#rqg bette

[raspberryhell]

(Day 6 of @rqgfemslashweek - RQG Specials)  Just a calm summer’s day for these two monster hunters <3 

[ID: Digital art of Bette and Cleo from RQG’s MOTW Special. The drawing is in sepia tones with a texture to replicate an old photograph. They are sitting on the back of a car parked on the side of the road in a hilly countryside. Bette is a white woman with long hair held in a headband. She is wearing a button down shirt with a large belt and a long skirt. A ghost trail is coming out of the bottom of the skirt where her feet should be. Cleo is a black woman with a short afro held in a bandana. She is wearing a sleeveless sweater tank and bell bottom pants. Bette is smiling sadly while looking at Cleo, who's smiling with her eyes closed relaxedly. Across the top are the words “Bette + Cleo, Summer 1975” written in pencil. End ID] 

[kellanswritingblog]

Day 1 of @rqgfemslashweek: Firsts

Cleo’s first dance with Bette while she’s alive, and their first dance when Cleo knows that Betty is in fact her Bette.

The radio host stopped his yammering and the next song started to play, a slower melody, meant for dancing with a partner, and Bette’s face lit up.

“Dance with me?”  She asked Cleo, though it was more a statement than a request.

“I, uh…”  

The pair were sprawled out under the stars, listening to music while they chatted about every little thing or savored the other’s presence in the stillness of their surroundings.  Despite how much she had enjoyed their date, Cleo hesitated.

“Oh, come on.  Let’s dance!”  Bette stood and held out her hand for Cleo to join her.

Cleo didn’t move and looked away.  “I’ve never danced with someone before.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just… never have.”

Bette smiled.  “It’s not like you can mess it up.  And, besides, your first dance should be with your adorable girlfriend on a bright, moonlit night, after all.”

How could Cleo possibly say no to her?  She took Bette’s hand and crawled to her feet, then waited, unsure of how to proceed. Sure, she had seen plenty of couples dance together, but not so many that looked like her and Bette.

“Alright, just put your hand on my waist like this…  And then the other one goes here, in my hand.  Now we just… dance.”

Cleo let Bette direct her positioning and movements, but soon enough she fell into the motion.

“Okay, this isn’t so bad,” Cleo remarked after a few moments.

“Were you so afraid of dancing?”

“I don’t know, it’s silly. But I didn’t want to mess it up.”

“Oh, Cleo…”  She laughed, and held her a little bit tighter.

Even if she was still nervous, it was a different kind of anxiety now, one that came from Bette being so close, her eyes gazing softly at Cleo, and her lips were right there…

“Can I kiss you?”

“Now we both know you know how to do that,” Bette teased, then leaned into Cleo’s kiss.  They held each other close, still swaying absentmindedly to a new song as their lips met, and Cleo realized that maybe the whole dancing thing wasn’t quite as bad as she’d feared.

***

Cleo sat upright at the sound, then turned to Bette.  

“Do you remember this song? It was our first dance.”

Bette’s incorporeal form sat on the hood of Sam’s car while the not-a-child had wandered off, muttering something about burger salesmen, leaving the two of them alone to keep watch. At Cleo’s words, she laughed, a melodious and ringing echo that filled Cleo’s heart with hope.

“I do!  That was a perfect night.”

“It was.”  Cleo paused, then held out her hand for Bette. “Dance with me?”

“Um… How will that work? It’s not like I have a body anymore.”

“We can try?”

With a shrug, Bette extended her hand and laid it atop Cleo’s.  She didn’t have any weight, but there was still a faint warmth to her ghostly touch.  Cleo pulled her in close, or at least made the gestures, unsure of how much she could really do to affect Bette’s motion.

Bette took her place in front of Cleo and rested one hand on her shoulder, and let Cleo clasp her other hand tight.  It was strange – Cleo couldn’t really tell where Bette began, so her hand hovered over where she thought Bette’s hip might be, and didn’t squeeze too hard with her other hand in case she disrupted Bette’s translucent form.  

All the same, they began to sway together, and Bette smiled.

“Not quite the same, but… it’s good.”

“Yeah.”

