Who: Luke and Quinn What: Worry, fluff, and talking about things Luke really doesn't want to hear. Where: Aubade. When: Saturday morning, after this. Warnings: Some descriptions of Charlie-torture. Awkward teenagers being cute.
Luke knew he’d be out looking all night even while he promised Max that he wouldn’t. After everything Quinn had been through, the torture and Night Terror being released as a free man, he was worried about her method of coping. She wasn’t at full strength and combined with her anger it could easily lead to disaster, but despite their best efforts he and Wren hadn’t been able to pick up her trail. It was with reluctant dejection that they parted ways and headed back to their respective apartments just before the sun rose. Neither of them were okay, even the silence couldn’t hide that, but there was nothing else they could do.
He dodged Max’s questions and went straight to his room, collapsing onto the bed without even bothering to get changed. Surprisingly enough he fell asleep quickly, too worn out to awaken or stir even once.
Quinn was careful to be quiet, limping towards the back bedroom and opening the door. Hesitating in the doorway, Quinn watched Luke sleep for a moment before she stepped in the room and shut the door behind her. Slowly approaching the bed, Quinn sat down on the edge near Luke’s side and gently reached out to touch his shoulder, “Luke?” She gave it a little shake as she tried to wake him.
Luke shifted at the touch, reluctantly feeling himself begin to wake up through a haze of weariness. His eyes opened slowly and blinked a couple of times to clear his vision, but once his mind registered that someone was in the room with him he was up like a shot and immediately on the defensive. “What--” Luckily he realized who the figure was before he could lash out, and as it was he cut himself off before he could say anything and just stared instead.
“Quinn?” Luke reacted before he could remember that she’d been missing all night and he’d driven himself crazy trying to find her, pulling her into a tight hug.
Quinn jerked back a little when Luke shot up, looking surprised. She managed a soft, reassuring, “It’s just me.” Before she was wrapped in a hug, making a little pained noise as he pressed too tightly on her back but brought her arms up to hug Luke back. Resting her head on his shoulder for the moment, Quinn hid a tiny smile in to the fabric of his shirt. “Hi.”
He processed the pained noise and loosened his hold too late, but Luke was so glad that she was there and not still out there where anything could have happened to her. For a long moment he was silent before he pulled back to get a good look at her, and that was when all the worry flooded back. “Are you okay?” He tried to find any new injuries or anything that might hint at what she’d been doing all night. “Where were you?”
When he pulled back to look at her, Quinn held out her hands since she knew what he’d be looking for. The tell-tale signs of her getting in to a fist fight were seen in bruised knuckles, but the rest appeared to be old wounds on her hands. “I’m okay now,” she reassured him, letting him take her hands in his. “Spent night out. Squatted in old building. Got frustration out.” With a little shrug as she ended her story of her night, “Will be better.”
Luke wasn’t surprised by the bruises, but he had to bite his tongue to keep from lecturing her about her coping methods. If it had been him he wouldn’t have been any better, and even as it was he was in no position to judge her. “Squatted in an old building?” He inspected her knuckles and sighed. “I know you needed to vent your frustration, Quinn, but... we were worried. Especially Oracle.” He paused. “Have you talked to her yet?”
“I know,” she looked thoroughly chastised by that. “Didn’t think. You know how I get.” She pulled a face at herself. Giving Luke a hesitant smile, she told him, “Not been home yet. Came here see you. Before grounded forever.” It was a minor attempt at joking, but she knew she had to go to Oracle soon. Rather she was trying to avoid seeing her for the amount of yelling she knew was coming once she walked in the door. “Wanted check in with you.”
The last thing he wanted to do was lay a guilt trip on her, but Luke didn’t know how to reconcile his worry with the part of him that understood why she’d reacted the way she did. He gave her hands a gentle squeeze, careful to avoid putting pressure on her bruises. “I’m glad you came here. Oracle... I don’t think she’ll ground you forever. If she yells, it’s because she cares.” He pulled a face. “They do that.” Quinn may have been gone all night but at least she was here now, and he could let Wren know she was okay too. Maybe that would help. “You were angry that Night Terror was set free. I can understand that. I wish there was something more we could do.”
“Was scared a little,” she admitted quietly to Luke. It felt so much safer to say it to him than to anyone else. She shifted closer to him, holding on to his hands as her anchor. “He lived in Bathos,” she added, shaking her head a little. “Didn’t...couldn’t be there. Know he’s above head? Scary and....I was mad. Scared at how mad. Wanted...” She faltered a little, looking up in to Luke’s eyes. “Wanted to kill him. Scared that I did. Wanting to murder someone so bad...”
