anybody’s anything”
Rhonda had suspected as much… to a degree…
Quinn had been honest, but nervous - they’d mentioned never really connecting with anyone which kind of put the pieces together.
But the way they kissed her? If Quinn didn’t have any experience, they had a damn good natural talent. Rhonda might not have kissed anyone in over 62 years, but she can tell a good kisser from a bad kisser, and Quinn is a good kisser.
So yeah, they could’ve fooled her on that last bit.
“That doesn’t matter to me Cutie, we don’t know what the future’ll hold but I can promise you - We’re gonna make the most of the time we do have.”
The atmosphere of the room around them shifted, it’s still comfortable, but a little melancholic. They can both see the tower of uncertainty that shadows over them, but right now, they have other things to worry about, nor do they want to worry about that right now. They have each other, finally.
So they sit, angled towards each other, heads ducked together, sitting in the only semblance of comfort they’re allowed with everything going on. Chatting about whatever comes to mind, like they usually do, but this time neither of them are afraid to break that invisible ‘6-inch tuba distance’.
Rhonda’s disdain for physical touch disappeared long ago and now she craves it, craves to scratch the itch that had hidden, but never left. It leaves her grasping to hold onto any part of Quinn, whether it be their hands, arms, shoulders, anything.
Something that Quinn catches on to quite quickly when Rhonda once more ducks her head into the side of their shoulder.
“I know I said my wanting to kiss you was instinctive, I just didn’t realise it was the same for you with physical touch” They tease, a small smirk tugging on the side of their mouth, showing the slight outline of their dimple.
Rhonda scoffs a little, rolling her eyes at the same time “So what if I do? Are you really going to stop me”
“I wouldn’t dream of it”
There's just something about sitting like this with Quinn, the quietness, the contentment - it’s a feeling she can only get with Quinn. When she’s with her boys, and even Maddie, there's always some sort of fussing, or bickering but right here with Quinn, they can just be.
“Y’know… I’ve been thinking” Quinn breaks the silence
“Oh? That's dangerous”
The snicker and the exasperated look she gets in return makes her grin.
“Ha. Ha. But as I was saying, If we were to - put a label on each other… I think I’d like to be your partner” There's a hint of uncertainty in their voice “I just, don’t really want to be a girl friend or a boy friend you know? I just want to be well… I need to be your something”
They look so small, sitting there and putting that out there. It would be cute if it didn’t break Rhonda’s heart a little.
“I like it” She responds with a grin “Even if we’re not telling anyone yet, doesn’t mean we don’t have to put a label on it”
The softness of the moment has Rhonda leaning up and capturing Quinn’s lips into yet another kiss. She just can’t help it, it's addicting. 62 Years was too long to go without this sensation, and it's multiplied but in the indisputable fact that it's Quinn.
It’s Quinn who sighs into the kiss, whose hands creep into her hair and knock the hat off her head, who deepens it until Rhonda’s breathless.
She gets so caught up she almost misses the sound of nervous footsteps approaching the cafeteria doors.
Almost.
She regains control of her arms and legs quick enough to pull back and stand away from Quinn just in time before Charley bursts into the cafeteria. Quinn’s face shows the hurt and confusion of being pushed away so suddenly, so much so that Rhonda has to fight the urge to pull them back in and assure them.
Thankfully though, the realisation that they’re no longer alone dawns on them and their face morphs into a neutral mask.
Charley's looking around absentmindedly as he approaches, stopping a few paces away from where they are.
Despite the quick reflexes, Rhonda’s sure he can tell something is going - she knows both her and Quinn's lips are swollen, and she knows for a fact the curls of her hair are in disarray with how Quinn was handling them. The way his eyes dart between them and to her discarded hat fills Rhonda with a sense of dread, he might (hopefully) be stupid enough to not connect all the dots, but she’s sure he’s not going to let this go now.
He smirks a little before deciding better than to attempt to cajole the truth out of Rhonda yet.
