fanfic: Honesty Hour, PG (Artie/Quinn)
Title: Honesty Hour
Author: ipickquinn & backitup_baby
Pairings/Characters: Artie/Quinn
Rating: PG
Word count: 5,592
Spoilers: none
Summary: Artie's mom invites Quinn over for lunch and she learns some interesting things about her boyfriend.
A/N: This fic was written by ipickquinn (as Quinn) and backitup_baby (as Artie)!
( Artie/Quinn 'verse masterlist)
Honesty Hour
Artie had thought that he’d never be exactly thrilled to come back to Lima after he graduated from high school, but just the first semester of Miami’s architecture program had been enough to make him just want to sleep in, be lazy at home, and have his mom make him roast beef sandwiches. It was also nice to be able to work with his old physical therapist again. He liked the one at school well enough but it wasn’t really a welcome change.
Christmas break back in Lima was sort of sucking for Quinn. After spending almost every night with Artie in his dorm (though one good thing about being home was she didn’t have to deal with her insane roommate) it was hard going back to sleeping alone. It had sort of been a restless night so it took her a while to realize her phone was ringing. Picking up her phone she just looked at it confused. Why was Catherine Abrams calling her? “Hello?”
“Hi Quinn, how are you? Would you like to come over for lunch? Have you eaten yet?” Catherine asked once Quinn had picked up, getting right to the point.
Though the phone call and invitation was a little (or a lot) unexpected, Quinn quickly agreed and bundled up in her winter clothes before driving over to Artie’s house. As she drove she wondered if this was some sort of surprise for Artie, but seeing as it wasn’t his birthday or anything she decided to just wait and see. With that, she got out of her car and made her way to the front door, knocking twice.
Catherine opened the door a few minutes later, a smile on her face. Though it had taken some time for her to accept Quinn’s presence in Artie’s life, she had genuinely grown to like her. That said, there were still some things she wanted to discuss and even though she’d briefly talked to Quinn two years ago (though Artie, once he found out about it, considered the talk more of a threat than anything else) about how she didn’t want her to hurt her son, she still had some other things to say.
“Come in, you must be freezing,” she said, stepping backwards so Quinn could enter. “I already set out plates and there’s pasta on the stove so you can just help yourself. What would you like to drink?”
Quinn looked around briefly and sensed that Artie definitely wasn’t there. So this was just bonding time for her and her boyfriends mother? Well that wasn’t weird at all. She really did like Catherine but the woman also kind of scared her. “Thanks Mrs. Abrams,” she said as she walked in and took off her winter gear. “Water is fine with me. And thanks for inviting me over. It was really...” Weird. “Nice.”
“Oh, you’re welcome,” Catherine replied, retrieving water for them both and waiting for Quinn to get her food and sit down before doing the same herself. “Artie will probably be back in about an hour so that should be enough time. How are things going between you two?”
Enough time? For what? Quinn was getting odd flashbacks to the last time she and Catherine had spent “quality” time together. She had basically gotten a talk about how she better not break her son’s heart.
“Oh. Well... Um, yeah things are good. Why? Has he said something?” The blonde took a drink of water nervously. What if Artie had said something and there was something wrong between them? It would kind of be a low blow to have his mom breakup with her for him.
“No, he hasn’t,” Catherine said, caught off guard before realizing what Quinn was trying to say. “No,” she said again. “That isn’t why I invited you over. I just thought that while Artie was at therapy we could try to... get to know each other a little better again.”
“Wait, what? He’s at therapy?” The way Quinn’s mouth was hanging open probably was anything but attractive but how could she have been with him for so long and not know this about him?
“Yes, of course.” Catherine paused before speaking again. “Did you not know he goes to physical therapy? I thought he would have told you by this point. Hasn’t it been... about two and a half years?”
“I--” Quinn started but stopped and stared down at her plate of pasta. Why hadn’t he told her? He knew all her dark secrets so what was the deal? Didn’t he trust her? When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. “No. No, I didn’t know. And it will be three years. In February.”
Catherine followed suit and studied her food for a moment, then looked back up at Quinn. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t know that he hadn’t told you.” She wasn’t sure what else to say, not really knowing what else Artie hadn’t told her.
Quinn knew it wasn’t Catherine’s fault that Artie hadn’t told her, but that didn’t stop her voice from being a little clipped. “It’s not like it matters. It’s not like I don’t know everything else about him. Except something really big and important like that.”
She fumed for a few moments before realizing she had just freaked out on Artie’s mom. “I--I’m sorry. That was like, inappropriate and stuff. It’s not your fault...”
“It’s all right,” Catherine said, frowning slightly. “Artie can make some very poor decisions sometimes.”
“So you think he should have told me?” Quinn asked, her tone significantly less hostile this time.
“Of course,” Catherine said immediately. “Just like-- nevermind.”
“Just like what?” Quinn asked with her eyebrow slightly raised. She wasn’t used to words being restricted, especially considering Artie usually blurted out everything he didn’t want to say. She sort of expected his mother to do the same.
Catherine made a small show of having some pasta, then some water. “Just like he probably hasn’t told you about seeing a therapist during middle and high school,” she said cooly, as though she had meant to say that all along.
