16. Quinn

CHAPTER 16

It wasn't until Hunter moved in with Quinn's family their senior year of high school that Quinn gave Thanksgiving a second thought. It was between two fun holidays, and its most redeeming factors were the days off of school he got and the pumpkin pie.

The extended family would come to their house, which was warm and friendly and full of food. Arguments were minimal—and mainly over whether they should have canned and fresh cranberry sauce, when no one ate the fresh stuff. The next day, they went to the mall to spend their allowances. His Thanksgiving experience was, more or less, the kind you'd see in a movie or a TV show.

Seeing it through Hunter's eyes had helped him understand that holidays could be really hard for people. That first Thanksgiving, Quinn stayed up late with Hunter, watching Christmas movies in the basement, and Hunter had cried when he'd told him that he didn't think people actually had days that looked like that. Now, Hunter had been fully integrated into their holiday traditions, and he wanted to make sure that Weston would also get the full rollout of Griffin Thanksgiving, even if it looked different with the family spread out across North America.

Weston came down to the Cities the Saturday before Thanksgiving. He was going to stay for a week, so Quinn hoped the area he set up in his second bedroom would work for streaming.

He also deep cleaned his kitchen and separated out all the food he knew was safe for Weston. He bought new butter and peanut butter to ensure they were crumb free, as well as a new pan and some new utensils. Quinn wasn't sure how reasonable he was being, but he'd rather be overprepared than underprepared.

Quinn waited on his front steps for Weston to pull up, and when he did, Quinn couldn't help but jump to his feet and jog to the car.

"You made it," he said, pulling Weston into a hug the second he got out of the car. Weston hugged him back tightly, then took a moment to look around.

"I love it," Weston said, looking at the house. "It's so cute. Great flag."

"That's Hunter's flag. He's proud of it. I'm on the right."

Weston had packed up most of his streaming setup, so they had a few loads to get into the house before they could settle in. When they finally flopped on the couch in the living room, Quinn got nervous about Weston being there. He wanted Weston to think he was cool, and looking around his place, which lacked all personality and style, not a decoration in sight, he realized he must look like a loser.

"It still looks like I just moved in," Quinn said, hoping that acknowledging it suggested he had plans to change it. Truthfully, it had completely slipped his mind.

"You just moved in," Weston said generously. He kissed Quinn hello, giving him the soft, lingering kiss he'd been waiting for. Weston was here. In Minneapolis. In his house. Something about driving up to Duluth to visit him, and then coming back down to live the rest of his life, made it feel like Weston was a bit of a dream. Here, snuggled against him on the couch while they talked about what to get for lunch, Weston felt real.

Quinn was trying not to think about his feelings head-on. Obviously, he cared about Weston a lot. He loved to be around him, to talk to him, to help make his day better. In the cocoon of Duluth, those things didn't feel as heavy as they did here. He was about to introduce this boy to his family. He hadn't done that since college.

He was going to introduce him to Hunter.

Thinking about how serious that was freaked him out. But the Whales game wasn't until Monday, so he had time when it came to his parents. And as far as Hunter went, he was pretty sure Hunter would like Weston. Weston was really different from Lee, which was good for everyone. Lee was a business student who was always right, and Weston was an outgoing, hopeless flirt.

They got off the couch under the guise of putting things away but ended up in Quinn's bed. Weston was unbearably sexy in his sheets. Seeing his bare skin laid out like that on his own bed nearly caused Quinn to drool. After a couple quick, slick handjobs, they passed out for an afternoon nap. Quinn had to remember to find Weston's bat before they went to sleep for the night. He knew he'd brought it.

Jon and Hunter were going out of their way to be welcoming to Weston, which is how Quinn knew they loved him. Jon had suggested hosting breakfast for the four of them on Sunday before their stream, and they went all out, making sure that Weston could eat everything. Hunter even toasted the bread he'd gone out to the co-op to buy in the oven, realizing without having to be told that his toaster was contaminated.

"It looks really good in here, man," Quinn said as they got settled in after going through introductions. He hated himself for how little he'd helped Hunter out with his overhaul. Hunter didn't have the budget to remodel, but Quinn was shocked at how much better he got it to look with a few cosmetic changes and some really nice styling.

"Thanks, Quinny. That means a lot." He shot a smile to Jon that meant either "thank god he's finally getting his head out of his ass," or "we did such a good job at this together." Maybe both.

They sat at the dining table while Jon finished getting breakfast ready, and Hunter got them drinks, then hovered in the kitchen, grabbing plates and asking Jon questions. They were a well-oiled machine, the two of them. It was still weird how cute they were together. How sweet Jon was about Quinn's best friend. They were both so fucking happy, though, that Quinn couldn't be mad. It might be a bit of an adjustment, but that was his own problem.

"What was it like growing up in Duluth?" Hunter asked when Jon finally shooed him away from the kitchen.

"Probably not all that different from down here. Cold. Beautiful. The benefits of living in a city, but with a lot of nature not that far away."

"Quinn said you went to the falls. Baby, we should go hiking up north," he said, turning to direct his comment at Jon. Baby. Someday pet names between him and Weston would be normal, and Quinn couldn't wait.

