A week in New York went much quicker than Quinn hoped. Before she knew it, she was back at her apartment, sitting in the dark, trying to recollect everything that had happened in the past few months. Everything always happened so fast, that unless she was on her toes, Quinn just got dizzy.
"Hey honey," Tiki was brushing against Quinn's calves that hung from over the bed. Quinn reached down and picked up her cat who nuzzled against her touch.
This small, ordinary action made Quinn want to cry. It had been so long since she felt normal. Quinn was the happiest she'd been in years, but she was so used to change now, that the one thing that remained constant, her cat, had made her almost burst into tears.
Quinn knew she had to get a grip. There was something stirring in her that just said, go live. And Quinn wanted to listen to that voice.
She moved to her desk, still holding Rose. She wasn't gonna tweet it out, or ask anyone to play, Quinn just wanted to go and play Minecraft, just like she used to.
"Hey guys." Quinn didn't turn her face cam on today, she looked a little too drained. It was almost instantly that she saw his name in chat.
dreamwastaken my girl :)
dreamwastaken have a good stream <3
Quinn smiled to her self. "Today is gonna be more of a chill day, I'm probably just gonna do some building on the SMP, work myself up to big projects again, but I've missed you guys, and I wanna hang out for a bit."
The response on the SMP was immediate. She hit tab to see who was on, and in chat she was getting yelled at by a child.
TommyInnit QUINN WUNN QUINN
TommyInnit DO YOU HAVE TNT???
"This cannot be good," Quinn said to chat, sprinting to where Tommy's house was. She saw the group standing there, Tommy, Tubbo, Wilbur and Ranboo were all gazing at the structure in front of them. Quinn wondered why Tommy didn't just ask Wilbur for the TNT.
Ranboo vc3, if youre interested.
Quinn was intrigued, but couldn't let herself stay around for long.
"Quinnivere!" Wilbur greeted cheerfully, "How was New York with Dream?"
"It was pretty good! I am glad to be home though," she gave short answers when asked stuff like that, wanting to stay pretty private about her trip. Luckily enough, Tommy took over the conversation, yelling about how he needed a fresh start, how this house reminded him of all the bad shit that happened to him on the server, and Quinn wondered if this meant that she had interrupted some lore.
She asked Wilbur privately if this was scripted, and Wilbur replied with a simple "It's just Tommy being Tommy."
So she helped the group gather TNT, so that Tommy could blow up his house and build a new one. It was simple enough, and if it turned into lore later on, Quinn got to be a part of the origin story.
Her stream was actually a lot of fun. Quinn loved when she got to hang out with the British boys, because she spent so much time around her Florida guys. Although the second she ended stream there was something that hit her like a truck.
She missed Clay so much.
It washed over Quinn the second she was offline. It was as if someone had thrown a bucket of water on her, and she was soaking wet.
This scared Quinn a little bit, because it was the first time she had a chance to sit down and think about how much she actually cared about him. They had always been friends, so of course, she cared about him, but now it was as if that care went deeper.
Quinn realized that she loved him.
And that was terrifying.
Because she had always in her head known that eventually she would love him, but feeling this ache course through her body was so much scarier than just considering it.
Quinn resisted the urge to pick up her phone and tell him right now, but she knew that was something that had to be said in person. So she did the irrational thing that her brain was pushing her to do.
Quinn packed an overnight bag, and she swallowed her pride. Quinn remembered what his mom had said to her in the hospital. "When you tell Clay you love him, make sure he gets it in his brain."
She had to do this right now.
As Quinn grabbed her keys off the counter, Rose meowed at her feet.
"I'll be back in the morning baby. Go eat!" Quinn said goodbye to her cat.
When she swung open her front door she was met face to face with the man she was going to see. And he was holding flowers.
"Clay?" Quinn asked, how was it that he always seemed to read her mind.
"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you," he admitted almost bashfully, "which is immature I know, but I wanted to be able to do this right."
Now Quinn was confused, if he beat her to saying what was on her mind, she was gonna be pissed.
"Do what right baby?" The name rolled off of Quinn's tongue affectionately. It was then that Clay noticed Quinn's bag.