Quinn’s eyes widened slightly. “Really? But he doesn’t anymore? Why don’t you think he’s told me?” She was sort of forgetting this was her boyfriend’s mom she was talking to and asking her this as if she were a regular friend.
“Something about how he doesn’t like the therapists in Oxford? He told me he thought he didn’t need to anymore, though, besides that. And I don’t know why he hasn’t told you.” Catherine opened her mouth then as though she were going to say something, then closed it.
It was really driving Quinn insane at how apparently Catherine could control her word vomit. But it wasn’t like she could demand she tell her or sexually blackmail her into it (OH GOD THE MENTAL IMAGES). After getting herself back under control, though Artie’s mom probably wouldn’t have noticed much, she finally spoke. “But he’s your son. You must have some idea.”
“But I’m his mother, and I’m not so sure that it’s my place to tell you about my conjectures,” Catherine said immediately, somewhat firmly. “You should wait for him to come home.”
“But as his future wif--” Quinn froze, mouth open. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. “Why don’t I do that. You know, wait for him. I’ll just go... somewhere else that isn’t here and wait.”
Catherine was about to tell Quinn to finish her pasta first before she realized. “I beg your pardon? Are you and Artie engaged?”
“What? No, of course we’re not... Oh my God.” Quinn held out her left hand. “See, no ring. None. We’re not. I don’t even know why I said that. Can I just go now?” Her tone was getting awfully close to whining.
Catherine examined Quinn’s hand very suspiciously. “Go as in leave and then come back, or go as in you’ll be waiting here?” she said then, once she was at least partially convinced that there wasn’t some sort of great marriage conspiracy behind her back.
Once she was sure Catherine approved, Quinn took her hand back. “Um, I’ll come back. Yeah, I forgot something at home anyway so this works out. I’ll just--just be going then,” she said quickly then practically fled out to her car. Only she didn’t even make it out of the drive way and just sat there with her head resting on the steering wheel, freaking out about everything that had just happened.
--
Artie saw Quinn’s car parked in front of his house before he’d even pulled into his driveway. He figured she’d probably just shown up because she wanted to hang out. He was okay with this. After parking, he wheeled himself over to her car, first feeling excited to see her but then feeling confused that she didn’t have a jacket on or anything, then knocked on the window. “Why are you out here like this?” he asked, shivering a little himself. “Not that it isn’t great seeing you.”
Quinn waited until Artie wheeled out of the way and got out of her car, wrapping her arms around herself. “I forgot my jacket in--” She paused momentarily then just decided to say it. “I forgot it inside your house. Your mom invited me over for lunch and told me some interesting things. So where were you just now?” Even though she was freezing her ass of, she was pretty sure her glare was even colder.
Artie automatically backed away from her and a little bit up his driveway, a worried look on his face. “Um, I was... at PT,” he said, kind of lamely, figuring that there was no use in pretending he was elsewhere. Besides, where would he possibly be? If he had been with some of their old friends from high school he would have invited her along and she knew that. He had just hoped that he could call her after he was done with PT and that would be all.
“Well I’m sure you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear about all of this from your mother. Apparently she is more honest with me than my boyfriend of nearly three years,” Quinn hissed as she willed her teeth not to chatter.
“Quinn, come on,” he said, backing up some more towards the house and hoping she’d follow him in. “I’m sorry. I should have told you. Can we talk about this inside?”
“Only because I’m cold. I’m still mad at you,” Quinn growled then pushed past Artie and made her way into the house.
Artie followed her inside. “Hey, mom, Quinn is... back,” he called out, a little annoyed that she had invited his girlfriend over without telling him, then told her something he’d been meaning to tell her for a while. He then gestured to his room and waited for her to join her in there before closing the door behind them, figuring that his mom knew they wouldn’t be trying to get it on. “I’m sorry,” he said again, once they were alone in his room.
Quinn immediately moved onto Artie’s bed and wrapped herself in a blanket, shivering slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me? Don’t you trust me? I mean... three years? Are you serious with this?”
“I was going to tell you eventually,” Artie said pathetically, taking his hat and scarf off and setting them on the foot of the bed before pulling his sweater off as well and holding it out to her in case she wanted to put it on. “I know that I should have a lot sooner.” He paused a little, trying to figure out why he hadn’t, then added, “I guess I. It seemed kind of embarrassing. And then there wasn’t ever a good time.”
“Thanks,” Quinn muttered then accepted the sweater and pulled it on. Even though it was ugly, it smelled like him so she naturally snuggled into it. “Embarrassing? What, did you think I was going to judge you? You fucking dated me when I was pregnant. You fucked me when i was pregnant. And if that isn’t embarrassing, then I don’t know what is. I just... I love you and why don’t you trust me?”
Artie stared fixedly at the floor and told himself not to do anything stupid like panic or cry or anything like that. “I do trust you,” he finally said, his voice shaky. “But I. All of that was temporary. This is kind of permanent.” He didn’t know if he was really communicating what he wanted to say very well, but he was having a hard time coming up with words.
“What are you talking about?” Quinn asked, looking at Artie confused.
He shrugged a little, still looking at the floor. “I don’t like that I have to do this for what seems like forever. Go to physical therapy I mean. I just want things to be normal. So I guess I didn’t tell you because...” Artie ran a hand through his hair a little awkwardly before continuing. “I didn’t want you to worry about me. Or think that I needed help. Or something. Or decide being with me was too hard.”
