“Uber home?” Niko asked once they were finally heading for the airport exit.
August didn’t care if they used the team shuttle or an Uber; he just wanted to get home and…take a bath? The need to submerge himself underwater was sudden, but it sounded like the perfect way to relax. He had no idea if he could fit in his tub, but he was willing to try.
“August.”
August stopped so abruptly that his shoes squeaked on the polished floor. His pulse spiked, and he was surprised that his heart didn’t explode from the increased blood pressure as he spun and found Quinn standing behind him.
Callahan was hovering about ten feet back, awkwardly shuffling in place and staring at the floor as Quinn approached August with a terrifyingly determined expression.
Niko was so startled that he didn’t bother making a snarky comment—he just scampered away, putting the same ten feet of distance between them on the opposite side of Callahan.
Fucking traitor.
Quinn looked beautiful even when he was ready for violence. August couldn’t help but get caught in the gold around his pupil now that he had discovered it. He didn’t know what bad karma he had earned when genetics decided to give Quinn such hypnotizing eyes, but it was swiftly becoming a problem.
“Hold on one second,” August began. “I wouldn’t have told him unless I thought he knew, and I know it’s awkward, but you said you were going to tell him, so—”
“You’re not hiding it?”
August blinked, not understanding the question. “No, I totally, accidentally told Callahan that we had sex.”
Quinn’s expression was still tight when he smiled, but something August had said helped soften it by a small margin.
“That’s not what I meant,” said Quinn. He readjusted the winter coat he was hugging to his chest, relaxing his posture until the mood felt more casual. “I don’t care that you told Eren, but I’m surprised you admitted it. You seemed hesitant when I mentioned I wasn’t going to keep what’s between us a secret, that’s all.”
There were parts of his past relationship with Quinn that were still foggy in August’s mind, but he had a feeling that this worry was coming from a place of experience.
He had no excuse. August no longer had to hide who he was from his parents, but it didn’t make up for how he had treated Quinn when they were younger.
“I’ll shout it from the rooftop if you want,” said August. “It doesn’t bother me. I’m…not who I was before. I’m not a coward like I was back then, so if you want me to admit that I’m bi, I could set up a press conference or something?”
There were tons of people around them, so August was sure that if he yelled loud enough, the news would break before he pulled into the driveway of his house.
“Nonononono.” Quinn waved his hands, rejecting the dramatic offer. “That’s—nope. Don’t do that. I stopped you to make sure you weren’t freaking out, and I also wanted to tell you that Eren knows and he’s not mad at you. I think you shocked him, but he doesn’t care about us sleeping together, so don’t worry about him being a jackass.”
August wasn’t convinced that there would be no posturing, but at least he didn’t have to explain himself to his captain now.
“I’m serious,” said Quinn, gesturing to Callahan, who was having a silent argument with the floor. “He’s a golden retriever. There’s not a thought behind those blue eyes of his.”
Clearly, Quinn had never seen an angry Callahan punching someone on the ice.
“So, yeah, so—” Quinn backed away, and it was taking every molecule in August’s body not to reach out and pull him into a hug. “I’ll, like, text you. Later. Oh fuck, I’m so awkward.”
Quinn turned and bolted toward Callahan, dragging him away while ignoring protests about how they were walking in the wrong direction.
Now that August wasn’t in fear for his life, and he had received confirmation that Quinnwasgoing to text him, he had a little pep in his step as he approached a grinning Niko.
“Oh, you’ve got it so bad,” Niko said, chuckling.
“Got what?” August demanded, staring at him, but Niko just waved instead of answering.
He was getting tired of feeling lost during every conversation. He wasn’t aware that regaining his memories and dealing with his trauma would fuck up his brain enough to keep him from processing a simple thought.
“Home. Food. Video games. In that order,” said Niko, knocking into August’s side. “But you may want to call Jett first because the group chat is blowing up.”
The fucking group chat.
August pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering why he bothered to keep Niko around when all he did was mess with him. Still, he swung an arm over his shoulders and led him out of the airport, sharing a soft laugh when Niko told him to fuck off.