"Were you going somewhere?" Clay didn't want to keep her from leaving, but he wanted Quinn to himself tonight. Well, he wanted Quinn to himself always, but tonight especially. He probably should've called to see if she had plans.
"I was actually, gonna come see you," Now it was Quinn's turn to be bashful, "I guess you beat me to it."
Relief flooded through Clay's chest.
"Okay, good. I was worried that I was about to wreck your plans," Clay handed her the flowers, "when we first got together, when we talked, the morning after the hospital, I told you that I would go back and change history if I could. Rewrite it so that nothing got in the way of us being together."
"I remember," Quinn could see something shaking inside of Clay's eyes, he had thought about this for a while, she could tell.
"Give me the chance to change history," Clay seemed to have settled on these words, on his invitation, "Let me go back and fix it, what I did, how I let you go."
"How do we do that?" Quinn was curious, he had driven all the way over to her house, with flowers, and now said he wanted to change history. It was all very sweet, and Quinn appreciated the gesture, but she knew that no one could really change history.
"Come stay with me tonight. That first night we kissed, there was something that ignited itself in me, and I begged you to stay. Well this is me, begging again, for you."
Quinn's stomach flipped on its head. Last time this happened, she cried for a whole day. But maybe this time, he won't let her leave. And maybe she'll tell him that she loves him before time runs out.
Slowly Quinn nodded, and Clay's reaction was immediate. He took the flowers from her hands put them on the counter and picked her up like she weighed nothing.
"Put me down!" Quinn was trying to contain the giggles she let out.
Tiki came around the corner wondering what all the noise was, and chirped happily when she saw Clay.
"Oh my gosh, I've missed her," Clay put Quinn down, and crouched so that Tiki could come to him, "Can she come too?"
There was something much bigger that Clay had planned, but this seemed innocent enough.
So eventually, Quinn, Tiki and Clay were in the car on the way back to his house. And Quinn was practically shaking with excitement. The radio was playing softly, and Tiki purred in Quinn's lap, asleep. There was a sort of finality that rinsed over the pair as they rode in the car together, not speaking. Not because they didn't want to talk, but because they were comfortable enough that they didn't have to.
It was enough to lull Quinn into sleep.
As Clay glanced over, he realized that Quinn had passed out. Her head fell over on her left shoulder, holding Tiki in her lap. He nearly cooed at the sight. This woman was the love of his life. Clay knew that much.
There was an overwhelming urge to reach out and touch her, to make sure that she was real. It was overwhelming, how much she meant to Clay. After months of messing up, and trying to fix things, and wanting to be absolutely perfect, Quinn was in his passenger seat, and they were going home. She cared about Clay for exactly who he was, and that alone was enough to make him tear up. What was happening to him?
Nick had mentioned something to him before they left for New York, something that resonated with Clay. If you look at her, and it hurts to think about what it would be like if she wasn't there, then you know it's her. You're in the right place Clay, you love her, I know you do.
Clay didn't have to think about what it would be like if Quinn wasn't there, because for months that was true. And thinking about it being true again, just about broke Clay's heart.
Quinn stirred in her sleep, opening her eyes sleepily.
"Clay what's wrong," concern laced her voice.
"Nothing, nothing. I just," Come on, say it, "I just... I thought about what it would be like if we never got together. And it freaked me out."
Coward.
"I'm not going anywhere, okay baby?" Quinn reached out and put her hand on his leg, ignoring the way he inhaled quickly, "It's me and you versus the world."
Clay's house was always too cold. They got there just as the sunset, and the inside was glowing with light.
"It's so pretty here," Quinn smiled, walking around the kitchen, just looking at the way the sun crept onto the walls.
Clay walked up behind her and pulled her into him.
"You look so happy here," He whispered.
"You're here, and I'm happy with you," Quinn responded almost immediately, "We could be anywhere, and I'd be happy as long as you were with me."
"Time rewrite history."
Quinn nodded at him as she gained an understanding as to what was about to go down here.
"Hey Quinn, can I talk to you for a second?" Clay said, and Quinn was brought back to that moment.
Suddenly it was months ago, and Nick and George were looking around for a game to play, as Clay had a hopeful look in his eyes. Still, Quinn's stomach turned. She followed him into his room, it was much cleaner now than it had been then, and there were pictures of the two of them sprinkled around his room. A picture frame of them together at Christmas, the photo that Nick took of them and the cats, old pictures from vacations together, his room was full of Quinn. She smiled at this.