“I know better than almost anyone that you can do things for yourself and the only hard thing about our relationship is you not being honest with me. So get your ass up here on this bed and like, hug me or something because I’m still freezing,” Quinn said, trying to keep a calm, if not cool, exterior so she didn’t cause some sort of meltdown between them.
Artie looked at her warily before moving closer and transferring himself onto the bed. “It’s not like I lie to you all the time,” he said defensively as he moved his arms around her as best as he could.
“I know,” Quinn said quietly and rested her head on his shoulder. “Your mom said you, um, went to regular therapy too. But that you don’t go anymore. Um. I don’t know what you talked about when you went, but...” She was having a really hard time saying what was on her mind. “Do you talk me about stuff you would need to talk about in therapy? Because I want you to know that you can talk me.”
“I’m going to have to have a serious discussion with my mom after you leave,” Artie said immediately, though he felt kind of amused despite himself. He then tried to consider her question seriously. “Um, yeah. I do talk to you about stuff. More now than before. But that was just because I would talk to him about stuff that was kind of about us sometimes.”
“Your mom thought I knew. It wasn’t her fault.” Quinn wasn’t sure why she was defending Catherine, but she didn’t want Artie fighting with his parents. As she listened to him explain she nodded along slightly though raised an eyebrow at the last part. “What about us?”
Artie shrugged a little, awkwardly. He still kind of felt like he wanted to cry or something, which would just add to the embarrassment, so he stayed silent for a little longer before finally answering her. “Just about stuff. Like when we started talking and I liked you but I didn’t know if we would work out. It was a little stressful.”
“Yet here we are, three years later,” Quinn said quietly. “I really love you. Please though. Please don’t lie to me. Okay?” Quinn was silent for a few moments before pulling back and looked Artie in the eyes. “Did you tell him about when we had sex?”
Artie tried not to smile, somehow unsurprised that she would ask about that. “Yes. To both. As in it’s okay that you don’t want me to lie to you again and I promise that I won’t. And yes, I told him about that.”
Quinn blushed and put her head back on Artie’s shoulder. “Was it nice to have someone to talk to? I’m... sorry if I stressed you out when we first got together. I bet I still stress you out,” she said, frowning slightly. “You know how you worry that some day I’ll decide being with you is too hard? I worry that you’re not going to want to put up with me anymore too.”
“Wouldn’t it be boring if everything was too easy for us, though?” Artie asked, very seriously. He brought a hand up to play with the ends of her hair, then leaned his head against hers. “Are you still mad at me?”
“You really make it so hard to stay mad at you,” Quinn said, pouting slightly. She had a weird surge of emotional-ness and reached up to wipe under her eyes. “And I know. It’s no, um, fun when it’s too easy, but things don’t always have to be so hard. Let’s just be honest with each other okay?”
“I already said I would be,” he said, leaning in for a brief kiss. “I’m pretty sure that now you know everything. Unless you have any questions you want me to answer right now that you’ve always been wondering about. Although I don’t know what those would be.”
Quinn shrugged before leaning in for another kiss. “Is there anything you want to tell me? Or ask me, I guess. Since we’re doing the whole honesty hour thing right now.”
Artie considered this for a moment. “You look really cute in argyle.”
“That’s not a question,” Quinn said amused, then kissed him again.
“You asked for something I wanted to tell you and that was what I wanted to tell you. This is really important and I needed you to know,” he said, grinning and leaning his forehead against hers.
“Well, okay then,” Quinn said with a grin. “I like this argyle sweater too, for the record. So I’m glad you approve. Anything else you want to tell me? Because I have something to say. Or ask, I guess. But have you noticed how different it is sleeping alone now that we’re away from college?” She leaned forward for yet another kiss. “I miss the cuddles.”
“Usually you don’t like it,” Artie said, still talking about the sweater. He pulled back a little bit so he could better look at her wearing it, then grinned more. “Unless you mean that just because you’re the one wearing it.” He paused then, uncertain, and said, “I miss sleeping with you too.” After another pause, in which he reminded himself that he was supposed to be honest with her, he added, “But sometimes it’s kind of nice being by myself. I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me again.”
Quinn giggled at Artie, both because of the sweater comment and him asking her not to be mad. “I like it because it smells like you. And I’m not mad. I know what you mean I guess. I still like cuddling though. But I know how you like your alone time. Do you ever get annoyed with how clingy I am?” Well that had just sort of popped out. “I mean...”
Maybe this honesty thing wasn’t a good idea. Artie really wasn’t sure, at least, because Quinn kept asking questions that he could only answer in ways she wouldn’t really like. “Sometimes,” he said finally. “But most of the time it’s okay.”
“Like how you said I’m somehow annoying and endearing at the same time?” Quinn asked, smiling slightly. It had been an expected answer, so she couldn’t really get upset about it. “Hopefully that’s still true.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of it,” he said, smiling tentatively back at her. “Do you want to ask me anything now?”
“I have been asking you things. But maybe if I had known how brutally honest you were going to be, I wouldn’t have,” Quinn smirked, clearly teasing. “Do you want to ask me anything?”
“I meant besides that,” Artie said. He was pretty sure that she was just teasing him but he felt bad so he decided to say, “Um, I can’t think of anything but if you want to tell me anything right now just go ahead.”