“I missed this,” Bette confessed softly.  “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. And I’m sorry I made you so scared to be honest with me.”

Bette raised a hand to cup Cleo’s face.  “It’s alright.  What matters is that we’re here now, together, in a way.”

“You’re right.  I love you.”

“I love you too.”

At that moment, they heard something moving in the undergrowth and turned to find Sam stumbling their way through.  When they saw their monster hunting mentors dancing together, they let out a groan.

“I’ll leave you two to it then?  For a bit?”

“Thanks, Sam.”

They waved their hand and disappeared back into the forest.

“Totally a mature eighteen-year-old,” Bette joked.

“Oh, of course. They’re probably rambling about cooties or something.”

They both giggled and continued their dance.

Some time later, still swaying to a different tune, Bette asked, “Can I kiss you?”

“Will that… can you…?”

“I don’t know.  Didn’t know if I could dance with you, though, either, so… can we try?”

Cleo smiled.  “Of course.”

It was different than before, and it was harder at first for them to find how their lips met.  But once they did, warmth flooded through each of them, and it felt just like before, when they were both alive and safe with nothing to fear and only love in their hearts.

[ohallows]

Can I get some veranda cuddles with Sasha or Bette/Cleo?

GLOW THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD REQ MY DUDE I M S O F T

i hope u enjoy some good good bette/cleo content its what we deserve

[request any prompt here]

—

Bette loves the rain.

This is an objective fact about her, one that hasn’t changed in nearly 30 years of life and one that she’s sure never will. She’s always loved the rain, ever since she was a little girl. Her mother would carry her outside the second it started raining, and they’d dance together in the puddles, spin around in the fields of flowers outside her house as it poured around them. The rain was always cold on her skin, but it never dulled her smile. Sometimes, it would rain when the sun was still shining, and her mother would point out the rainbow sparkling in the sky, end trailing off beyond the hills. It’s some of Bette’s greatest memories from the time when she was younger, living out in the hills.

Rain is a solid half of the reason why she’d asked Cleo to build them a veranda when they’d moved to their own house, getting out of the city. She loves watching it fall, loves being able to listen to the sound of the raindrops bouncing against the rooftops. It reminds her of being a little girl again, of being at peace and content as anything in the world.

So tonight, when the forecast calls for rain, she drags Cleo out to the veranda and curls up against her on the couch. She grabs the record player as well, setting it up in the enclosed corner and selecting one of her favorite old albums, moving the needle to the edge of the vinyl.

The rain doesn’t start for a while, but the moon and the stars are beautiful enough that she doesn’t mind, much. She has to replace the album a few times, but it doesn’t matter The moon shines onto the porch, bright enough to provide enough light for Cleo and Bette to read by. Cleo is reading some recently released biography, and Bette has gotten the newest Campbell book. It promises to be absolutely riveting, and she’s excited to get a bit farther into it.

The rain starts eventually, light, and then louder and louder, thundering against the roof above. The clouds roll in first, covering up the moonlight, and Cleo reaches back to flip on the small lamp, sending a soft and warm glow through the room. Bette curls in closer, tucking her socked feet under her legs as a cool breeze blows through the porch.

Sam had been sitting out there with them playing on their switch, laying on their stomach with their face scrunched up in concentration. They’d complained about it nearly dying three times in a row before setting it on a nearby table and sitting up, resting their back against the railing as they’d played with Nellie, the golden retriever that Bette and Cleo had rescued a few years back. But now, they’re laying on the couch opposite, Nellie in their lap, both fast asleep. Bette looks at them, smiling, and gets up quietly. She grabs Sam’s switch and puts it down on another table, one a bit farther away from the open air.

She comes back to sit down next to Cleo, and thumbs absently through her book. It’s the perfect atmosphere, honestly. The book is the fourth in a series, all about a sailor who’s thrown overboard in the middle of a terrible storm and forced to take shelter on an island run by a cranky fire god; of course, the god is cranky because they’ve had to deal with near-torrential unnatural downpours on the island for months, and the sailor offers to find and fix the problem for them. The god accepts, and the sailor heads deep into the bowels of the island. Bette is sure that she and the god are going to fall in love, eventually; there was a moment in the last book where the sailor had passed out from some nasty attack underneath the island, and the god had fluttered to her side, sacrificing a little of their immortality for her life. It was all very romantic, but now they’re not speaking, and Bette needs to know how they’re going to solve all of this by the end of the book.

