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god, she was so pretty.
seriously, quinn paled in comparison and zhe wasn’t even insecure about the way zhe looked!
deft fingers worked at zer tie, the motions practiced. it made quinn feel a little stupid.
not— not like zhe cared.
zhe’d want be stupid forever if it meant quarter would help zer like it is now.
the camera was new, though.
it sat on zer vanity, propped on the mirror and angled directly at the two of them.
zhe had to ask.
“is the, uh— camera really necessary, quartz..? it’s not like i’m worthy of being recorded.”
zhe knew that came out far more stuttery than zhe had meant it to and, y’know what?
maybe jumping out of that window should’ve killed zer.
then zhe wouldn’t have to deal with this rapid fire embarrassment zhe’s been subjecting zerself to.
“mmm.. i think you are!” quarter says this, tone as bright as the ever-loving sun.
jesus fucking christ, zhe was definitely flushed by now, right?
zhe felt warm. far too warm.
was it noticeable? please, for the love of god, spare zer a little bit. at least, let it be subtle.
who was zhe kidding?
zhe was white as snow, of course it’s noticeable.
it doesn’t help when quarter tacks on; “plus, don’t you think having this moment immortalized would be nice?”
zhe was going to die.
fuck, zhe was so going to die.
zhe heard zerself gulp. who even was zhe anymore? zhe’d never done any of this.
“hah— i mean if you think so! i suppose it is. it’s— it’s nice. this is nice.”
and zer smile couldn’t be described as anything other than dumb.
zhe was dumb off of affection and zer own feelings for this woman zhe hardly knew.
why did quarter even stick around outside of needing somewhere to live?
quinn just— couldn’t comprehend.
then, cutting through zer thoughts;
“it is!” quarter tagged onto zer own ramblings, chipper as ever, looking directly up at zer.
quinn should get a medal for keeping zer composure in that moment.
someone should clap zer on that back and tell zer how proud they are of zer.
quartz was so pretty.
how did zhe get here? why is zhe here?
zhe didn’t know.
zhe didn’t really know anything right now beyond the beautiful woman helping zer with zer tie.
do you think quarter would be happy if zhe had the power to freeze time and just keep them here?
would she stay or would it want to leave eventually?
did she— did it want to leave right now?
no. no, that’s silly. she pulled out its phone to record the moment for fucksake.
but, maybe, just maybe, she was recording it to make fun of quinn later.
no. jesus, brain, shut the fuck up.
it wasn’t like that.
zhe knew she wasn’t like that.
quarter was zer friend (zhe hoped) and it wouldn’t betray zer trust like that.
zhe trusted her.
more than anyone else in zer life at the moment.
that was pathetic, wasn’t it?
quarter had been in zer life for three weeks max and zhe would probably kill zerself if she asked zer to.
but, i mean, can you blame zer?
growing up with little to no human relationships outside of your family would leave you a little messed up too.
especially when you were actively neglected.
zhe didn’t want to put quarter up on a pedestal so readily, but it just—
it felt so natural.
it was so easy to view zerself as beneath it, as lesser than her, as a tool to bring quarter into the light of day, that zhe just fell into it.
it was a routine for zer.
one zhe managed to grip onto almost instantly.
zhe knew it wasn’t right, quarter was human like zhe was, after all, but—
zhe couldn’t help it.
to zer? quarter deserved the whole world.
but why was that?
why was zhe so— so obsessed?
because quarter had cared for zer.
because it was there when zhe was at zer worst and she hadn’t flinched nor backed away.
because it had come to zer when she was in danger, trusting zer to keep it safe.
and was that really that bad?
was there something wrong with zer for thinking like this?
for being like this?
probably.
but, here? with quarter offering her help without a second thought?
maybe, just maybe, zhe was happy to be a little fucked up.