“I have a really big secret,” Quinn said seriously, and pulled back to look him in the eyes again. “Which is,” she paused, dramatically. “I love you.”
Artie really hadn’t been expecting that at all. “I love you too,” he said, suddenly feeling kind of overcome by gratitude, guilt, and something else he couldn’t really place. “I’m sorry I lied to you for so long,” he added, and bit his lip to stop it from trembling.
Quinn lifted her hands up cup Artie’s face. “Hey, it’s okay. I can understand why you did it. Just don’t pull that crap again,” she said smiling slightly then shifted herself so she didn’t have to twist so much and kissed him, letting it go on for a lot longer than she initially intended.
He let himself kiss her for a moment, tightening his arms around her waist, before pulling back. “I think we might need to cool it before we get ahead of ourselves,” he said cautiously, though definitely reluctantly.
“That’s a good idea,” Quinn said just as reluctantly then moved back to sit beside him. “So we’re all good now?”
“I think so,” he said, going back to biting his lip. “Unless there’s anything else you and my mom discussed that I should be forewarned about?”
“I don’t think so. Though, I think you might want to brace yourself. She seemed kind of, um, shocked that I didn’t know,” Quinn said, biting her lip now too.
Artie blushed a little. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.” He leaned in and kissed her again, then grinned again. “Hey, so now I can tell you about the cute physical therapist who gives me my massages.”
“What the fuck?” Quinn said immediately, pushing away slightly. “Don’t kiss me and then tell me about some slut who rubs you down.”
“You told me that you wanted me to be honest with you,” he said, probably too logically. “Otherwise I would have had to lie and I don’t want to do that anymore. Besides, you’re much cuter.”
“Well at this point I would hope there aren’t things like that that you need to be honest about. But if that’s what’s going on, then fine. Glad you have that other special someone. Maybe I’ll go find someone for on the side,” Quinn said, glaring at him.
“Come on,” Artie said, pouting a little and reaching out to put his hand on her thigh. “I’m kidding. And I love you. And.... I encourage you to also massage me.”
“You are so pushing your luck today. So no, I don’t think I will massage you. Besides, you probably only want me to so you can have a happy ending,” Quinn said, raising an eyebrow at him.
“No, I think I’m okay in that regard,” Artie said immediately, glancing at the door and hoping Quinn would remember that even though his door was closed, his mom was definitely still home. “But maybe I am pushing my luck. I’m okay with that.”
“Well I am going to push my luck right now. Because I want to come with you some time. I mean, to your physical therapy. I come with you.... Um, never mind,” Quinn stopped herself from finishing that because she didn’t want to get herself all worked up when she knew that nothing could happen. “I just want to see what you do and what it’s like and stuff. If you’ll let me.”
Artie blushed some more and resisted his initial urge to shake his head no in response to what Quinn had just said. “Um, okay, maybe sometime while we’re here. Or just eventually.”
Quinn nodded, satisfied with Artie’s answer. She knew they would probably have to go at this slowly, since it seemed to be a vulnerable subject for him, but she was okay with that. “Okay, love you,” she said before placing a kiss on the cheek.
“I love you too,” Artie said, secretly hoping she’d forget about wanting to come with him after a few days.
Moving in more towards him, Quinn just hugged him for a few moments before pulling back and looking at him. “Do you want to go eat lunch now? Your mom made pasta. It was really good except then she told me about this stuff and I sort of freaked out and left so I didn’t eat that much. Whatever you want to do though.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Artie said, kissing Quinn on the cheek quickly before scooting over to the edge of his bed. “Wait, did she want to talk about stuff with you? Like is that why she invited you over? Maybe I should wait here. Although I thought she was done with that after she had a talk with you when you rejoined the Cheerios.”
Quinn bit her lip nervously. “I don’t really know why she invited me over. But I guess I can go check on that. Wait. You’re not just sending me out there so you don’t have to face her right now, are you?” She raised her eyebrow at Artie.
Artie did his best to look brave and completely carefree. “No, not at all. You should go check on that, though. Please. I insist.”
Still looking at him with her eyebrow raised, she scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up. “I think you’re lying. But you’re so bad at it that it’s practically not a lie, so I won’t get mad at you for it. So I’ll just pretend this didn’t happen and go see what your mom wanted.” She gave him a kiss while they still had privacy then started walking out. “Be right back.”
She wandered back into the main part of the house and spotted Catherine reading in the living room. “Um, hi Mrs. Abrams. Sorry I ran off earlier. But everything is fine now,” Quinn started, speaking sort of quickly with nerves. “Was there something you wanted to talk to me about before? Like, since you invited me over for lunch and stuff?”
“Oh, Quinn, I’m glad everything’s okay now, though I’m still going to have to ask him later about why he didn’t tell you. That is so unlike him. Usually he tells everyone everything,” Catherine said, closing her book and setting it aside. “I suppose I didn’t have anything specific. I just wanted to see how you and Artie were getting on at college. It’s a little different, dating in college as opposed to high school, and I wanted to make sure everything was okay and that...” She trailed off then, wondering how to phrase things. “I’m sure you’re together a lot but hopefully that’s a benefit to your relationship rather than a hindrance.”
