Essence of Quinn Parts 3 & 4 (MxM)

Set In Stone

Quinn’s gaze tracked Air as he flitted around the room doing mundane tasks, basic things that felt so bizarre to him after the last couple of days. He felt as though he didn’t belong here anymore. Their getaway to the cabin seemed as though it had been years ago, even though it had only been a matter of days since they’d been hunting in the woods and curled up by the fire together without a care in the world.

Once again that feeling of being adrift was creeping in, but watching Air and just being still and in a familiar calming environment was slowly anchoring him.

He was clean now, at least. Air had bathed him and dressed him and wrapped him in a blanket, sitting him down on the sofa.

Air was putting fresh sheets on the bed, getting rid of the last traces of Andras’ scent that had lingered. He turned to Quinn every now and then to check how he was doing, giving him a little smile as he worked. When he was done he handed Quinn a coffee and sat down next to him.

He didn’t try to cuddle up to him. Quinn had been pretty touched out by the time he’d finished getting dressed and Air had understood, leaving him be while he went to take care of the practical things. They hadn’t even managed to unpack from their trip until just now, thinking that they’d deal with all of that the following day after they’d rested. Obviously that hadn't happened.

Air sipped his own coffee and Quinn soaked up the peace from him. He liked his coffee sweet and full of cream and it made Quinn smile every time he thought about the differences between them. He looked down at his own; black and bitter. Complete opposites, the same as them.

“You okay?” Air asked him, curious about what had made him smile.

He nodded and took another sip of coffee, closing his eyes and enjoying the rich taste of it.

“Just thinking.”

“About?” Air prompted.

“About how different we are.”

“That’s good though, right? If we were both the same then we’d be constantly competing to be the Abbey’s favourite ghoul. This way, my place is secured,” he shrugged.

Quinn snorted.

“I think you might have some competition now though.”

Air frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m pretty sure that Swiss is gaining traction with the Siblings. I think you’ve lost your touch.”

Air gasped in mock horror.

“He will never replace me. He just doesn’t have the same aura that I do. He’s new, he’s a novelty; he won’t last.”

Quinn chuckled and Air grinned at him.

“Thank you,” he said, suddenly serious.

“For what?”

“For making me laugh. For distracting me.”

Air shrugged again.

“I’m good at distracting you.” Quinn squeezed his eyes shut as his brain kicked up a memory of Andras. He’d said those exact words when Quinn had been trying and failing to overcome the pain from one of his recent lessons in degradation. He shuddered. “What is it?”