“Sorry to… Interrupt” He says teasingly “Just thought you guys would want to know that Simons A-Okay. He’s got a bruise but he passed Maddie’s concussion check and is already asking to go back down to see white eyes”
Quinn nods, Rhonda can tell that they’re feeling guilty still, maybe even guiltier with the fact that they were sat up here kissing Rhonda rather than making sure he’s okay. She can see the way they sink into themself, resembling the person who was pacing around the cafeteria when she came up here rather than the person who was teasing her only five minutes ago.
“Right I should… Go apologise” They say, brushing their bibbers as they stand
Charley stops them with his arm “It’s okay Quinn, he knows you didn’t mean it, you were just trying to protect him - we all know that”
He gives them that stupid awkward smile which Quinn returns with a nod before speaking “Still… Wouldn’t hurt right?”
Rhonda grabs her hat off the table “I’ll come with you”
She can feel the way Charley watches her attempt to regain control of both herself and her hair before pulling her hat back on. Can feel the way he’s analyzing her every move, ready to mention it at some point or another.
“Guess we’re all going then” He says, all too happily.
This is going to be hard.
She spares a glance at Quinn, whose amusement peaks through their guilty look, and you know - it might be hard, but they’re worth it.
—X—
The next few weeks, although the best of Rhonda’s life, contained a series of accidents in which she and Quinn had to test their ‘spy abilities’ as Quinn had adorably put it.
You see, all the other Ghosts will leave you the hell alone for the most part - if you're snarky enough - but when you start letting one person in, it opens the flood gate.
Each and every time they were alone, and enjoying the.. Benefits of being alone, someone would end up waltzing in. It’s like they had a sense, for whenever Rhonda was losing herself in Quinn’s lips.
They hadn’t taken that next step yet, because although they have an unknown expiry date on their relationship, they don’t want to rush that simply because they think they don't have time. They respect each other way too much to rush into anything they might not be ready for.
Not like they could if they really wanted to.
After the first close call with Charley, it just kept happening and she’s miserable because Quinn is getting really good at being handsy.
Thankfully, next time someone does almost catch them, it's not in a compromising position, nor is it someone interrupting them, but rather Rhonda not checking around the room before opening her mouth.
It was stupid, she’d been spending her day with Charley trying to translate some weird Finish book they’d found - hoping to find more answers about White eyes. Whereas Quinn was on research duty with Yuri. But it’d meant a whole day without getting to speak to them directly, or hug them or just be in a close vicinity to them.
It was torture.
Especially when Quinn disappeared with Yuri so Rhonda couldn’t even look at them anymore. Charley on the other hand was still going strong with the translating, he was weirdly getting into it with some new found motivation. Rhonda would’ve thought that he would be on her side for once, wanting to go off and find his boyfriend rather than continuing to sit here translating.
Rhonda sighs, throwing her book onto the desk, gaining Charley’s attention in the process.
“School days over, If I read one more Finish word I think there’ll be a new ghost joining us soon”
Charley snorts “What? Not motivated anymore?”
Rhonda stares absentmindedly at the spot Quinn was sitting at earlier “Yeah… something like that”
If she’d looked up, she would’ve seen the soft smile Charley sends her, as he glances between her and where she’s looking. The look of understanding as things click into place.
“I think we can call it quits today if you want… if you want to go find them”
She whips her head round “Excuse me?”
He looks startled, and normally it's a look she enjoys so much, but now all she can think of is the fact he knows.
“Woah god Rhonda, I just thought you’d want to go see Quinn, like you know, you normally do”
Or… not…
“Right” She says, she’s still skeptical, surely he’s not that dumb “You gonna go find lover boy?”
She hopes and prays, something that she hasn’t done for years, that Charley starts rambling about Yuri like he normally does. He’s reliable to a fault normally, one mention and he’ll start hammering on about either some dumb misunderstanding they’ve had, something he’s unsure about, or even just how utterly in love they are.
To be fair, despite the front she puts on, she does like that he’s found someone, she meant it when she’d said Yuri was a keeper. It’s just that the yammering can get a bit much, but of course, the one time she needs him to - he doesn’t follow the script.
