darker_london | My love, my love (Flynn, Quinn)

The Download music festival was fast approaching, and with it, the date when Spectre and his band would head off on their tour of the UK. Flynn felt the appearching date like a dead weight in his stomach, seeking to consume all the light and happiness he had managed to aquire in his life. When he had arrived home from touring the United States a year ago, he had arrived home to find his beloved Quinn broken and bleeding on the stairs in his apartment. It had looked like he had been left for dead, though they now knew leaving Quinn alive and brain damaged had been exactly what Amaris had wanted. And that was what she had done. For months Flynn had looked after what was left of Quinn, knowing the man he loved was unreachable. He had fallen for Tristan, yes. But that didn't lessen the heartache he had felt for his Quinn.

Quinn was back. Quinn was fine and healthy and happy. He was every bit the man Flynn loved, he was just one eye down. And Flynn knew, deep down, that just because he was leaving again it didn't mean that Quinn would have tragedy befall him. He still couldn't help that it felt like he had mere weeks left with Quinn. Like the Download Festival represented some sort of cutoff date and beyond that would be only pain and loss. He wanted to make the best of the time he had left, but he was too distraught in his worry to even do that.

Quinn knew Flynn was suffering, but nothing he said seemed to help. Still, he made sure that he didn't spend a single night away from his lover. If Flynn was at his home, Quinn was with him. If not, they were at Quinn's. There simply was no other workable arrangement.

Flynn was sitting on Quinn's bed, staring moodily up at the celing. Quinn's cat Booster was resting on his chest, purring with abandon. Quinn looked up from the paper he was marking and he smiled lightly at Flynn, even if Flynn wasn't looking. "Is he too loud for you there? I can hear him from here and I wouldn't want him to interrupt your brains."

"Huh?" Flynn lifted his head and he gave Quinn an inquiring glance.

Quinn's expression was fond and sympathetic. "Nothing, Bub. Are you hungry? You didn't eat breakfast."

"I wasn't hungry." Flynn sighed. "And I'm still not."

"Mal..." Quinn abandoned his papers, knowing his students could wait. They weren't due in until Friday anyway. "Come on, Bub." He slid onto his bed and he placed a hand on Flynn's stomach, right beside Booster. "You can't not eat."

"I'm not not eating." Flynn was careful to keep any moodiness out of his voice. He didn't want to take his fear out on anyone, especially not Quinn. "I'm just not hungry."

Quinn sighed, but it certainly wasn't directed at Flynn and thankfully he understood that without Quinn having to explain. "Bub..." Quinn settled himself down on the bed beside Flynn. "I am going to do my damndest to take care of myself, okay? I promise." Gently, he kissed Flynn's cheek. "I know you're worried, but you should be celebrating your tour, not dreading it."

"I just want you to come with me." Flynn said miserably. He turned his head so they were lying right beside each other, their faces centimeters apart. "I wish you could come too."

Quinn kissed the end of Flynn's nose and he smiled lightly. "So I will."

Flynn blinked in surprise. "B...but your job. The library! I asked them and they said they couldn't spare you for that long!"

Quinn shrugged. "So I'll quit."

"You can't quit your job!" Flynn turned on his side so fast that Booster rolled onto the mattress. He yowled in Flynn's direction and then jumped off the bed, quite annoyed at his abrupt displacement. "Quinn, you just got that job and you were so excited!"

Quinn gave Flynn an amused and kind look. It was true, so he didn't refute it. His response was still an easy one. "And what makes you think that is, in any possible way, more important than you? Hmm? You didn't tell me coming with you was an option, Bub. I probably can't go on the European and US tours, but there's no reason why I couldn't come with you around the UK as long as it was okay with Spectre."

"I...I asked him and he seemed okay with it but I thought you wouldn't be interested because of your job!"

"I finish my marking this week, and I can study on the road. Mal, why didn't you just ask me in the first place instead of asking everyone else?" Quinn wasn't upset. In fact, his tone sounded rather amused.

"Because I'm stupid." Flynn sighed and he leaned in to nuzzle Quinn's cheek with his nose. "Quinn, I...I can't ask you to quit your job just to make me feel better. That's...it's not fair on me."

"Well, as I have pointed out, you didn't ask. I offered. And you are not stupid."

"But what about money. Bub, if we got back and you couldn't find a job..."

"Mal, please don't worry about that. I will find a job. I'm brilliant, thank you very much! And I've been thinking about working at Peter's hospital anyway. I do so much volunteer work with Lia and Liz and they're always talking about the hospital... If I could get paid for helping too...I think I want to do that even more than my Masters. Though I'm not going to stop studying." Quinn added that last part quickly, because he felt like he was betraying academia somehow. "Then I could volunteer, study, and help at the hospital. I love the library, but it's not exactly social reform, you know?"

"Quinn..." Flynn gazed at his boyfriend in absolute awe. "You don't have to do this for me."

"Bollocks." Quinn lifted himself up on his arms and he leaned against Flynn's shoulder. "You're going to worry yourself into the grave if I don't come with you. And when we get back here, safe and sound, you'll have a whole tour of memories to help you not think about what happened last year."

"You just...you weren't in the airport and I just knew-"

"I know, Mal." Quinn sat up and he took Flynn's face gently between his hands. "I know I wasn't there, and I know I didn't come back to you for months, but I'm here now and I'm coming with you." Quinn kissed Flynn deeply and then he embraced him, holding Flynn close.

And all Flynn could say was, "thank you." Quinn was taking care of him and Flynn understood without Quinn explaining, that this was his way of repaying Flynn for being his caretaker for months. Not that Flynn needed or expected repayment, but he did need Quinn, and that was exactly what Quinn was doing for him.

"You're welcome!" Quinn said cheerfully over Flynn's shoulder.

"Let's have lunch!" Flynn jumped up from the bed and he grinned. "Come on! I'll make strawberry pancakes!"

Quinn chuckled and he stood as well, taking Flynn's outstretched hands. "How perfectly gay," he said with a wink.

"No, that comes after." And Flynn pulled him gleefully from the room.