Sam snores loudly in the corner and wakes themselves up, sitting up and nearly knocking Nellie to the floor. She startled too, looking up at them balefully, but Sam doesn’t notice. “Wh - whassat?” they slur, voice thick with sleep as they look around with wide, if cloudy, eyes. Bette laughs under her breath, holding her place with a finger as she leans forward.

“Nothing, Sam. It’s alright, you can go back to sleep.”

Sam stares at her for a moment; Bette isn’t even sure if they can actually see her, but eventually they nod, yawning widely. “Yeah -“ they mumble, curling back in on themselves on the couch. “Yeah, I’ll go back to sleep.” Their voice cracks, and Bette smiles fondly. Nessie keeps staring at them, looking as annoyed as it’s possible for a dog to look, but then she shakes her head, spreading out next to Sam on the couch again, blinking a few times as she looks over at Bette and Cleo.

“You too, Nellie,” Bette says, raising a single eyebrow. Nellie pants a bit, tongue lolling out of her mouth, and stretches her limbs out, before letting out a quiet huff, eyes closing. “There’s a good girl.”

Bette goes back to her book; the rain has lessened a bit, and it’s quiet enough that Bette can hear every turn of the page from herself or Cleo. It’s starting to get late, but she doesn’t feel tired at all.

They’re got a record player in the corner spinning out, and the soft, crackly tones of Etta James’ voice are the perfect soundtrack to the rainy evening. Their little world is so peaceful, so everything Bette wanted it to be, and she wants every moment to be just like this one.

“Do you think we can stay like this forever?” Bette asks, quiet, so quiet that she isn’t even sure Cleo knows she spoke at first.

“Hmm?” Cleo says, and Bette looks up, balancing her chin on Cleo’s shoulder. “Didn’t catch that, love.”

“Could we stay like this forever?” Bette asks again, resting her forehead against Cleo’s temple. “It’s so peaceful.”

“For you, love,” Cleo says, turning to look at her and pressing a kiss to the top of Bette’s nose. “Anything.”

Bette smiles, and puts a hand on Cleo’s cheek. She strokes her thumb against her face, and her heart swells as she looks at Cleo.

Everything she loves is here, in this room. Sam, sleeping on the couch across from them, their small snores barely audible over the music. Their dog, napping on Sam’s lap, tongue lolling out contentedly. And then there’s Cleo, next to her, looking like an angel in the soft light of the lamp behind the couch.

And, well, what is Bette supposed to do but pull her in, leave the book forgotten on her lap as she wraps her other arm around Cleo’s neck. Cleo goes willingly, because she always does, and their lips brush against each other. Strong arms wrap around Bette’s waist, holding her tightly, and she feels breathless and happy as she and Cleo lazily kiss. The rain keeps falling outside, illuminated in the light of the lamp, but she only has eyes for Cleo, now. Only ever has, really.

“I love you,” she whispers, and she can feel Cleo smile against her lips. It’s not something they need to say, and Bette can’t hide the way her heart skips a beat when Cleo grabs her hand and their matching rings knock together. No, it’s not something they need to say anymore, not to each other, but… well, Bette would be lying if she said she didn’t love the way the words felt in her mouth, the way they sounded so right in her voice.

“I love you too, Bette,” Cleo says, pulling Bette closer, and they kiss again. And, gods, if Bette loved saying it, it didn’t even compare to the way her heart sped up when Cleo said it back, so devoted, so in love, enough to, even all these years later, knock Bette off her feet.

They’ll have to go in soon. Cleo can carry Sam in, and Nellie can choose whichever bed she wants to hop on tonight. It’s late, and they both have work tomorrow, and Sam has school, but Bette doesn’t care about that now, not when Cleo’s lips are on hers, so soft and gentle that she can feel the blush slowly rising across her entire body. Outside, the rain falls steadily around them, a gentle patter on the rooftop, and Bette smiles. Everything here is perfect, is exactly how she imagined it, and tonight, with the rain falling above them, with Sam snoring quietly across the room, and Cleo’s hands on her skin, lips brushing against each other, she’s perfectly content to live in this moment forever. She would never want to be anywhere else.

