About that... [Jack]

Their Prime had passed, and it had been over a week since it happened. The new voice in their head was taking a little getting used to, but it eventually became just another thing that occurred in their strange life. After awhile, Quinn noticed that had started to avoid Jack a lot, which was hard since the two lived with each other and slept in the same bed. Though they avoided that as well, sleeping during the day and staying awake at night, which wasn't healthy at all. The time was about midnight, and Jack was probably out fighting crime like he usually did, but Quinn wasn't in their room waiting for him like the used to do. They sat quietly on the roof which covered their room. It was a hard climb, but the balcony outside their window made it easier. Sitting there and thinking was always nice, and it was such a beautiful night. Maybe they would just sit there and build up the courage to just talk to him; he might not have even been phased by finding out their biological sex. And why should they care so much? If he couldn't accept that, then he wasn't worth it... But then again, they still wanted him to.

Hmmmm They've just been sitting there... for like an hour... Jack peeked over the edge of his crossword puzzle and at Quinn's back. He sat on the roof a little bit behind them. Apparently they didn't hear him arrive. He had come back from his patrol about an hour ago after he was chased out of the city by an angry mob armed with torches and pitchforks... The pitchfooks he could understand sense it was near the local Home Depot... But touches!? Where the hell did they get torches!? What was there a resent surplus of large sticks, cloth and oil? It's not "Impossible" for them to have torches... It's just very unbelievable that they would have them ready just incase the newly outed Red Ranger just happened to stop a Mugging... The screwed up thing was both the mugger and the muggie where both in the mob...

Sigh... Getting off track again... Quinn's been avoiding him recently... And he just didn't know why... Oh well... "Hey Quinn?" Jack said tapping his pencil against his helmet "What's a ten letter word for: the action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered.... First letter A.... Last letters CE..."

They had sense Jack behind them, though they assumed he had been inside their room and didn't give it much thought. But upon hearing him call out to them, Quinn got a bit startled before turning to face Jack. Should they even talk to him, or should they just ignore him and continue thinking. After a few moments of hesitation, they would speak, but not much. "Acceptance." Turning back around, they'd look at the sky, laughing to themself a bit. Was that just the world being ironic or was Jack trying to give them a funny way to say he forgave them? It was probably the former since they knew for a fact Jack wouldn't accept this fact so easily. Maybe he's only talking to them because they gave him a place to live, and not talking to them would be insulting in a way. Either way, they would continue to look up at the stars, not really moving or saying much at all.

''Oh hey thanks!'' Jack smiled as he scribbled down the word, seemed to fit just perfectly! Quinn seemed a little listless tonight but... Jack chocked that up to it being late and them not getting their beauty sleep last night... or something like that... Quinn's are strange creatures after all. A few nights ago Jack would have thought ''Women are strange creatures'' but in light of recent events Jack has had to rethink a few things. Though the fact that his initial guess about Quinn's gender was correct did bolster the Ranger's ego... it did little to ease his confusion about the matter...

''Ok Ok... how about this... Ten letter world for providing encouragement or emotional help. First letter s, second to last letter V.....''

They sat quietly still, even as he kept talking. It was awkward being quiet, especially since they could feel him looking at them occasionally. But no matter how cold it got or how awkward, they would sit there until everything was okay, even if they died doing it. He spoke to them again, asking them for another word for his crossword puzzle, and they would wait for a second as they tried to think of what the answer would be. "Supportive." A familiar laugh echoed through their head, as they rolled their eyes. 'Come on kid, just tell him how you feel, this is getting boring to watch. Hahahaha.' As soon that voice finished speaking, another one 'Don't listen to her, she hasn't a clue what she's talking about, you do what you in your heart know is the right choice.' Quinn laughed a bit at the both of them, finding their voices comforting. 'Heheheh? 'scuse me missy, don't act all high and mighty just cause you're a magic lady or something.' Fedlimid with her sophisticated  laugh. 'High Priestess. At least I'm not a joker like you.' They liked the voices of their personas, but the way they fought with each other was annoying at times. 'Will ya both stop for a bit? You're giving me a headache.'

"Hmmm... Supportive?... Are you sure that's wait! Wait that's it! HAHA! Thanks Quinn!" Jack happily scribbled down the word on his paper, seeming to be blissfully unaware of Quinn's inner turmoil. They seemed... Tense tonight. Jack could guess why... Though he didn't know WHY they would feel this way. Did they think Jack was mad at them?... Why would he be mad? He was... He was JACK! When has Jack ever given the impression that something like this would bother him....

"Ok ok! Last one! Eleven letters, Starts with an f... ends with ness... Lets see if ya can get it without a hint hehe..."

"Acceptance." How much longer could this crossword puzzle go? It wasn't feeling any better, but it seemed like Jack had forgave them in some way. Maybe the fight was just inside their head? 'Ehehe? At least I know how to make people laugh, while you have a major stick up your ass.' Oh right, the fight was in their head. 'By the looks of it, the only person who has a 'stick up their ass' is you. Have you looked at yourself recently? It goes right through those gears of yours.' Quinn laughed out loud a bit at the comeback, muttering something to themself. 'Alright ladies I said enough. I feel like you only fight when I actually need to hear someone other than myself... I think I'm going to talk to Jack now.' Turning around, they'd face him smiling a bit. "We need to talk about my awakening. Maybe you've pushed the topic aside, but I need to discuss this with you for my own closure if that's okay with you." Time to begin, and they were ready to fix the mess in their head.