Luke nodded slowly, tugging gently on her hands until she was half in his lap. “I heard.” He felt a prickle of anger along his spine when he thought of how close Night Terror had been the entire time, but he doubted the man would be stupid enough to return to somewhere as obvious as his apartment. He returned her gaze and tried to shape his expression into something reassuring. “It’s okay to be scared, Quinn. And... the fact that you were scared about how much you wanted to kill him? That’s good. It means you’d never actually do it. I know you wouldn’t.” He knew what it felt like to want to kill someone so badly that you could imagine doing it. “It’s hard sometimes,” he said quietly, even though it was an understatement. He wanted to make things better for Quinn, for everyone, but didn’t know how or even if he could.
Quinn went willingly towards Luke, letting herself fit against his side and almost in his lap like a missing puzzle piece. She nodded a little and turned her gaze towards their hands, still speaking carefully, “I...never told people. The cops. About how felt during it. Just facts.” She screwed her face up in a little scowl at her inability to get across what she wanted to say. Finally, she settled on being blunt about it. “I think I need...tell someone. About it. Not just...state it.” Quinn looked back up at him and quietly asked, “When I said in hospital. If you listened...would you?”
He was quiet for what felt like an eternity, even though it was really only a minute or two. On the one hand Luke wasn’t sure if he could handle knowing what had actually happened to her, and he knew it would be a lot harder than hearing about what happened to Thomas while he was in the drain. On the other hand he also knew that it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when Max forced him to talk about the kidnapping, even if it was a small one. Besides... it was Quinn, and she needed someone to talk to. He could be that someone. “I’ll listen,” he promised, leaning his head against hers.
For a moment, Quinn almost regretted asking it of Luke. She couldn’t place the burden on Wren, though, since Wren wasn’t the strongest. Quinn held Luke in such a high regard of how strong he was. The fact he was there and would listen, possibly, was what she needed at the moment. When he leaned his head against her and promised, Quinn exhaled the breath she didn’t even know she was holding.
There was a long pause, a collection of her thoughts and the fragmented memories of the time spent captive. “At party,” she started, “I wasn’t...I didn’t think. Guard was down. It was only the edge. Was going to sneak up. Shoot you and Darwin from behind.” There was a brief ghost of a smile at the memory of the party before things had happened. “Trying to be sneaky. Didn’t hear him. He...” She let go of his hands to gesture to her neck, miming a little how he grabbed her since she couldn’t explain. “Needle to neck. Heavy sedative. I tried...I was trying. But then...nothing.”
Luke stayed absolutely silent, grateful that the room was dark enough that both their expressions weren’t clearly visible. He watched her try to demonstrate how he grabbed her, and despite his best efforts his mind came up with images to match her story. “Quinn,” he said carefully, not wanting to seem like he was interrupting but unable to keep it back, “You couldn’t have known what was going to happen. No one saw that coming.” With that said he went quiet again, waiting for her to continue.
Quinn shook her head a little, trying not to veer away from track. “Taunted him,” she admitted, “In dreams. When he’d come after. Thought he would slip up. Didn’t know what he looked like, but....he knew me. Knew my face.” It explained why he was able to track her down and actually capture her. With another deep breath, she continued, “Woke up in farmhouse. He put me up, ah...hanging. Tied legs together -- couldn’t kick. First cuffs were metal.” She showed him where the angry marks of the edges of the cuffs were still on her wrists. “Knew my name. Said...said was to die there.”
She scooted more in to Luke’s lap, trying to ignore the way her body was shaking at the continued talk of it. Few calming breaths were enough to begin the next part, “Tape over mouth. Then blindfold. Three days, no sight, Luke. Never knew...what he’d do next. What...tools he use.”
Taunting him had never been a good idea and they’d all tried to talk her out of trying to lure Night Terror out to no avail, but Luke just wished she hadn’t had to realize the root of their fears the hard way. He glanced down at her wrists and traced over the marks as though doing so could somehow get rid of them, knowing that the physical scars were the least of the marks that monster would have left behind. He could feel her shaking and it killed him knowing how scared she must have been, how much pain she’d suffered for three days because they hadn’t been able to find her. It made him wish Corbinian had killed Night Terror.
Luke didn’t know what to say, so he wrapped his arms around her instead, offering wordless comfort in the hopes that it would at least help a little.
