Finn didn't like to expose any of her insecurities. She was always full of bravado, especially in front of Veronica, who she badly wanted to impress. After so long hearing about Veronica this and Veronica that, she'd been intimidated to find out the Veronica lived up to her own legends.

She did badly want to learn to read, but she could never focus on her own, and Challenger was always busy at the moment, looking for a specific plant, and eventually he turned to a moping Finn, took her shoulders.

"The others can all read too. Get one of them to help you while I'm away." Finn pouted.

"You're the only one patient enough," Finn pointed out.

"Veronica..." Challenger paused. Veronica had less patience than normal for Finn. Usually she was helpful, but she left Finn to fend for her own a lot. "Veronica reads in the evenings. I'm sure she would help you if you asked. Nicely. And offered to teach her something in exchange."

"There's nothing I can teach her," Finn said, fiddling with a testube - part of an important experiment.

"Teach her the crossbow," Challenger said, rescuing his project. "And please feed the mice for me, while I'm gone."

"Of course," Finn said amenably. "I can too ask nicely," she mumbled at Challenger's back.

Veronica was out in the garden. Finn watched her for a while, the strong arms working a hoe, the sweat trickling down between her shoulder blades. Finn collected herself and a damp towel and some chilled water and went down to join her.

"Thirsty work," Finn said, pouring two glasses of cold water on the outdoor table. Veronica looked up and smiled, came over and took the damp towel, running it over her face and chest, eyes closed in pleasure. Finn looked away, swallowing, and Veronica moved on to her arms. "Need a hand?" Finn asked casually.

Veronica smiled and shook her head, took the drink Finn offered, hand warm where it grasped Finn's when she was too slow to pull away. Finn drank her water quickly. "Do you need anything?" Finn asked, and Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you want from me, ask already."

"Am I that transparent?" Finn asked, and Veronica merely smirked. "It's like this. I came while you were away and we tried to tend the garden but what do I know about plants, and the others were in the same boat. Margarette knew you had a book for the garden, but she never could find it, and I can't... I can't read, and then you came home and we'd killed your orchid and the herbs and the wheat didn't dry right and all the information was in that book and if I could have read maybe I could have found it and you could have come home to your garden as you'd left it. I'm a guest, and I could have... It's your home, where you lived with your family, and the garden obviously means a lot to you, so if I could read..."

Veronica looked stunned at this deluge of words, of the implication that Finn cared about the garden so much, that she'd been upset that she hadn't known what to do, that she'd wanted to know what to do.

"Challenger is off to hunt down plants soon, and I'd like it if you let me help in the garden, taught me how to care for produce. And he's been teaching me to read..." Finn looked down shyly, took Veronica's empty glass and refilled it. "I could train you with the crossbow in exchange. I don't have many skills you'd find useful, but I could teach you that in exchange."

"In exchange for what?" Finn looked down at the glass in her hand, before taking a deep breath and handing it over.

"In exchange for teaching me to read."

Veronica groaned internally as she drank the cool water. Finn was a good person, but her restless energy and random knowledge made her a nightmare pupil. While they were close in age, Finn had youthful exuberance that Challenger put down the feeling safe for the first time in her life.

Challenger had been patient, but Veronica suspected his expedition was due to him needing a bit of a break.

But Finn had asked so nicely, and her reason for wanting to read was quite sweet, really. Veronica looked up. Finn was chewing her lip, stopping and smiling winsomely when she saw Veronica looking at her.

"I'll go for a long run beforehand, so I'll be nice and calm and focussed. Please. The others treat me..." Finn trailed off, and Veronica nodded. The others treated her well, but they also unknowingly excluded her because they assumed she wouldn't understand. Veronica knew how it felt to be excluded. She nodded, and Finn leapt forward and hugged her excitedly. Veronica bought her hands up slowly, eventually wrapping them around her excited friend.

"The gardening we can start next week. I need help with some seed gathering and planting." Veronica said, not willing to start then and there.

"And the reading?" Finn asked, still pressed against Veronica, leaning back to check her face. Veronica sighed, Finn's hair blowing in the breeze of her exhale.

"Tonight. But make sure you shower after your run." Finn pulled away with a beaming grin, turned two handflips and a cartwheel and ran out of the gate. Veronica rolled her eyes, a wry smile on her face

Notes:

I know this is a dead fandom but I can't find any works for femslash for Finn/Veronica or any femslash for this show at all and that's really unfair because Finn and Veronica deserve better.