darker_london | Habits (Flynn, Quinn and then Annie)

Old habits died hard, and sometimes old habits were a bitch.

For six years, Flynn had lived on the streets and he had had to struggle for everything. He hhad had to scrape for food and fight to stay alive and now, even after three years of knowing he was safe and happy, the fight within him had not entirely died out.

Quinn had called up his husband, asking Flynn to meet him on the London University campus. He had spent the morning in the library in a state of bliss, but now he wanted Flynn time and Flynn was all too happy to oblige.

"Mal!" Quinn bounced towards his husband when Flynn came into view, and Flynn grinned and opened his arms wide. It had been three hours since he had seen his husband and he always hated being away from him, even for just that long. When Quinn reached him, they embraced tightly and dramatically and then Quinn exclaimed over Flynn's shoulder, "I found a new book on natural law theory and I'm in Heaven!"

"I hope I contribute to that," Flynn said with a grin.

"Oh, Honey," Quinn pulled away and he winked at Flynn. "Ethics and my hunk of a husband? Trust me, best day ever."

Flynn beamed and then he laced his fingers into Quinn's. "I had a great day too! I spoke with some more funders so I can like...keep paying your mother for her work at the shelter."

"Geez, good," Quinn nodded. "My productive husband out getting money to make sure a bunch of homeless kids still have a place to live and here I am reading books."

"Hey, it's a good thing to do," Flynn reassured Quinn. They started walking slowly towards the street so they could head home. "And you've been arranging that fund raiser with Noah. It's going to be fantastic."

"Yes! We have all the bands now, and everything is settled," Quinn grinned as they strolled hand-in-hand. It felt wonderful to be together like this. Without worrying what anyone else would think.

Flynn was about to say something else about the fund raiser, but they had reached the street. In front of the both of them, someone dumped nearly an entire sandwich into a bin on the side of the footpath and, without thinking, Flynn dropped Quinn's hand and he took several steps towards the bin.

When he realised what he was doing, his stomach constricted and his breath caught in his throat. He froze and then turned to see Quinn staring at him, looking slightly horrified.

Flynn had been reaching for the sandwich someone had just thrown away. He hadn't gone hungry in years. Not when he wasn't escaping from his PIRA stalkers or being held by Amaris anyway. And yet he was still two steps from away from grabbing and eating someone else's garbage. "I..."

"Mal," Quinn said softly. Quinn, who had suffered four months on the streets with Flynn, though he had never been with Flynn when he gone dumpster-diving. He had still eaten the rewards of Flynn's forays into other people's refuse, and he understood why Flynn had gone to dig the sandwich out. Hunger was hard to forget. He also understood why Flynn was freaking out. "It's okay."

"No," Flynn said, his voice shaky. He shook his head and then he rubbed his eyes, suddenly feeling very tired. "I...I think I want to go to the shelter. Just...I'll be home later. Okay?"

Quinn nodded and he gave Flynn a sad look that was almost pitying. "O...okay. I'll see you at home."

Flynn left Quinn there and he made his way to his shelter. The walk was quite long, but he found it easier to forget what he had just done when he walked on and on. When he arrived at the shelter, he went into the common room and he sat on the sofa, staring at the telly which was not on. He just wanted to be around people who understood to a greater degree than Quinn could.

Someone entered the room and Flynn looked up to see Annie standing there, shyly. He smiled at her. She still hadn't spoken a word, but Flynn liked her presence. He didn't always say a lot either. He felt he could understand her.