“For awhile...wasn’t scared. Wouldn’t let myself be,” she explained, leaning her head against Luke’s. “Was angry. Wanted fight. He bruised me. With um...” She tried to think of the word, “Work tool? Pinch thing. Then punches. Could take it.” Quinn shrugged a little at that, knowing it sounded awful. “Used to beat up. Know how to take punches.” It was a terrible thing for a girl her size and age to even know how to take a proper punch.
“But then...it was a saw. Buzzing noise how I knew. Started cutting and...” She stopped talking, closing her eyes tightly as if she was trying to block out the memory. “When started to scream. Was...terrifying. Was so scared then cause...knew he was going to kill me. Couldn’t hold on....to any hope.” Then came another long pause, “Then he started burning. And...made worse was...he talked. Whole time. Knew his voice so good. Hear it in my sleep. Just...echoes.”
Pliers. His mind helpfully supplied the right word, and Luke couldn’t help but wince. What kind of a person could be so cruel and sadistic for no reason at all? When and how did people like that lose their humanity and become monsters? The fact that Quinn had been able to take the punches didn’t make him feel any better; it made him feel worse. Before Thomas he never would have known or even needed to know the proper way to take a punch.
Luke pulled her closer and felt his jaw clench with the effort of keeping himself from reacting to what she was saying. The harder he tried to keep from imagining it the worse it became. “I know what it’s like to lose hope,” he said quietly, more of a reassurance than anything else. “But he didn’t kill you, and he won’t.” The sureness in his voice was evident. Words escaped him again when she continued, but he had no advice to offer. Nightmares had a way of sticking around for a long time and he knew nothing he said would make that voice stop haunting her any sooner.
Quinn wished she was so sure as Luke that she was safe now, but the fear wouldn’t go away. Not until he was dead in the ground, but they both knew that and it went unspoken. “Was so mad,” she mentioned, “At the trial. No proof they said. But I knew his voice. One word and I knew it.” There was still such a fierce anger beneath her tone. “Knew he was him. Kept me awake. Burnt me if I tried to sleep. Laughed about it.”
“He cut too, lot of cutting. Then all night,” she gestured to her ears, “Plugged them. No sight, no hear, no speak. Hours of quiet sudden. No sleep and...” She faltered to mention it, “I thought of you. Wren. Oracle. Biggest hope was...that you would find me. He said over and over, no one would. But convinced self to keep going. Knowing you were looking.”
He let out a long sigh and nodded, well aware of how the justice system and even the law often failed to work the way it was supposed to. “The system’s broken, Quinn. Sometimes it does what it’s supposed to, but... a lot of the time it doesn’t.” There wouldn’t be a need for vigilantes and other unconventional forces if the law was perfect. Even the police were restricted by the same rules meant to protect society. Luke could only image how angry he could have been if M. and her lackeys had been set free, and he probably would have wanted to kill them too.
Hearing that she’d held out hope that he would find him was almost harder than knowing everything she’d gone through, and all together it just became that much worse. Luke swallowed heavily and felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He hadn’t found either Thomas or Quinn, and both would have died if they hadn’t called for help themselves. He’d had nothing to do with it. “I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner. We looked, we just... didn’t know. The police didn’t have any leads either.”
Quinn shook her head, looking up at him again and reached up to press a finger against his lips. “No,” she said firmly, “No guilt. Not your fault. He planned. Outside city? Even Oracle didn’t know.” She would never blame them for not finding her. She had to admit he was well planned in everything. He was ready to have taken her to the grave and she was just lucky. Gesturing to her ears again, “When took out plugs. Loud metal noise. Torture.” It explained her terrible freak out at the carnival.
“He cut up hands. Spent...hours. Just slicing,” she winced a little as she thought of it. “Two days no food or water. Was weak. He offered if...” Another part she never wanted to talk about. The things she had to say. The things that still echoed in her nightmares. “Water if repeat what he said.” She wasn’t looking at him anymore, focused on a spot on the wall. Still she could recite what he made her say, “No one is coming to save me. No one has any idea where I am. And...even if they did, they wouldn’t come. Because they don’t care.” The second one was harder to repeat out loud again, “This is my fault. I can’t fight you. And you are going to be...the one who kills me. I’m going to die. A slow, painful death. Alone...All those people. I thought cared about me. Are going to let me die alone.”