“Don’t go too hard on him,” Quinn said, sort of amused, though also worried for Artie’s sake. “We talked it out and everything’s okay, so... yeah. I mean, everything including stuff at college. Or at least I think everything is okay...” She trailed off, again wondering if Artie had said something to his mother. “Why would spending time be a, um, hindrance?” Jesus, even Artie’s mom could see that Quinn was too clingy. She forced herself to take a few breaths so she didn’t start freaking out again.
“Just in case it becomes a distraction,” Catherine said delicately. She only had a vague idea thanks to one particularly stressful night for Artie in which he’d called home and asked for a care package of cookies, then complained about Quinn always being around. “Although I know he’s very happy with you.”
“Seriously, if Artie thought I was around too much couldn’t he just talk to me about it instead of getting his mom to do his dirty work?” Quinn grumbled and crossed her arms. “Message received though.”
“He didn’t ask me to do this, and if he hasn’t talked to you about it himself it’s probably not something that’s bothering him,” Catherine replied, unfazed by Quinn’s body language. “Again, I just wanted to see. And also, you’re both being... safe, yes?”
About to reply with something to the extent of Artie wasn’t exactly in her good books for honesty right now, she abruptly cut herself off. “Um... safe?” Oh God, please don’t let this be about sex she silently willed. She really did not need that awkwardness.
Catherine nodded, somehow looking only slightly uncomfortable. “Yes. No offense, Quinn, but you do have... a history.”
Quinn’s mouth hung open, scandalized. “I--But--Why--” She spluttered before finally managing to say a full sentence. “Why do you think this is an issue? We’re not doing anything!” A blatant lie, but it’s not like she was about to tell Catherine just how frequently she and her son had sex.
“Well, in the event that you and Artie... have sex... I hope that you take all precautions possible,” Catherine said, though she was very skeptical of Quinn’s denial.
“Look, I’m not going to get pregnant. Can this conversation please be over?” Quinn said pathetically and felt herself blushing. This was so embarrassing.
“If you’re sure,” Catherine said, before standing up. “I put your lunch in the refrigerator so you just have to reheat it if you’d like to finish it.”
Quinn nodded, still feeling quite embarrassed (well more like she wanted to die). “Yeah, Artie and I were going to come out and eat anyway. So, I’ll just um, go get him.”
With an awkward smile she turned around and retreated to Artie’s room. Only to find him in bed. Napping. “Baby, wake up,” she said, pouting, then slid in bed next to him. “Or maybe if we both just sleep now, when we wake up it will go away,” she whined pathetically. Not that he really had any idea what Quinn was talking about. Or if he was even listening at all.
Artie stirred a little once Quinn got into bed with him, then opened his eyes and smiled at her. “I know where this train will take me but I can’t be sure. But it doesn’t matter because we’ll be together.”
Even though she was still deeply embarrassed, Artie quoting Inception made her smirk a little. “I wish this was a dream we could wake up from. Your mother just asked me if we’re being ‘safe’ while at college.” She scooted closer and buried her face into his shoulder.
Artie stretched his arms above his head and yawned a little. “Oh. Well, we are safe. Neither of us really party all that much and when we go places seatbelts are always involved. And as far as I know, we’re not using recreational drugs.”
“That’s not what she meant,” Quinn moaned into Artie’s shirt. “She meant during... sex.” Ugh, thinking about her boyfriend’s parents knowing about their sex life was so horrible.
“Oh,” Artie said, kind of pathetically. “Um. Why did she need to ask that? They already gave me a condom 101 talk when we were still in high school. So I can’t figure out what else she would need to. Discuss. About that. With you.”
Quinn shrugged, still pouting. “I don’t know. But it was just really unnecessary. But... never mind. It was just. Ugh.” She sort of wanted to ask him about how his mother had made hints that Artie thought she was being too clingy but he would probably just try to say something to make her feel better and not be honest and she really didn’t want that.
“I’m sorry my mom is kind of... eccentric,” Artie said, quietly so she didn’t overhear, then moved one of his hands onto Quinn’s waist. “I did miss this,” he added, tilting his head a little to kiss her forehead.
“It’s okay, this is making up for it,” Quinn said, turning her head to kiss Artie’s neck. “I sort of told her we would be out soon to eat. I’d much rather stay here, though.”
“You should come over on Monday and we can pretend that we’re still sneaking around,” Artie said contentedly. “I think this is an awesome idea.”
Quinn giggled and kissed his neck again. “Your parents will be at work? That could be fun. I kind of miss the sneaking around.”
“I miss it too. Now we mostly just avoid your crazy roommate,” Artie said, yawning again, when all of a sudden his door opened. Not all the way, but enough for his mom to tell them very sternly that their pasta was ready and waiting for them in the kitchen, before turning and walking away.
Once he figured the coast was kind of clear again, he frowned and looked over at Quinn. “I guess we aren’t good at sneaking around anymore.”
Instinctively, Quinn buried her head into Artie’s shoulder again. Would the humiliation never end? “I don’t think she’s happy with us. We should probably go before she comes back.”
“She’ll have to get over it,” Artie said, though he didn’t sound too convinced. “But okay. Let’s go.”
After giving Artie another kiss she managed to get herself off the bed. “You know you’re cute when you’re all rebellious.”