“Yeah probably, I could do with a break too” he closes the book in front of him, looking at her and clearly debating whether he should say something else or not. “What is going on between you two… You and Quinn I mean…”
Rhonda tries hard to hide the way her body stiffens slightly, she’s sure he can tell though. Just like how he’s predictable for her, she knows she’s just as predictable to him. The only deviation recently has been Quinn, so of course he notices. Through the years of group, Charley was probably the one she got closest too, the only one who she spoke to about Joyce and Majorie.
He used to be the one who got the farthest, who managed to get behind the snarkyness that one gains when they get murdered. She knows he can feel the change.
“Nothing's going on” She wills her voice to stay steady.
“Uhuh… Okay” He says, but he pauses once again and it gives Rhonda a feeling of dread.
“You are allowed to have feelings for them you know…” His voice is soft, it’s the tone he’d use when she’d spoken about the pain she’d felt when she’d heard Marjorie's song. The tone she’d used on him when he spoke about Emilio.
She softens, it’s like the tone triggers her body to calm, to know that she can speak about it if she wants to, but if she doesn’t want to he’ll understand - and won’t talk about it again.
And she does want to tell him, tell him how she’s never felt this way about anyone before, about how she’s terrified to say the whole truth, to say how much she loves Quinn. But she doesn’t want his pity, his pity over the fact that it’s taken her this long to find them and that she’s going to lose them.
So she settles on her usual denial… or at least a little.
“I know I am” She says, making sure to have an air of finality to her voice. To let him know that this is it, this is all he’s getting from her.
She stands, moving quickly out the door - she needs to get out of the suffocating air in the library. She can already see the look on his face, the one thing she was trying to avoid. He seems to understand though, he might not know the whole story but he knows Rhonda, knows she’ll tell him when she wants to, never before.
“Tell Quinn I said hi!” He calls out from behind her, she doesn’t dignify with a response. She needs Quinn, to see them, and to feel the safety of their presence. To have that calmness that she doesn’t get with anyone else.
If only the Rhonda of last year could see her now, to see how much she craves one singular person. She’d be shocked most likely, even by the fact that she’s let someone this close. But the biggest thing she’d be shocked about? Is how quickly she let it happen. How quickly she succumbed to them.
But as Rhonda gets closer to the band room, she can hear the sound of a guitar and something in her just melts. It doesn’t take much for Quinn to relax her, even just the sound of music, regardless of who’s playing it. Quinn's taken to telling her all the music theory that goes behind a song, each beat count, how one bridge is the reason why a song can be so moving.
Every time she hears a song, she thinks about Quinn, what would they take from the song, whether they’d like it, or how they’d improve it.
It’s the biggest tragedy that the world, or rather Mr Martin, took Quinn before they got the chance to be Quinn. In a perfect world, she imagines her and Quinn met naturally, in the same time period, they’d be a composer of some sorts, and she went to Berkley. She wonders if even then, they’d break down all her walls, if they’d have the same effect on her as they do now.
She pauses a bit, before she goes up to the door, just listening to the music and letting all the tension leave her body.
It’s amazing how just the thought of someone can calm her mind this much.
She finally pushes herself from where she stands, the thought of finally getting that hug has her energized, excited even.
“Hey Cutie - I need a hu-” Oh.
She stops herself, noticing that Quinn isn’t the only one in the band room, and that the person who was playing the guitar wasn’t her partner at all.
Yuri sat on one of the chairs, with a guitar on his lap sitting across from a wide eyed Quinn.
“Oh. Hey.” She splutters out “I didn’t realise you were here Yuri”
He looks between the pair of them with a confused look, before his lip twitches upwards slightly “yeah… I wanted to surprise Charley and asked Quinn for some help”
Quinn finally regains some composure and relaxes their frame only slightly “Not that he needs it mind you, you’re a natural - I’m not that much of a guitarist, I only dabble”
He smiles fully this time pulling the guitar off his lap and handing it to Quinn “Better than I am anyway - I just needed a quick refresher, 50 years spinning clay will rock your confidence a bit”
He stands turning to face Rhonda again, with a teasing smile that he obviously got from his stupid boyfriend.