Luke just shook his head, refusing to admit that it wasn’t his fault yet not arguing the point either. There was no possible way he could listen to all of this and not feel guilty. He knew that wasn’t her intention at all but it didn’t change the way he felt. Understanding flickered across his expression before it was gone; so that was why she’d suddenly panicked during the carnival. It made sense now, but he wished he would have known about it beforehand to avoid it having to happen in the first place.
He grimaced at the thought of that monster cutting into her, over and over, taunting her while he did it. Hearing what Night Terror had forced her to say was even worse. Had she started to believe it once her time started to run out? Luke stared down at his hands and inhaled sharply, part of him wanting to tell her to stop even though he knew he couldn’t. He needed to listen for her sake. “You know all that wasn’t true, right? He was just... trying to wear you down. We’d never let you die, Quinn. Somehow we would have found you.” That was a lie, because they would have had no way of finding her before she was killed, but he tried in vain to pretend it was true.
Quinn nodded her head, leaning in to Luke again as a security blanket and the welcome force of protection. “Know that,” she agreed. If she thought any of it was untrue, she wasn’t allowing it in to her head. She was clinging to the thought that they would have saved her, even if she hadn’t reached her comm. “He let me sleep. But he was there too.” A stricken look went across her face. The fact she hadn’t been able to escape him at all was plainly a source of pain still. “Trapped in nightmare. In coffin with bugs and snakes..” She tugged up her sleeve to show him the bruises still of tiny pinchers -- clear bug bites all over her skin. “So scared then. Just...wanted to be home. Never been that scared.”
“Told me how many children he killed,” she added, “He kills kids. Liked seeing them scared.” Quinn frowned deeply at that, “Hate him. A coward. Attack from behind. Attack children. Never fights like a man.” Shaking her head, Quinn looked up at Luke for a moment, reaching up to touch his cheek before she sighed, “Thought of you so much. What I would say. If saw you again. How you’d remember me..”
Luke winced at the bruises, smaller ones this time, but beneath that there was a flare of anger. Torturing her physically clearly hadn’t been enough so Night Terror had terrorized her in her dreams too. It was beyond frustrating to know that the man who’d walked free was guilty, but because of legal complexities the case hadn’t been strong enough. They couldn’t even retry it now even if new evidence was discovered. “He’s a child killer. Max said she saw his victims during her nightmare. It must have been back in Musings.” He was the worst kind of coward, the sort who preyed on the vulnerable and innocent.
“Don’t.” The word slipped out instinctively, and he took her hands in his. “You’re alive. You’re here. You can say whatever you want and you don’t have to worry about how I’ll remember you.”
Quinn leaned her forehead on his shoulder again, “Now I am. Hardest to remember then. Tried, but...right there. Always right there, taunting.” She hated that he still was in her head in some ways. Frightened, in others, that she would never be rid of him. “He only took me down cause. Thought shoulders were breaking. Wrists. Hurt worst. Tied to the table and he cut. Too weak to struggle.”
There was a pause, a deep shaky breath. “Told me he was moving me. Somewhere else. Planned to break bones there.” She shuddered at the thought. “No food til third day. Was just...tired. So tired of...fighting. Surviving. Wanted to live, but...wanted the pain to stop. All of it to stop.” It was hard to admit how close she was to giving up. “No more tape. So he could listen...for me to scream. And cry. And...I did. Then dragged me outside. Was cold out there. Rainy. And..” Her hands tightened around Luke’s. “Had some...thing? Out there. Filled with cold water. Forced head under. Over and over..”
The more he listened to what Quinn was saying the more aware he became of his rising anger. He could feel it, a tenseness that spread through his muscles and coiled them tightly enough to make him long for something or someone to hit. Night Terror never should have gone free. Even if Luke did somehow manage to find him, though, what were they supposed to do with him? Jail was useless. Killing him was out of the question. His ability made him almost impossible to stop, as hard as it was to admit.
Luke took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself and gave her hand a squeeze in return, letting her know that she could tighten her grip as much as she wanted. He didn’t trust himself to say anything, though.
Quinn took it as a sign to cling a little tighter to Luke’s hands. “He mocked me. Let me try to crawl away before kicking me. Hitting me. Dragged me back and dumped me in cold water.” She pressed one hand to the side of her head. “Still hear his laugh in my dreams.” With an exhale, Quinn continued, “Then dragged me inside. Across ground and just...feel blood everywhere.”
Her story faltered as she managed through the end of it, “Didn’t tie me down enough. Went for supplies. Drove away and...threw myself off table. Hurt, but..enough to get to comm. And you came,” she smiled at that. “You and Corbinian. And...suddenly safety. And you were there, like...I had hoped. You were there.”