[rqgfemslashweek]

Rusty Quill Gaming Femslash Week is all about celebrating the relationships (both platonic and romantic) between the female characters of Rusty Quill Gaming!

Use the tag #RQGFemslash20 and/or tag us in the content that you make so that we can find all of your contributions and reblog them! We also have a Twitter page, if you prefer to use that platform (and feel free to crosspost as well). 

MAIN RULES: ♠️ No content involving incest, abuse, pedophilia, or sexual violence will be accepted in this collection. ♥️ Tag potential triggers appropriately (and also, refer to the above rule!) ♣️ Both romantic and platonic pairings between women are accepted - as long as the focus is on their relationship/friendship!  ♦️ All forms of art are accepted! Writing, cosplay, drawings, graphics, etc... we want to see it all. 

OTHER GUIDELINES: - NSFW content is fine as long as it is tagged correctly and put under a cut. All of the mods are over 18, but any content including fetishization of sexual assault, gratuitous violence, or similar themes are not allowed. Discussion of past abuse is fine, as long as it’s not being presented in anything close to a positive light. Please message us for specific questions, and please be aware of the content you produce and the impact it has on others.  - Crossovers between specials and the main campaign are perfectly fine as well.  - You can participate in as many days as you’d like! One day, three days, all the days... whatever you have time/inspiration for! Don’t stress if you only have time to participate in one day; we can’t wait to see what you all create.  - Don’t be afraid if you’re late! We’ll accept all late contributions - trust us, we know how deadlines sneak up on you. Just tag us in the post or stick it in the tag mentioned above!

FAQ:

What if I have a specific fic/art/cosplay/etc and I’m not sure it meets the guidelines? Just shoot us a message and we’ll let you know if it violates any of the rules. 

Do specials count? Specials ABSOLUTELY count! Whether you want to write about the monster hunting duo of Bette and Cleo, or the protective relationship between Nai and Grubb, or anything else you can think of, we’ll accept it! All of the specials that RQG has released so far are fair game. 

What if I don’t understand one of the prompts? While we tried to make them as understandable as possible, just shoot us a message and we will happily clarify!

Can I include male characters? Yes, of course! But please don’t make them be the focus of the fic. They can be there, but the focus should really be on the female characters. 

So... rarepair day? What counts? There already aren’t a lot of wlw ships on the RQG archive, but for the purposes of this challenge, we will OK every ship apart from Sasha/Azu and Bette/Cleo for this day. 

What about nonbinary characters? Please include nonbinary characters in your fics! However, we don’t want to perpetuate the idea that nonbinary = woman light. We don’t want to make any assumptions of the nb characters we have been given, and we don't want to invalidate the experiences of nb people, so if you are going to include nb characters in your work please be mindful of how they are being presented.

What is the spoiler policy? Since some people taking part in the fest might not be completely caught up, we’ll be doing our best to add the “#rqg spoilers” to any content that includes info from after episode 124.

[dedicatedfollower467]

WIP Grab Bag Ask Meme

Rules: I’ll post the names of all the files in my WIP folder, regardless of  how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that  most intrigues you and interests you and I’ll post a little snippet of  it or tell you something about it!

(Warning: some of these are NSFW, although I won’t post anything explicit if you ask about it.)

Undertale Fics:

Camp Counselor Papyrus

Double Baby Blasters

Continuation of Brother Brother Father Sun

RQG Fics:

All This, And Heaven Too

Daemon AU

De-Age AU

Grizzop Lives Angst AU

RQG/SF Crossover

Crack-Treated-Seriously Zolf is Meta-Aware

18-Month Gap Angst Fic

Soulmate AU of the “first words they say to you” variety

Egg Preg AU

Guardian of the Forest Grizzop

Artemisian Sasha AU

TMA Crossover where Jon + Martin fall into the Garden of Yerlik

Grizzop First Time Fic

Eddie is Apollo’s favorite. And also his favorite, if you know what I mean.