“Did you need something Rhonda?” Even the way he tilts his head just screams Charley. It makes Rhonda wonder if she’s picked up any quirks from Quinn. Has she started rambling more? Or taking in the beauty of the smaller things more?
“Oh- I just needed a uh… hand, with something” She’s definitely picked up Quinn's nervous stuttering that's for sure.
He nods, still glancing in between Rhonda and Quinn, who looks like they’d rather be on that bus again than sitting here right now.
“Well, I’ll leave you pair to it - Enjoy”
Rhonda gives it a few seconds after he makes his exit before she moves to sit on the couch, Quinn following behind. It doesn’t take much for Rhonda to curl up and push herself into their embrace.
And finally, she’s getting what she craved for all day.
“We’re not very good at this spy thing huh…” Quinn breaks the silence, it makes Rhonda snort before nestling herself further into their shoulder.
“No… we’re not…”
But deep in her lungs, she still has that fear. The fear of losing them.
They might be bad at hiding their relationship, but the alternative? Of having everyone look at them with pity? She’d rather just keep them all to herself.
—X—
The next time they got a little too close to getting caught out, Rhonda blames completely on Quinn.
It was a school day, so the library was packed with living students, leaving nowhere for some of the non-living students to sit. Leaving Rhonda to stand amongst the book shelves, minding her own business, pretending to read a book while sneaking glances at Quinn who was standing with Simon and Wally.
She’s been avoiding both Charley and Yuri recently, the looks they both give her churn her insides, but they’re off trying to find Maddie in her class to give her an update. So for once, she can stand and admire Quinn in peace.
She’s noticed Quinn’s confidence growing lately, they seem to be more assured of themself, and their opinions. Even now, in what looks like to be a heated debate between Wally and Simon, they don’t cower like they used to, they stand tall, waving their arms about with a stern look on their face.
It’s strangely attractive.
It reminds her of when they’d stood up to Simon that first time, when they’d given him the watch but told him how he was wrong. And he was. But for Quinn of all people to tell him that? It was at that point Rhonda knew that she couldn’t ignore what she was feeling any longer.
“You could get hurt again Simon, and I’m not talking about me accidentally hitting you. Who’s to say that he’s not going to be aggressive this time around? How would we explain to Maddie that we let you get hurt?” Quinn's voice cuts through the quiet chattering of the library. They look mad.
Simon just lets out an exasperated sigh, at least Wally looks a little guilty, but then - he’s also worried about Maddie’s reaction. It doesn’t look like Quinn’s getting anywhere with them, especially as they shake their head in defeat.
Rhonda’s just about to make a move to go back them up, until they start speaking again “Look, I said I’m not going to stand between you and getting home but you need to be careful - I can’t face people getting hurt again”
They turn quickly, noticing Rhonda standing amongst the bookshelves and marching over.
Where she stands they can see the tension slowly drain from their shoulders as they get closer, it doesn’t fully go away by the time they stand in front of her, but it boosts her ego a bit to know that even just walking towards her can calm them.
“You alright Cutie?” She asks, it takes every fiber of her being to not reach out and wrap her arms around their neck to comfort them. If only there weren’t a pair of watchful eyes in the distance.
Quinn sighs, shoulders slumping as they move to lean against the bookshelf in front of her.
“Yeah… I just-” They look at her and something in their eyes shifts - moves from anger and defeat to a strange kind of yearning “I miss you.”
That's… not what Rhonda was expecting. And apparently it's obvious on her face by the way Quinn chuckles to themself.
“Sorry I know that's random, I just feel like… we haven’t spent that much time together lately, just the two of us?” They phrase it like a question, like they’re uncertain. About what? Rhonda’s not sure.