Admittedly it was a relief when her story came to an end. It wasn’t easy to hear, and he knew he wouldn’t be forgetting it anytime soon, but Luke still hoped that somehow it might have helped her cope a little better. “Yeah, I was there,” he echoed. “Corbinian went after Night Terror. I wonder if... he should have just killed him and ended it there. But he didn’t.” He sighed and gave her hand a squeeze. “Did it... help at all, saying it all out loud?”
Quinn leaned her forehead against his shoulder and barely nodded her head. “A bit,” she sighed and leaned in to his arms. “It’s...hard. Wasn’t supposed to survive and did. Now living with it is....difficult.” She lifted her head, straightening up finally to look at Luke. “You’re my hero,” a blunt statement of a fact. “Came through for me. Always.”
Luke nodded. “It’ll be difficult for a while, but it will get easier. I promise.” His voice reverted back to a firm, sure tone. It seemed that everyone he knew had been through something that they were still dealing with, but it wasn’t impossible. Hard, yes, but doable.
He barely managed to hold back a frown at being called her hero. It was difficult to keep from rationalizing it; he’d only been there because Oracle tracked the comm call. Corbinian had caught Night Terror. What, exactly, had he done that made him so heroic? “I’m not a hero, Quinn.” Luke attempted a smile. “I’m just glad you managed to call us in time.”
Quinn shook her head when he tried to rationalize it. “No,” she said firmly, “You’re hero. Heroic every day. Took me to hospital. Stayed. Came back every day. Helped me home. Always there.” She reached up to cup his face in her hands, making him look at her. “My hero. My own. Chases bad thoughts away. And worries. And is best friend. Can call you good hero.”
“We’re all heroes, then. Every last one of us.” That was about the closest Luke would ever get to calling himself a hero despite what anyone else said. He met her gaze and shook his head, realizing she was just as stubbornly determined to stick to her beliefs as he was to his. Instead of replying he shifted forward and kissed her, hopefully erasing any more adamant claims about his heroic status.
She was almost ready to reply when he leaned forward to kiss her. There was still a shy pause, hesitant and tentative, before she kissed back. One hand stayed touching his cheek as another slid up to his hair, letting herself slide forward in to Luke’s lap to keep kissing him. For the moment, it chased away the hum of bad memories and the feelings they brought up with an easy comfort and that fluttering she got in her chest whenever their lips touched.
Luke didn’t have much time to be satisfied that his tactic worked, not when Quinn returned the kiss and moved so she was even closer than before. His hands slid down her shoulders and back, taking care to keep his touch light, and settled around her waist. Despite all the worry and the frustration he was glad that she was back, that she was okay, and somehow it was easier to express all that like this rather than using words. He pulled back for a moment, as though to say something, but thought better of it and moved in for another kiss.
Quinn didn’t mind that they were expressing themselves like this, rather than trying to talk. She had spent so much time talking that the actions were much more comfortable. They spoke volumes over just words. Leaning in to his touch, Quinn let him lead the kisses and when he pulled back she couldn’t help a shy, soft laugh bubble up. When they parted again, she was still blushing and ducked her head to hide it against his neck. “Try to shut me up,” she teased softly, her breath tickling against his skin.
Her laugh elicited a small but genuine smile, and Luke was oddly pleased by the fact that he’d probably made her blush just like she had back when he’d visited her in the hospital. “Maybe I just wanted to kiss you,” he countered, keeping his voice low. He didn’t want Quinn to go, but he knew she had to get back to Oracle. Hopefully he was right in his assurance that there would be no lifetime grounding happening.
“Maybe,” she said in return, unable to keep back the little smile. She pulled back enough to look at him again, leaning in to give him another sweet, short kiss. “Shouldn’t stay too long,” she said regretfully. There was a little moment of hesitation before she asked, “If not in trouble, you come over?” She didn’t seem to know how to phrase it any other way. “Spend night with me? Not in...that. But just...sleep?”
Luke pulled a face but nodded, despite what he did or didn’t want. “Yeah. You should go home first, talk to Oracle.” He smiled at her request even if he did feel a familiar spike of heat creep up his neck and pressed his forehead against hers. “Okay. If you’re allowed visitors, I’ll come. Thomas won’t mind if I spend the night.” He hesitated. “What about Oracle?”
Quinn nodded in return, giving him a little smile. “Will do,” she said, hesitating a little. She never really talked to Oracle about having someone stay over. It’d be quite different now that it was Luke as well. “Have to ask, but. Will be okay. Let you know.”