Bette/Cleo fluff

TMA Fics:

WOLF ARCHIVE WOLF ARCHIVE WOLF ARCHIVE

Mom said it’s MY turn to write the time-travel fix-it au

that other time travel fix-it

this bad boy can fit so much found family trope in it

Star Trek crossover

Homestuck Fics:

Smells Like Belonging:

ERRYBODY FINALLY GET TO MEET

The Cat is Out of the Bag

Jane Grabs the Cat

Davesprite is left holding the bag.

Dirk: React

Jake POV

A Child’s Grief

Nanna Egbert’s life story

Can’t Find a Reason

sad repressed adult dirk no sburb au

Sometimes I Feel I’ve Got to (BUM BUM)

Ace Attorney Fics:

Omegaverse fic i’m gonna publish eventually someday

AA Omegaverse draft 2

Broken Halos and Tarnished Wings

Other:

LOTR - Thorin POV story

LOTR - Bilbo Baggins, Honorary Dwarf

Hatoful Boyfriend - That One Sakuryou Fic Because I Have No Self Control

Good Omens - The Last Night of the Rest of Their Lives

Good Omens - A Decent Sort of Bloke

[littleladymab]

Sneak peak at my current roster for RQG Femslash week, currently taking suggestions for day 7 - soulmates 🤔 

for readability:  01 - Celebrations: JJ + Rainbow 02 - Confessions: Eldarion + Marie Curie 03 - Missed Opportunities: Azu-centric, RE: Aphrodite & Sasha 04 - AU: Azu + Sasha 05 - Hurt/Comfort: Bette + Cleo 06 - Rare Pair: Lady Voluptuousness + Apocrypha Ponzie 07 - Soulmates: ???? WE JUST DON'T KNOW

[kellanswritingblog]

Aaaaand here’s Day 7 of @rqgfemslashweek: Goodbyes - take two!

This is the sillier of my two fics for this prompt, since I didn’t want to end the week with angst.

Sam’s mustang has been totaled.  While they mourn their lost car, Betty and Cleo make plans to purchase a new vehicle, one that can still carry Betty’s ghostly form.

Betty and Cleo stood off to the side as the tow truck began to haul up the wreckage of the Mustang, while Sam knelt in the dirt beside them, wailing.  

“My baby!”  They cried.

“It’s wrecked, Sam,” Betty said flatly.  “We should just be glad that you and Cleo aren’t ghosts now too, given how bad you crashed it.”

“But… but… but…  Can’t you magic it?  Make it better?”

“I think it’s probably for the best we let it go,” Cleo added.

“We have enough money from our last job that we can get a new car!”  Betty offered.  “Something with a radio that works!”

Sam’s lip quivered. “I guess.”  They then crawled to their feet and stood a few feet away where they could eye the tow truck operator warily and ensure that no more damage was done to their vehicle, despite the fact that it was already headed for the scrap heap.

“Do you think they’re going to be okay?”  Cleo asked Betty quietly, so that Sam couldn’t hear.

“They’ll be fine. We’ll get something shiny and new, and they’ll forget all about that old thing.”

Cleo paused. “Wait.  You could only ride in the mustang because it had been refurbished. Taken apart and put back together again.”

“What’s your point?”

“The car was basically undead.  If we get a new car, will you be able to ride in it?”

Now it was Betty’s turn to pause.  “Huh. Probably best to get a used car, then.”

“It’ll be interesting to go for a test drive if you get in the backseat and we just leave you behind,” Cleo said, and they both began to laugh.

“Well…”  Betty spun to face Cleo, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “If I can’t ride in whatever vehicle we get next, I suppose I’ll just have to sit in your lap after all.”

“Is that so?”  Cleo smirked, and the pair leaned in to kiss one another.

Figuring out how to kiss while one partner was a ghost had been a tricky situation at first, but they perfected it with time.  However, in this instance, they didn’t get the chance to further practice their new skills, because Sam interrupted them.

“Really!?”  They yelled.  “The mustang is dead and you two are kissing?  Right now?  Right in front of my wrecked car?”