But they have a point - things have been picking up again lately, more and more things are coming to light and everyone's trying to put the pieces together to at least try to save Simon before it’s too late. Meaning there hasn’t been a huge amount of time for each other. It’s been weighing on Rhonda too, hence her presence in the library when she’s not even doing anything useful.
Their dejected look however, has Rhonda hitting pause on her physical touch in public rule.
She plops the book she was ‘reading’ back onto the shelf before she grabs Quinn by their jacket and pulls them into a hug.
If you were to ask Rhonda, she’d say it's up there in second place of all their hugs. Only being beaten by the first one they ever shared, that day on the bleachers.
But this one, she can feel Quinn sink into her embrace, the remaining tension completely leaving their shoulders. The way they slink their arms around her waist and push their head into her collar bone. And every weight of what’s going on is released from both of them.
She can’t believe it’s been that long since they just hugged like this, it comforts her more than the kisses they share. And at the same time feels more intimate, the way they collapse into each other and melt.
When they pull apart, she can tell they feel lighter, the way they come back to full height again, and the ghost of a smile that allows their dimples to peek through.
“I miss you too” And Rhonda’s honestly surprised she didn’t do anything about that before “I’m sorry, I should make more of an effort to-”
Quinn stops them with a frazzled shake of their head “Oh god no Rhonda - don’t apologize, there’s just a lot going on… it’s no ones fault”
“I know, I just - I should be a better girlfriend” She makes sure to speak softly, the last thing she needs is Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum coming over and hearing what they’re saying “It’s been a while… and that's without all the extra drama of being stuck ghost hunting in a school that's getting bulldozed”
She can tell the reminder of what could happen throws them a little, especially after the hug that was meant to release tension, not increase it. But she notices the moment that they re-orient themself, their rare teasing smirk growing on their face
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I personally think I have the best girlfriend” Quinn shoots back, the smile on their face getting deeper.
As if Rhonda’s ego can’t get anymore inflated.
But two can play this game.
“Oh really? Not better than my partner I’m sure” She says coyly, smirking at the way they beam with pride.
Genuinely, how are they this cute? It hurts her heart, they way they react whenever she calls them her partner, they way they puff up their chest.
No one alive deserves Quinn, everyone took them for granted. But not Rhonda, she knows what she’s got, she knows they’re hers, and will be for as long as they let her keep them.
And god does she want to keep them.
It plays in the back of her mind constantly these days, the fight between the fear of losing them and the need to have them every way possible. To tell everyone that the greatest person on earth is hers. To tell everyone just how much she loves them.
Especially right here when all she wants is to lean forward the remaining distance. Kiss each dimple. Squish their face in her hands.
“Must be someone pretty special to get your attention” Quinns says, breaking her out of her thoughts.
“They are, they’re kind to me, respect me, not to mention an excellent kisser”
“Really?” They say it so earnestly it makes Rhonda giggle a little.
Giggle. That's what they do to her. They make her honest to god giggle.
“Really.” She replies with a nod “I’m not sure what this girlfriend of yours has on my partner”
Quinn nods with a sudden seriousness “Well they do sound pretty great”
The cheek. Part of her misses the old Quinn who would stutter and blush whenever she gave them the slightest comment, but the other part, the part that's so immensely proud of them for all they’ve gone through, and how they’ve overcome each hurdle - fills her heart with so much love.
It’s too much. It’s overflowing, it's bubbling upwards and she doesn’t think she can stop it.
Maybe it’s her turn to be brave.
“I think I’m falling for them”
It’s out there now, it may not be the whole truth, but it’s damn close.
There's no ‘think’ or ‘falling’ in reality. She knows. She has fallen.
Quinn freezes, staring at her so intently it feels as though they are trying to see into her soul.
And perhaps they are. Perhaps they can’t tell between the reality and the teasing banter they’d just been sharing and are looking for any sign that what she said might be some horrid joke. If only.
“Are you sure?” She almost misses their quiet voice as it peaks through the sounds of the library, filled with both so much hope and so much uncertainty.
‘Are you sure?’ Rhonda doesn’t think she’s been surer of anything else in her life.