Artie sat up and followed suit, moving himself into his wheelchair before reaching out for Quinn’s hand. “Well, you’re cute just all the time so I’m just trying to catch up.”
Author: ipickquinn & backitup_baby
Pairings/Characters: Artie/Quinn
Rating: PG
Word count: 5,592
Spoilers: none
Summary: Artie's mom invites Quinn over for lunch and she learns some interesting things about her boyfriend.
A/N: This fic was written by ipickquinn (as Quinn) and backitup_baby (as Artie)!
( Artie/Quinn 'verse masterlist)
Honesty Hour
Artie had thought that he’d never be exactly thrilled to come back to Lima after he graduated from high school, but just the first semester of Miami’s architecture program had been enough to make him just want to sleep in, be lazy at home, and have his mom make him roast beef sandwiches. It was also nice to be able to work with his old physical therapist again. He liked the one at school well enough but it wasn’t really a welcome change.
Christmas break back in Lima was sort of sucking for Quinn. After spending almost every night with Artie in his dorm (though one good thing about being home was she didn’t have to deal with her insane roommate) it was hard going back to sleeping alone. It had sort of been a restless night so it took her a while to realize her phone was ringing. Picking up her phone she just looked at it confused. Why was Catherine Abrams calling her? “Hello?”
“Hi Quinn, how are you? Would you like to come over for lunch? Have you eaten yet?” Catherine asked once Quinn had picked up, getting right to the point.
Though the phone call and invitation was a little (or a lot) unexpected, Quinn quickly agreed and bundled up in her winter clothes before driving over to Artie’s house. As she drove she wondered if this was some sort of surprise for Artie, but seeing as it wasn’t his birthday or anything she decided to just wait and see. With that, she got out of her car and made her way to the front door, knocking twice.
Catherine opened the door a few minutes later, a smile on her face. Though it had taken some time for her to accept Quinn’s presence in Artie’s life, she had genuinely grown to like her. That said, there were still some things she wanted to discuss and even though she’d briefly talked to Quinn two years ago (though Artie, once he found out about it, considered the talk more of a threat than anything else) about how she didn’t want her to hurt her son, she still had some other things to say.
“Come in, you must be freezing,” she said, stepping backwards so Quinn could enter. “I already set out plates and there’s pasta on the stove so you can just help yourself. What would you like to drink?”
Quinn looked around briefly and sensed that Artie definitely wasn’t there. So this was just bonding time for her and her boyfriends mother? Well that wasn’t weird at all. She really did like Catherine but the woman also kind of scared her. “Thanks Mrs. Abrams,” she said as she walked in and took off her winter gear. “Water is fine with me. And thanks for inviting me over. It was really...” Weird. “Nice.”
“Oh, you’re welcome,” Catherine replied, retrieving water for them both and waiting for Quinn to get her food and sit down before doing the same herself. “Artie will probably be back in about an hour so that should be enough time. How are things going between you two?”
Enough time? For what? Quinn was getting odd flashbacks to the last time she and Catherine had spent “quality” time together. She had basically gotten a talk about how she better not break her son’s heart.
“Oh. Well... Um, yeah things are good. Why? Has he said something?” The blonde took a drink of water nervously. What if Artie had said something and there was something wrong between them? It would kind of be a low blow to have his mom breakup with her for him.
“No, he hasn’t,” Catherine said, caught off guard before realizing what Quinn was trying to say. “No,” she said again. “That isn’t why I invited you over. I just thought that while Artie was at therapy we could try to... get to know each other a little better again.”
“Wait, what? He’s at therapy?” The way Quinn’s mouth was hanging open probably was anything but attractive but how could she have been with him for so long and not know this about him?
“Yes, of course.” Catherine paused before speaking again. “Did you not know he goes to physical therapy? I thought he would have told you by this point. Hasn’t it been... about two and a half years?”
“I--” Quinn started but stopped and stared down at her plate of pasta. Why hadn’t he told her? He knew all her dark secrets so what was the deal? Didn’t he trust her? When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. “No. No, I didn’t know. And it will be three years. In February.”
Catherine followed suit and studied her food for a moment, then looked back up at Quinn. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t know that he hadn’t told you.” She wasn’t sure what else to say, not really knowing what else Artie hadn’t told her.
Quinn knew it wasn’t Catherine’s fault that Artie hadn’t told her, but that didn’t stop her voice from being a little clipped. “It’s not like it matters. It’s not like I don’t know everything else about him. Except something really big and important like that.”
She fumed for a few moments before realizing she had just freaked out on Artie’s mom. “I--I’m sorry. That was like, inappropriate and stuff. It’s not your fault...”
“It’s all right,” Catherine said, frowning slightly. “Artie can make some very poor decisions sometimes.”
“So you think he should have told me?” Quinn asked, her tone significantly less hostile this time.
“Of course,” Catherine said immediately. “Just like-- nevermind.”
“Just like what?” Quinn asked with her eyebrow slightly raised. She wasn’t used to words being restricted, especially considering Artie usually blurted out everything he didn’t want to say. She sort of expected his mother to do the same.
Catherine made a small show of having some pasta, then some water. “Just like he probably hasn’t told you about seeing a therapist during middle and high school,” she said cooly, as though she had meant to say that all along.