"You two would love it. It was beautiful," Quinn said to distract himself, smiling at Weston. He took Weston's hand under the table, and he squeezed it hard enough for Quinn to realize he was nervous. Weston was nervous to meet Quinn's important people, and Hunter and Jon were trying so hard to be welcoming. It was a little awkward, but only because everyone involved cared so much. Quinn squeezed Weston's hand back. This was good.

Breakfast was eggs and bacon and toast, but the simplicity was nice, especially considering that they had a whole Thanksgiving meal to cook later that week. They could do more complicated shit later.

He learned that Weston liked Harry Styles as much as Hunter did, and Weston flipped through Hunter's record collection before Jon showed him his gaming setup. Quinn hadn't been in Hunter's second bedroom since the day they'd moved in, but Jon had his computer desk in there now, with his gaming PC and his two giant monitors. Hunter had a desk too, with school stuff scattered over it. Jon told Weston about his computer specs and the games he liked to play, while Hunter told Quinn how he was planning on making this room special as well. It was the only room on the first floor that hadn't gotten a makeover yet. Maybe over Christmas break. Quinn volunteered himself for the cause.

"We'll probably spend most of the rest of the day in this room," Hunter said, letting out a big sigh. "I have so much grading to do."

"I help by gaming quietly," Jon said, the look of a man who had been yelled at for being too loud on his face.

"You could get out of his hair and come hang out with us," Weston invited. "I usually don't game on Sundays on stream, but we could make an exception."

Jon went bright red.

"I think that may be too much public perception for him," Quinn said. Jon was good with small groups of people, but he was still shy. He nodded an agreement.

"Offer's on the table. Both of you," Weston said, accepting Jon's refusal smoothly.

They thanked the two of them for breakfast, and when they had Quinn's front door closed behind them, he pulled Weston into a kiss.

"Thank you. I know it's a lot to meet my brother and best friend all in one go."

"Better than meeting your entire family at once," Weston said, easily lumping Hunter in with his family. Weston knew about the fight they'd had at the end of the summer. The impetus for their awkwardness. How they were building back up from battered trust and newfound awkwardness.

They headed into Quinn's second bedroom and started to get set up for their stream.

"Hey, I was thinking," Weston started as he pulled up all the applications he'd need on his computer.

"Yeah?"

"We've never really talked about money, but you've been contributing so much to these streams that it only feels fair to make sure you get a cut."

"Nah, don't worry about it. It's a kind offer, but this is your show. I hang out sometimes, but you do all the work. You built it to what it is now. It's yours. I'm just having fun." Honestly, the money would be nice, but he had a feeling Weston needed it more than he did. Plus, Weston did nearly everything.

"I feel bad." Weston pouted at him. He had a convincing pout.

"Don't. You asked, and I don't think it's necessary. But I appreciate it. It's really sweet of you to offer." He kissed Weston's pouty lips, and Weston sighed.

"Alright. Ready to go live?"

The Sunday crew was loyal and chill, but the change in scenery piqued their interest immediately.

"Welcome one and all to Q's guest bedroom!" Weston said as he welcomed people in. He was fiddling with a piece of his hair that wouldn't stay in place, and Quinn reached over to help, tucking the messy lock of black hair into the right spot. Weston smiled at him. "No, I'm not sleeping in the guest room," he said, rolling his eyes at Emily, who loved to push the envelope.

Quinn wrapped an arm around Weston's shoulders as Weston talked about what it had been like since he arrived in the Cities.

"Q's bestie is cute as a button, and his brother is this more rectangular version of this beautiful face," he said, grabbing Quinn's chin before smacking a kiss on his cheek. "And they didn't poison me. They get an A-plus."

"I could tell they liked you," Quinn said. It was hard to be on for hours at a time, especially when he was pretty emotionally wiped. He didn't know how Weston did it. Quinn tucked his head onto Weston's shoulder and yawned.

"No, I did not keep him up all night," Weston said, sounding exasperated. "Just most of the night." Quinn didn't need to see him wink to know he had. That was what attracted Quinn to him. That light, flirty banter. The part of him that made Quinn think minx! whenever he opened his mouth. It felt soft and safe now, and Quinn let his eyes close. He was just going to rest them for a moment.

"Don't make me laugh! We have to be quiet, because baby is so tired," Weston said, kissing his forehead. "Anyone have a timer on how long he's been out for?"

How long he's been out for? "Mmmm?" Quinn asked, trying to pry his eyes open.

"Oh no, did we wake you up?" Weston asked.

"I wasn't sleeping. Just resting my eyes."

"Sure, Dad," Weston said. "Emily said you've been out for almost an hour and a half."

"Impossible." Quinn yawned and tried to sit up straight. He wanted to go right back to bed.

"You can go nap if you want. In a real bed. Or you can stay here." He patted his lap, and Quinn was too tired to have any dignity. He pulled his headset all the way off and rearranged to lie on the futon, his head in Weston's lap, facing away from the camera.

"I wonder if Hunter and Jon laced the food with sleeping pills." He had no idea why he was so tired. Depression could be a roller coaster, though, so it was probably that. Even if he wasn't drowning in sadness, sometimes he got really fucking tired.

"Only your food," Weston said with a laugh. He pulled up his TikTok likes to go through the videos he thought were the funniest in the past week, combing his fingers through Quinn's hair as Quinn felt him laugh.

For the first time in a very long time, he was happy. Content. He didn't want a single thing to change. He wanted Weston to stay there forever.