She gives them a slow nod, and the atmosphere shifts, all other sounds are drowned out - it’s only them. The room begins and ends within the borders of the bookshelves they stand between.
Quinn looks at her with so much reverence, so much admiration, like she’s a goddess to be worshiped. And they take a step forward, and another, and suddenly they’re only a few centimeters apart.
She spots the way they glance at her eyes, and back down to her mouth, the way they lean forwards slowly - ready to capture her lips with theirs.
And for once, Rhonda wants to let them - regardless of the consequences.
“Uh, What's going on here?”
The sound of Wally’s voice is like a bucket of ice getting tipped over the pair of them.
Quinn jumps. Like, physically jumps. Knocking themselves into the bookshelf behind them, and if they weren’t a ghost, Rhonda’s sure they’d have the biggest bruise.
“Nothing's going on.” Rhonda says sternly, she can’t have yet another one of her boys catching on “What can we help you with?”
She gives them her cheeriest fake smile, the kind you used to see the customer service workers pull whenever they were dealing with a bitch client.
Surely it can have the same effect here.
Both Simon and Wally give each other a look before turning to face Quinn, who is trying and very visibly failing not to look in Rhonda’s direction.
“We were just coming to… apologize” Simon speaks up and for a brief second, Quinn looks utterly confused, as if they have no clue what they’re apologising for. It’s only a second though, but in that second Quinn's entire demeanor shifts.
It’s like there are two Quinns, both fighting for dominance - The confident, self-assured one, and the dorky clumsy one. It’s obvious who has the reins right this second, the way their eyes narrow and grow a little more stern, never cold, just warning. They square their shoulders a bit more too, making them seem a lot taller than they actually are.
Simon either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care about the shift, as he continues on with his apology “You were right Quinn, I know that, it’s just hard executing that when you know - I need to get home”
“Yeah, we’re gonna exhaust every path before we consider going back down, and not before letting Maddie know what we’re planning to do” Wally finishes for them.
Quinn only gives a slow nod, which the two take as an accepted apology and go off on a new tangent of some theory they have.
Rhonda’s too occupied looking at Quinn though, they still stand tall and confident but she remembers their small voice after she said the thing - the uncertainty in their voice. As if they really couldn’t believe it, how much she actually cares for them.
A voice in the back of her head nags at her, is hiding their relationship actually doing more harm than good?
—X—
If you were to ask Rhonda, she would tell you with absolute certainty that the series of events that happened in the greenhouse the next day were an accident. A beautiful accident, but an accident nonetheless.
Something was starting to shift in Rhonda, something that plays in the back of her mind all the way through the school, all the way to the greenhouse, where she finds them crouched in the corner, watching over the snails.
They only come here when they really need comfort, when they need a reminder of the better memories of their life. What little ones are left. She remembers them telling her how they can’t quite remember how they came about having snails, nor the names, or even how many they had. Looping for 20 years does wonders for memory loss - something she can tell they’re plagued by.
Seeing them here, reminds her vaguely of the first time they interacted just the two of them - when they’d come and found her in that science classroom and made her laugh, the first proper laugh she’d had in a long time.
She carefully closes the door behind her moving slowly until she’s stood beside them, they give her a glance to acknowledge her presence, before going back to watching two snails trail along the side of a pot. It’s funny how one of them goes a little quicker, only to turn its front only slightly to check behind them, to make sure the other is still there.
Rhonda’s not sure how long they watch them, the room is heavy both with humidity and the unspoken discussion of what happened yesterday.
“I think I named them after famous singers” Quinn lets out quietly “My snails that is”
Rhonda hums, urging them to continue.
“I just got this memory of my older brother coming into my room” Quinn pauses “It was one of the times he’d come back from college… He was, or rather still is - the normal child my parents always wanted. He was in law school, did you know? He had this natural air about him, like everything in his life would go right”
She wants to interject, needs to assure them that no one's normal, how he’s just a dick with a stick so far up his ass he can’t tell when he’s related to one of the greatest people on earth. She gets the feeling however, that this is something that Quinn needs to get out, uninterrupted.