Quinn’s eyes widened slightly. “Really? But he doesn’t anymore? Why don’t you think he’s told me?” She was sort of forgetting this was her boyfriend’s mom she was talking to and asking her this as if she were a regular friend.
“Something about how he doesn’t like the therapists in Oxford? He told me he thought he didn’t need to anymore, though, besides that. And I don’t know why he hasn’t told you.” Catherine opened her mouth then as though she were going to say something, then closed it.
It was really driving Quinn insane at how apparently Catherine could control her word vomit. But it wasn’t like she could demand she tell her or sexually blackmail her into it (OH GOD THE MENTAL IMAGES). After getting herself back under control, though Artie’s mom probably wouldn’t have noticed much, she finally spoke. “But he’s your son. You must have some idea.”
“But I’m his mother, and I’m not so sure that it’s my place to tell you about my conjectures,” Catherine said immediately, somewhat firmly. “You should wait for him to come home.”
“But as his future wif--” Quinn froze, mouth open. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. “Why don’t I do that. You know, wait for him. I’ll just go... somewhere else that isn’t here and wait.”
Catherine was about to tell Quinn to finish her pasta first before she realized. “I beg your pardon? Are you and Artie engaged?”
“What? No, of course we’re not... Oh my God.” Quinn held out her left hand. “See, no ring. None. We’re not. I don’t even know why I said that. Can I just go now?” Her tone was getting awfully close to whining.
Catherine examined Quinn’s hand very suspiciously. “Go as in leave and then come back, or go as in you’ll be waiting here?” she said then, once she was at least partially convinced that there wasn’t some sort of great marriage conspiracy behind her back.
Once she was sure Catherine approved, Quinn took her hand back. “Um, I’ll come back. Yeah, I forgot something at home anyway so this works out. I’ll just--just be going then,” she said quickly then practically fled out to her car. Only she didn’t even make it out of the drive way and just sat there with her head resting on the steering wheel, freaking out about everything that had just happened.
--
Artie saw Quinn’s car parked in front of his house before he’d even pulled into his driveway. He figured she’d probably just shown up because she wanted to hang out. He was okay with this. After parking, he wheeled himself over to her car, first feeling excited to see her but then feeling confused that she didn’t have a jacket on or anything, then knocked on the window. “Why are you out here like this?” he asked, shivering a little himself. “Not that it isn’t great seeing you.”
Quinn waited until Artie wheeled out of the way and got out of her car, wrapping her arms around herself. “I forgot my jacket in--” She paused momentarily then just decided to say it. “I forgot it inside your house. Your mom invited me over for lunch and told me some interesting things. So where were you just now?” Even though she was freezing her ass of, she was pretty sure her glare was even colder.
Artie automatically backed away from her and a little bit up his driveway, a worried look on his face. “Um, I was... at PT,” he said, kind of lamely, figuring that there was no use in pretending he was elsewhere. Besides, where would he possibly be? If he had been with some of their old friends from high school he would have invited her along and she knew that. He had just hoped that he could call her after he was done with PT and that would be all.
“Well I’m sure you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear about all of this from your mother. Apparently she is more honest with me than my boyfriend of nearly three years,” Quinn hissed as she willed her teeth not to chatter.
“Quinn, come on,” he said, backing up some more towards the house and hoping she’d follow him in. “I’m sorry. I should have told you. Can we talk about this inside?”
“Only because I’m cold. I’m still mad at you,” Quinn growled then pushed past Artie and made her way into the house.
Artie followed her inside. “Hey, mom, Quinn is... back,” he called out, a little annoyed that she had invited his girlfriend over without telling him, then told her something he’d been meaning to tell her for a while. He then gestured to his room and waited for her to join her in there before closing the door behind them, figuring that his mom knew they wouldn’t be trying to get it on. “I’m sorry,” he said again, once they were alone in his room.
Quinn immediately moved onto Artie’s bed and wrapped herself in a blanket, shivering slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me? Don’t you trust me? I mean... three years? Are you serious with this?”
“I was going to tell you eventually,” Artie said pathetically, taking his hat and scarf off and setting them on the foot of the bed before pulling his sweater off as well and holding it out to her in case she wanted to put it on. “I know that I should have a lot sooner.” He paused a little, trying to figure out why he hadn’t, then added, “I guess I. It seemed kind of embarrassing. And then there wasn’t ever a good time.”
“Thanks,” Quinn muttered then accepted the sweater and pulled it on. Even though it was ugly, it smelled like him so she naturally snuggled into it. “Embarrassing? What, did you think I was going to judge you? You fucking dated me when I was pregnant. You fucked me when i was pregnant. And if that isn’t embarrassing, then I don’t know what is. I just... I love you and why don’t you trust me?”
Artie stared fixedly at the floor and told himself not to do anything stupid like panic or cry or anything like that. “I do trust you,” he finally said, his voice shaky. “But I. All of that was temporary. This is kind of permanent.” He didn’t know if he was really communicating what he wanted to say very well, but he was having a hard time coming up with words.
“What are you talking about?” Quinn asked, looking at Artie confused.
He shrugged a little, still looking at the floor. “I don’t like that I have to do this for what seems like forever. Go to physical therapy I mean. I just want things to be normal. So I guess I didn’t tell you because...” Artie ran a hand through his hair a little awkwardly before continuing. “I didn’t want you to worry about me. Or think that I needed help. Or something. Or decide being with me was too hard.”