There was a reluctance to move from her spot, instead she leaned in to kiss him again. This one lingered for the moment before she pulled back. “Okay. Going,” she said, as if she was convincing herself to get up. Even then she leaned in for another quick kiss.
He found himself hoping Oracle wouldn’t mind. It was just him, after all, and it wasn’t like they’d do anything other than sleep. “Okay,” Luke agreed, surprised when she kissed him a moment later. Not that he was complaining, though; when she pulled back he pulled a mock frown and leaned forward just as she moved forward to meet him for another kiss.
This time he tugged her forward instead of letting her pull away again, but after a long moment he let out a sigh and moved back. “You’d better go, Quinn,” he teased. “You’ll never leave at this rate.”
“Oh?” she gave him a mock serious look back. “Why that then?” She couldn’t help the teasing, fingers still playing with Luke’s hair. She couldn’t resist the temptation to lean in and press another kiss at the corner of his mouth. “Always have some time,” she said sounding almost a little pleased with herself. She didn’t make any motion to actually leaving her place on Luke’s lap, rather shifted her position to be closer to him.
Luke was momentarily confused but hid it well, meeting her mock serious look with raised eyebrows. “Obviously you don’t want to leave,” he grinned, “And I bet you’d stay the whole day if I let you. Plus I think you just like my room. It is pretty cool.” He was admittedly surprised that she wasn’t leaving, and to top things off she just moved closer instead. “If Oracle gets mad, it’s not my fault,” he teased, wrapping one arm around her waist and tugging her forward, just enough to kiss her again.
“Very cool,” she agreed, giving him a little smile back. “Like person in it more than room.” Quinn laughed a little lowly as he tugged her forward. “Oracle always mad bout somethin’,” she teased back as she rest her free hand on his chest. “Won’t mind if she knew was safe with you.”
She leaned in for a moment, letting the kiss deepen before she pulled back enough. Her cheeks were flushed a bright pink, but she was smiling. “And...make me feel. Very safe..” she added, letting herself be lead in to another kiss and her whole body leaned towards him -- open and unguarded.
Luke was very glad that Thomas wasn’t home, because even with his limited vision there was a large potential for awkward there. At least Max would be a little more mindful of his privacy, although he wasn’t so sure she wouldn’t come up to check if too much time passed. They were in his bedroom, after all, with the door closed. That wasn’t usually a situation parents or parental-type figures were big on.
“You make me feel--” It was probably a good thing that another kiss cut off whatever he was going to say, since he wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence anyway. Luke wasn’t sure what was happening other than the fact that Quinn was really, really close and they didn’t seem capable of not kissing for more than five seconds. Not that he had a problem with that, really, but he couldn’t help a faint sense of awkwardness begin to creep in. His free hand slid up to her hair, and he brushed his thumb across her cheek. It felt almost too good to stop but he forced himself to pull away, unable to keep from smiling even as he tried to look serious. “Quinn, I don’t want you to leave. But...” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips before continuing. “Honestly, Oracle’s worried. We’ll have lots of time later, promise.”
Quinn wrinkled her nose and turned a vivid shade of pink now. She huffed out awkwardly and laughed, sounding a little accusing at him, “You kiss good. Distracting.” There was a pause before she shifted back, still a sort of awkward pink color to her cheeks. “Going this time.” She meant it as she slid off of Luke’s lap to stand up.
Shoving her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, Quinn gave him a shy smile. “Um. Let you know, okay? About coming over. Or...everything. Yeah?” If Luke ever wanted to see what Quinn was like when she was flustered, he was getting it. She was trying to not look shy at him before she took a step back towards the door. “See you, okay? Will call when home.”
“I do?” He raised his eyebrows, torn between being surprised and being oddly pleased. Luke let her go this time and slid off the edge of the bed to stand, rubbing the back of his neck and trying not to smile at how flustered she looked. “Yeah. Let me know, and... call. So I know you haven’t been locked up in your room for your own safety.” He kept himself from moving forward and stood where he was instead, somewhat awkwardly, failing to keep a grin off his face.
Quinn pulled a face at him for looking so pleased with himself. “Don’t look like that,” she chided him, “See you later, okay?” She lifted her hand for a little wave, clearing her throat. She paused briefly before she was leaving, enough time to compose herself with a little smile thrown over her shoulder at Luke before she slipped out of his bedroom to make her way out of Aubade and back home to Bathos.