“He was basically the opposite of me - he already thought I was weird but when he came home and saw the tank in my room, he just lost it - he made some joke about how my only friends were my rock star snails.”
“What a dick”
They shoot her a soft look, as if to say I know right, and that small teasing smile is everything to Rhonda. Even when they’re telling her a story, something that had hurt them while they were living, they can still smile. How can someone who's gone through so much be so filled with hope and joy?
“I used to be so envious of him. He lived - not even in the sense that he’s still alive, but he just did everything, felt everything, got to be who he wanted to be. Whereas I just felt like I’d been looping long before I died.”
Rhonda reaches down and puts a comforting touch on their shoulder. It seems to achieve its purpose, the way Quinn melts into it and covers her hand with their own and giving it a squeeze.
“I’m sorry Quinn.” she pauses a beat “You deserved to live too, you deserved to do everything you wanted to do, feel everything, you deserved to be Quinn.”
They stand upright, pulling her other arm to their shoulder before burying themself into Rhonda, nuzzling the fabric of her turtle neck.
“I know” They murmur “And you deserved to go to college”
“Yeah… but you’re a pretty good consolation prize”
They lift their head up so their eye line is level, she can tell that they’re thinking about what she said yesterday. She can tell they want to talk about it, she’s never been very good at that though, at least not yet. So instead, she leans over and presses a soft kiss to their cheek. Grabs their jaw to tilt their head so she can press another one on the other side, and then their forehead, each dimple, each laughter line by their eyes. She presses soft kisses all over their face until they’re giggling and trying to push her off with a lackluster shove.
Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much, the heavy atmosphere lifting from the greenhouse and it’s almost like the flowers around them are blooming just for them.
“For what it’s worth” Quinn says amongst laughter “You are the best thing that's ever happened to me.”
What else can Rhonda really do but pull them into a kiss?
Quinn comes willingly, wraps their arms tighter around her waist and walks her backwards until she's pushed up against the wooden table.
She can feel the sharp edge dig into her lower back, but she doesn't care for it - all she can focus on is Quinn. Their hands moving to hold her hips, sliding upwards to play with the bottom edge of her turtle neck. Each brush of skin feels like white hot iron, except she can’t get enough.
She's pulling them in deeper by the nape of the neck, there is no space between them; it's like they're one body. She doesn't know where she ends and Quinn begins.
Quinn's hands are fully inside the bottom of her shirt now, and they're moving their mouth from hers, trailing a path down her neck until they're blocked by the high collar.
It's electric, being the one who Quinn desires this much. To feel this wanted by someone so special.
She’s losing her mind.
Maybe that's why she didn’t hear the greenhouse door open.
“Jesus! Rhonda!”
They both freeze.
She can picture what they look like right now, Rhonda half leaned backwards over the table, her shirt lifted slightly and Quinn's hands a bit too far up to be decent.
The humidity of the greenhouse that isn’t just caused by the outside heat.
Maddie stands by a half open door, jaw opening and closing like she’s not quite sure what to say - or if she’s supposed to say anything at all.
Quinn, for once, regains composure quicker than Rhonda does. Roughly pulling their hands out from under Rhonda’s shirt and fixing it back into place, before taking a step backwards.
“Heyyyy Maddie…” they stagger out “What uh, what are you doing here?”
“I was- Well I was coming to see if I left my notebook here earlier”
Rhonda finally pulls herself together and clears her throat “We uh- haven’t seen it, have we Quinn?”
“Uh nope, sorry”
“That’s cool…” Maddie nods
There's an awkward silence, the tension that had been hanging in the air earlier back in full force, you could cut it with a knife. The atmosphere changed so quickly, it’s giving Rhonda whiplash, from sad, to soft, to heated, to awkward. What she wouldn’t give to just slip past Maddie and bolt.
“This is… awkward” Maddie spits out “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just barged in… I just - I didn’t expect you guys to be in here”
“It’s fine, we probably shouldn’t have uh- been doing that here” Quinn replies “Um, but… could you maybe not tell the others? We’re trying not to tell anyone”
Maddie’s face morphs into confusion, clearly wanting to say something but before she can, Rhonda stops her.