"Quinn," Clay closed the door behind them, and got real close to her, "I want to do this right."
Quinn closed her eyes, feeling his embrace so warm against her, his hand pressed to her cheek. She was weightless in this moment, she was entirely his. She realized that she had to say something, but his closeness was intoxicating.
"Clay..." His name burned on her tongue, her brain screamed at him to kiss her, but she knew he had put so much thought into this.
"Quinn..." The all too familiar air floated between them. They were electric together.
"Have you had anything to drink tonight?" That felt like the right question, she remembered saying this once.
"I didn't have the chance to," Clay's lips fell next to Quinn's ear, as he softly said, "Tell me what's on your mind."
"You." She didn't hesitate.
"What about me?" Clay pondered, trying to tease her a little bit, his hands resting at the small of her back, pulling her in close to him.
Quinn stood on her toes, pressing her own lips to Clay's ear, eyes closed, speaking only for him to hear.
"That I am so utterly in love with you," She wondered if she was even audible.
Clay's grip on Quinn released so fast that she almost fell back.
"Say it again," Clay was now holding her face, his eyes staring into her like it's the last time he'll ever see her, "say it again, please." He was begging.
"Clay, I'm in love with you." Quinn felt herself melt for this man, he was so lovely, Quinn wondered if she ever stood a chance at not loving him.
"I love you," It echoed on Clay's lips like a prayer, like he was trying to etch the words into his skull.
Quinn reached her own hands up and grabbed his head, pulling their foreheads together.
"The night that we went to see your mom, in the hospital, she said something to me, that I've pondered every single day," Quinn's voice was quiet, "I've loved you for a long time Clay. And your mom knew it, she told me herself. I just haven't had the courage to tell you. But I love you, and I'll say it however many times you want me to, so that you can get it in your head."
It was quiet for a while. Clay dropped his hands from Quinn's face to her waist and pulled her against him, crushing her with his embrace. There they sat, pressed against each other, in the most vulnerable moment of their relationship, in silence. Finally, Clay spoke.
"What did I ever do to deserve you?" His voice cracked slightly, sniffling through his breathing.
Quinn couldn't see him, but she knew he was crying, or he was about to anyways.
"You did something very right," Quinn comforted him, she hadn't seen him this broken up over something since his mom and sister, "you were kind, and loving, and passionate, and you-"
"Quinn, baby, please, stop or I'll fall to pieces right now," Clay was holding her tightly, she could feel his admittance in his actions. He didn't have to say it out loud for Quinn to know that he loved her too.
"Kiss me," Quinn breathed, she wanted to have him, all of him, right now.
"I can do that," Clay laughed before closing the gap between them.
Much like the first time, Quinn's thoughts melted into nothing, as Clay's kiss warmed her whole body from the inside out. They were connected and it was so much stronger than it has ever been.
"Shouldn't we talk about this?" Quinn remembered the first time they kissed, when they tried to be reasonable about being together.
"Fuck that," Clay said, "Quinn, stay with me tonight please."
"But the fans," She smirked, thinking back to her stupid reason for pushing him away.
"Quinn, please," Clay begged, faking desperation, "At least give me tonight with you."
She nodded at him. He had grown so much in the span of a year, and he had become the guy that Quinn couldn't live without.
"I'll give you tonight," Quinn leaned forward and kissed him, "and tomorrow," she kissed him again, "and the next day," and again, "I'll give you forever, if you want."
Clay pulled her in again, and she was dizzy. He was so intoxicating.
"Yes please," he smiled.
Quinn hummed happily, a part of history hadn't been replaced, but added to, the memory that turned sad was given a happy ending. Something to look forward to, something to hope for.
"Hey Quinn," Clay asked, realizing something.
"Yeah?"
"I'm in love with you too."
AN: Okay for starters, this story has hit 1k read and holy cow thank you so much. I've never hit 1k before, thank you thank you thank you.
Secondly, this is the last chapter before the epilogue, so if you have made it this far, I congratulate you, and I'm gonna try to get the epilogue out ASAP.
much love!