Betty gave a dramatic cough and stepped back from Cleo.  Cleo, on the other hand, pointed out, “Well, for what it’s worth, they’re taking your car away now.”

“No!”

Sam turned back to watch the tow truck pull away.  They sprinted after it, as if to say one last goodbye to their beloved, stolen car before it was turned into bits, but as it faded into the distance, they fell back to their knees and began to sob.

Betty and Cleo glanced at each other again, and then stepped over to Sam and sat beside them.  Cleo put an arm around their shoulders and pulled them into her side so that they could cry.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t magic this problem away,” Betty offered.

“It’s okay,” Sam sniffed. “It was probably time anyway.  We could only hold it together with duct tape for so long.”

“It was a lot of duct tape,” Cleo agreed, and her two companions nodded.

Betty glanced up at the sky. “We should probably get moving. You two at least will want somewhere to spend the night, and it’s going to get dark sooner rather than later. We’ll work on finding a new car tomorrow.”

“Alright, Sam?”

They nodded and allowed Cleo to help them to their feet as they wiped their tear-streaked face.  She kept her arm around their shoulders, and Betty walked close beside them.  Together, the three of them began a trek into the next phase of their monster hunting life, with one brave new mission ahead of them: to navigate a used car dealership.

[kellanswritingblog]

Day 2 of @rqgfemslashweek: Confessions

Time Has Changed Us Both

Cleo awakes in the hospital after defeating the knucker, with Betty at her side.  But the last words Betty had said to her before she lost consciousness were that she wasn't Betty at all.

She was Bette. Her Bette.

“Cleo!  Cleo, hang on, please!”

Bette shut her eyes tight and tried to use all the strange magic she possessed to save Cleo, to bring her back from the brink of death, to seal her wounds and mend her bones.

But Cleo simply groaned, and her breath escaped in a low rattle.  Bette sobbed, knowing that she couldn’t save her beloved, even if she gave up all of herself to do so.

“Cleo, I… if we die here, you have to know.  I’m not Betty.  I’m Bette.  Your Bette.  I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I… I love you, Cleo, I always have.  I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

*

Cleo’s eyes opened wide and she practically launched herself out of the hospital bed in an instant.  She looked all around her, half looking for a weapon and half looking for…

Her.

“Betty?”

“It’s okay, I’m here.”  She replied in soft tones, leaning forward so that she rested close beside Cleo’s bed.

“Did we… did we kill it?”

“You did,” Bette replied with a proud smile.  “The town suffered a lot of damage and several casualties, but all things considered, not our worst job.  Do you remember what happened?”

“Sort of?  I lost an arm?"  She looked down at her side.  "I was kind of hoping I'd dreamed that part.  But no, I... really don't have an arm anymore.  That's... a lot."  She grimaced and looked away, back up at Bette.  "Didn’t the knucker… eat me?”

Bette scrunched her face up.  “Yeah, that’s… more or less what happened.  And you sliced it up from the inside, and then you…”

“I fell.  I…”

“You were really, really badly injured.  You almost…”

“You healed me,” Cleo said as she put the pieces together.  “You gave up more and more of yourself to heal me.  And you said… you said you were…”  She creased her brow as she tried to remember through the pain and blood loss, staring through Bette’s now more transparent form.  “You told me you were Bette.  That if we died, you wanted me to know.  And that you were sorry?  How is that… I don’t understand.”

“I’m Bette.  Your Bette,” she stated quickly, her incorporeal hands still able to shake.  “When the cultists killed me, Malphas-”

“The demon.”

“Yes.  He… he brought me back somehow.  I was supposed to serve him, but I didn’t care about that.  I cared about finding you again.  But I saw… I saw what happened to you when I died.  You… you slaughtered all those people.”

“They killed her!  You!  Bette!  What was I supposed to do!?”

“I don’t know.  But, you have to understand, after you did that, after I saw how your heart broke and filled with rage, how was I supposed to tell you who I was?  I followed you for months, trying to find the right moment to tell you the truth.  It wasn’t until Sam noticed me and tried to run me over that I couldn’t just hide anymore, but I was still so scared… I didn’t want to hurt you anymore.”