"Whaaaa Quinn... you do realize that I said starts with an F right? Are you even trying? Sigh..." Jack sighed and went back to it... Maybe he could figure it out on his own. It wasn't THAT hard. So far all the words had been clever and convinient references to their current situation, so if that trend were to continue then this word would have to beeeeee..."Forgiveness. The word is Forgiveness! Ah I'm so smart! Hehe-Hm? Oh"

Jack smiled under his helmet as Quinn finally decided to give him the time of day"Bout time! I was starten to think I'd have to drag this conversation out of ya hehe." With a marry hop Jack sprang to his feet and walked to sit next to Quinn."Here" Jack said as he handed Quinn the Seduku puzzle he had been doodling on this entire time.

Quinn took the paper, looking directly at it with a blank stare. 'Hehe? Are you fucking kidding me?' The persona screamed quite loudly into their head, while the other one opted to stay quiet. "This isn't even a crossword sheet, it's sodoku. What the hell Jack?" They'd throw it in the air, watching it slowly float off the roof. "Look, I just don't think you quite understand. I didn't want you to find out that way. And trust me, I was going to tell you, but the thought of you not liking me afterwards wasn't comfortable at all. I'm surprised the shadow didn't tell you about other feelings that you're obvious too. Point is, I just... I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, and I'm sorry I can't take back what I said." They'd sigh, tuning out any voices in their head, this needed to be their own thoughts. "And uhh... About kissing your helmet and stuffs. I didn't feel like taking it off, but it's the thought that counts right? Do you even know why I did that though?" They'd sit quietly, waiting for his response.

"Yeah I know, that was the joke. You should know I hate Crosswords... and Sodokus... To much thinking and not enough action." Jack chuckled as he watched the paper float to the ground... it was such a gentle thing. Floating so softly on updrafts and slipping through the air like a knife... "Look Quinn, I've said this before and I'll say it again. If your're physical gender doesn't matter to you then it doesn't matter to me. You are Quinn, nothing else. The fact that I know your gender, that I totally called by the way, doesn't change anything about who I think you are."

Jack smirked and took his helmet off, the cool midnight air washing over his dark sweaty brow and matted hair."And as for those feelings you think I'm oblivious to... I'm not Stupid Quinn, nor am I blind, I know how you feel... Heh. I'm thick headed but I'm not an utter fool."

Every time Jack spoke about sex and genders, they found themself taking his entire sentence and fixing it to make an entirely accurate point and taking that instead of what he had said. "Well first thing is first, my sex is different from my gender. You found out my biological sex, which is the parts in my pants." They'd point to their head to emphithise the next point, hoping he understood it a bit better. "This is where my gender is, it's an identity. I just happen to have no gender." Maybe that got it across better, it annoyed them royally when he mixed simple things like that up, but being a cis het white boy meant that he didn't have to question his gender much, so he never had to learn about the other ones out there or at least the terminology. When someone was cis gendered, it usually meant that they thought sex and gender were just two ways of saying the same thing.  "And how am I supposed to know that you knew? I stopped making the hints subtle awhile ago..." They'd feel the breeze blow past as it moved their hair as they laughed a bit. "So what about you? Feelings and such. I've been wondering for a while really."

"Really? I had assumed they meant the same thing, hence why I tacked Biological on the front there, no need to bite my head off about it heh." Jack felt like he'd been put under a heat lamp here. For someone who claimed that their gender didn't matter they sure were insistent that you get the terminology right.

''Tis getting rather confusing... I like it better when the only questionable gender is The Yellow ranger's Sentai to Power Ranger translation...''

''Megazord! That could be construed as offensive...'' Jack responded out loud. ''Sigh, however as we've stated that's not really the part that matters here. I know about you feelings so all that's left are mine, and to be honest I'd like to know them to heh... so if you got them figured out I'd like to know.''

They'd laugh a bit, slowly intertwining their fingers around Jacks. "Well you need to know for sure, and I wouldn't force you to chose or anything to you have all the time in the world." Quinn scooted a bit closer, they wouldn't rush him at all, but that didn't mean they couldn't do what they felt was right for the moment. "Just.... Don't make me wait too long or else I'll have to assume the answer is wrong and buy my first cat in many as I slowly become a crazy old cat person." They'd laugh, slowly placing their head into Jack's neck. They did this at night sometimes, so what was the difference now? Maybe they should stop, but they saw no reason to yet. "And if you don't end up liking me, just tell me so we can keep going on being friends, otherwise it will just get awkward. I don't want you lying to keep my feelings from breaking, because I can handle a little heartbreak." Even saying that, they felt like Jack would have taken them anyways, but maybe that was optimism speaking.

Jack would feel his body tense slightly as Quinn got closer. This was... certainly a new experience in Jack's book. Yet it felt like he had been in this situation before, Quinn being this close and all... Was it that perhaps Quinn snuck into Jack's box, he had taken to sleeping in his box instead of in the bed with Quinn after the second week (Really he just missed his days as a hobo and the box made him feel safe), late at night to snuggle with him? Naaaaaw... that would be creepy! Yet not wholly unpleasant.

"I'll try... heh... It's just. This is all very confusing ya know? Power Rangers never covered anything like this, so I don't have any template to go off of here. I know that... I do like you a lot but, I'm not sure what to do with those feelings or what they even are or mean. Sigh... I'm much better at just hitting stuff... Ya think that could be the solution?"

Quinn stood up after holding Jack, feeling like it was time to give him some space. They'd look up at the night sky, smiling a bit as they saw how the moon was lighting up the area around their house. "Alright, welp it's getting cold out here, we should probably head back inside so we don't freeze." They'd smile, slowly moving towards the edge. The little porch-like area that sat outside their room was directly under the roof's edge. They slid down a bit, falling directly onto it, moving away to give Jack a chance to do the same without killing them. They'd climb through their window onto the window seat, sitting down for a few moments. At least now they knew how Jack felt, sort of. And they knew what the outcome would be, but the waiting scared them. For now though, they were both okay and had sort of made up from their Prime awakening, which made everything easier.