You see, Rhonda came to a realization earlier. A realization caused by how unsure Quinn had looked when she told them that she was falling for them, a realization that she’d been hiding how she really feels about them from everyone - including herself. And for what? Fear? Fear of losing them?
She may regret rushing things just because they have a time limit, but she refuses to have regret in not telling them how she really feels just because she’s scared. Quinn has been brave every step in their afterlife, so why can’t she for a change?
“Actually - Tell them if you want”
Quinn’s head whips round, their eyebrows knitted together.
She panics just slightly, realising that she doesn’t actually know if Quinn wants people to know. Has she read everything wrong? Are they actually fine with not being open? Would they prefer it?
“Unless you don’t want to… I just, I don’t wanna hide you anymore” She stutters out - stutters, damn it, Quinn really is rubbing off on her.
But then they’re smiling.
It only grows, it takes over their face with so much joy and for a second Rhonda truly doesn’t know what on earth she was scared about in the first place. She’d been selfish, she’d put her fear above her love for Quinn. But no longer.
“Uh… This is cute and all guys” Maddie interjects “But we all know already.”
Now it's her turn to whip her head around.
“What!? I- I get Charley probably knows, but everyone?”
Maddie just shrugs “Well, you aren’t exactly slick - I think everyone's walked in on you guys almost making out at least once”
“Oh…”
“Yeah.” She responds with a smile “It’s nice that you guys are ready to admit it though. It’s nice… to have some hope, with everything that’s going on. It just makes us work harder, when we have something worth fighting for”
“Yeah… You’re right” Rhonda says, although she’s not even pretending to look at Maddie anymore. She misses the knowing smile she gets from the living girl, and the spark of hope that flickers in her eyes.
“Well… I’ll just, leave you to it.”
Rhonda would normally be pissed off by Maddie’s teasing tone, but she just doesn’t care anymore.
Quinn's been silent this whole time, it’s just the two of them again, and she can see the way they’re still processing what she said. But the smile? The smile that has been on their face since the moment she said tell them? She wants to etch it into her soul, so that she can carry it with her whatever happens to them.
It’s peaceful, it’s quiet and Quinn just keeps smiling, and it’s infectious.
There is one more thing though.
“I lied yesterday” She says, quickly before she can lose any of the courage she’s accumulated from the past conversation.
Quinn’s smile falters slightly, their uncertainty and self consciousness peaks through before Rhonda can continue.
She grabs them by the hand, pulling them closer, forcing them to look at her.
“There isn’t any ‘thinking’ about what I said - I’ve fallen in love with you. Long before we ever kissed, so long ago that I don’t even know when you changed from the band kid whose tail I was trying to shake to the only person who knows me inside and out”
She can feel the tears pooling in her eyes, she wills them not to fall. This isn’t the time for them - she’s being brave damn it, let her be brave.
“I was scared of losing you. It’s taken me 62 years to open up to someone again, I can’t - I won’t waste that time again. No matter what happens, we’ll face it together.”
Quinn’s eyes are watery too, so much for not crying, the sight of them even remotely emotional is like a trigger for her. She hates to see them upset, even if she was the one who started it.
They lean forward and press a feather light kiss under each eye before pulling back and wiping the tears away with their thumb. And in this moment, Rhonda has never felt more precious, like she is something to be taken care of with the utmost care. She doesn’t feel babied in the slightest, just - seen.
“I like the sound of that”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” They nod “And Rhonda? I love you too”
It’s her turn to let out a dazzling smile, the truest smile she’s ever given anyone. She can feel the way it scrunches her eyes, the way her view of Quinn is now slightly obscured, the way the sides of her cheeks hurt.
Rhonda might not know how much time they have left, nor does she know what time will even have in store for them, but as Quinn leans forward once more, and places their lips on hers. She decides that it doesn’t matter, the only thing that matters is them.