Cleo’s brows were furrowed as she listened to Bette’s words, trying to parse out the truth.  “Why should I believe you?  How can I believe that you’re actually Bette?”

“The first time you told me you loved me was that night when we sat on that hill to watch the full moon and the stars.  I had packed a whole picnic, but you didn’t eat anything, you were so nervous.  You said you were scared that I still didn’t see you as a lover, not seriously, but I just-”

“-you laughed.”  Cleo interrupted, her eyes now wide and glistening.  “You laughed and said you loved me too.  And that nothing could break us apart, not prejudice, not our families, not time, none of it.”  She took a deep breath and the tears started to fall down her face.  “Oh, Bette, I…  I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.”

Bette used all of her focus to reach for Cleo’s hand and set hers on top of it.  It took more effort now to interact with the real world, but she would use every ounce of strength she had to hold onto Cleo.

“I’m sorry too.  I should’ve told you.”

“No, you were probably right.  If you’d just come to me right after you died, I… I don’t think I would’ve reacted well.  Waiting until we almost died, well, maybe not ideal either, but I can’t say I blame you,” she teased, and Bette laughed.  “I always thought your laugh sounded familiar, but I didn’t want to admit it.  I thought I was making up memories of her, of you.”

“I understand that this is a lot to take in.  And I also understand if, after some time has passed, if you want nothing to do with me, least of all in the way we were before I died.  I’m a monster now, and I wouldn’t want to-”

“You’re a monster?”  Cleo gasped, incredulous.

“I mean, I am a ghost.”

“I’m a murderer, Bette.  I have hurt so, so many people, some of them that didn’t even come close to deserving it.  For goodness sake, I helped a teenager run away from home and trained them to kill otherworldly horrors!  If anyone is a monster here, I think it’s me.”

“Cleo…”  Bette sighed, but it wasn’t as if she could refute it outright either.  “We’ve both changed a lot, is what I mean to say.  And it’s going to take time to figure out where we fit, and if we learn that we don’t fit, then…”

Cleo flipped her hand around to hold Bette’s in her own.  Her form was almost see-through now, but Cleo could still feel the warmth of her skin, the softness of her fingers as if nothing had ever come between them.  

“I know.  And we’ll see.  But for now… I’m just glad to have you back.  You’re here, oh my god, you’re here, Bette…”  Another bout of tears poured forth.

“I haven’t seen you cry in ages,” Bette said with a somber smile, her thumb gently brushing along Cleo’s skin as best she could manage.

“I wouldn’t let myself.  I had to be strong.  I had to keep fighting.  You were the only person I let see me weak, because you were always strong enough for the two of us.”

“We’ve always been at our best when we’re together.”

Cleo nodded, then wiped away her tears.  “I don’t know if… can I… can I kiss you?”

Bette couldn’t help but chuckle.  “I’m not sure how well that will work anymore, but we can definitely try it.”

She leaned in close, focusing on Cleo’s lips and hoping beyond hope that she would be able to feel her again.

Whether it was that hope or something greater entirely, their lips met, and it felt like nothing had changed, as if Bette was still corporeal and Cleo’s face wasn’t bedecked with new scars.  They were hesitant at first, unsure of how well this would work or how it would feel, but when they realized that their connection was as strong as ever, they kissed again, more desperately, making up for so much lost time.

“I never thought I’d get to kiss you again,” Cleo breathed.

“Me neither,” Bette admitted.  “But I’d hoped…”

They found themselves leaning in again, begging for another kiss to pass between them, when the door to the hospital room burst open.

“Cleo!  You’re awake!”  Sam exclaimed, a bouquet of half-smashed flowers in their hands and a grin on their face.  “I thought you were dead for sure!  Oh!”  They noticed how close Cleo and Bette – Betty – were, and slowly began to back out of the room.  “Aaaand I am interrupting something, I will come back later.  Bye!”  And then they disappeared.

“How am I going to tell them that I’m a different me?”  Bette asked rhetorically, staring into the empty space where Sam had stood.

“We can figure that out later.  For now, I believe we were in the middle of something?”

Bette giggled.  “I do believe we were.”