“I know better than almost anyone that you can do things for yourself and the only hard thing about our relationship is you not being honest with me. So get your ass up here on this bed and like, hug me or something because I’m still freezing,” Quinn said, trying to keep a calm, if not cool, exterior so she didn’t cause some sort of meltdown between them.
Artie looked at her warily before moving closer and transferring himself onto the bed. “It’s not like I lie to you all the time,” he said defensively as he moved his arms around her as best as he could.
“I know,” Quinn said quietly and rested her head on his shoulder. “Your mom said you, um, went to regular therapy too. But that you don’t go anymore. Um. I don’t know what you talked about when you went, but...” She was having a really hard time saying what was on her mind. “Do you talk me about stuff you would need to talk about in therapy? Because I want you to know that you can talk me.”
“I’m going to have to have a serious discussion with my mom after you leave,” Artie said immediately, though he felt kind of amused despite himself. He then tried to consider her question seriously. “Um, yeah. I do talk to you about stuff. More now than before. But that was just because I would talk to him about stuff that was kind of about us sometimes.”
“Your mom thought I knew. It wasn’t her fault.” Quinn wasn’t sure why she was defending Catherine, but she didn’t want Artie fighting with his parents. As she listened to him explain she nodded along slightly though raised an eyebrow at the last part. “What about us?”
Artie shrugged a little, awkwardly. He still kind of felt like he wanted to cry or something, which would just add to the embarrassment, so he stayed silent for a little longer before finally answering her. “Just about stuff. Like when we started talking and I liked you but I didn’t know if we would work out. It was a little stressful.”
“Yet here we are, three years later,” Quinn said quietly. “I really love you. Please though. Please don’t lie to me. Okay?” Quinn was silent for a few moments before pulling back and looked Artie in the eyes. “Did you tell him about when we had sex?”
Artie tried not to smile, somehow unsurprised that she would ask about that. “Yes. To both. As in it’s okay that you don’t want me to lie to you again and I promise that I won’t. And yes, I told him about that.”
Quinn blushed and put her head back on Artie’s shoulder. “Was it nice to have someone to talk to? I’m... sorry if I stressed you out when we first got together. I bet I still stress you out,” she said, frowning slightly. “You know how you worry that some day I’ll decide being with you is too hard? I worry that you’re not going to want to put up with me anymore too.”
“Wouldn’t it be boring if everything was too easy for us, though?” Artie asked, very seriously. He brought a hand up to play with the ends of her hair, then leaned his head against hers. “Are you still mad at me?”
“You really make it so hard to stay mad at you,” Quinn said, pouting slightly. She had a weird surge of emotional-ness and reached up to wipe under her eyes. “And I know. It’s no, um, fun when it’s too easy, but things don’t always have to be so hard. Let’s just be honest with each other okay?”
“I already said I would be,” he said, leaning in for a brief kiss. “I’m pretty sure that now you know everything. Unless you have any questions you want me to answer right now that you’ve always been wondering about. Although I don’t know what those would be.”
Quinn shrugged before leaning in for another kiss. “Is there anything you want to tell me? Or ask me, I guess. Since we’re doing the whole honesty hour thing right now.”
Artie considered this for a moment. “You look really cute in argyle.”
“That’s not a question,” Quinn said amused, then kissed him again.
“You asked for something I wanted to tell you and that was what I wanted to tell you. This is really important and I needed you to know,” he said, grinning and leaning his forehead against hers.
“Well, okay then,” Quinn said with a grin. “I like this argyle sweater too, for the record. So I’m glad you approve. Anything else you want to tell me? Because I have something to say. Or ask, I guess. But have you noticed how different it is sleeping alone now that we’re away from college?” She leaned forward for yet another kiss. “I miss the cuddles.”
“Usually you don’t like it,” Artie said, still talking about the sweater. He pulled back a little bit so he could better look at her wearing it, then grinned more. “Unless you mean that just because you’re the one wearing it.” He paused then, uncertain, and said, “I miss sleeping with you too.” After another pause, in which he reminded himself that he was supposed to be honest with her, he added, “But sometimes it’s kind of nice being by myself. I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me again.”
Quinn giggled at Artie, both because of the sweater comment and him asking her not to be mad. “I like it because it smells like you. And I’m not mad. I know what you mean I guess. I still like cuddling though. But I know how you like your alone time. Do you ever get annoyed with how clingy I am?” Well that had just sort of popped out. “I mean...”
Maybe this honesty thing wasn’t a good idea. Artie really wasn’t sure, at least, because Quinn kept asking questions that he could only answer in ways she wouldn’t really like. “Sometimes,” he said finally. “But most of the time it’s okay.”
“Like how you said I’m somehow annoying and endearing at the same time?” Quinn asked, smiling slightly. It had been an expected answer, so she couldn’t really get upset about it. “Hopefully that’s still true.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of it,” he said, smiling tentatively back at her. “Do you want to ask me anything now?”
“I have been asking you things. But maybe if I had known how brutally honest you were going to be, I wouldn’t have,” Quinn smirked, clearly teasing. “Do you want to ask me anything?”
“I meant besides that,” Artie said. He was pretty sure that she was just teasing him but he felt bad so he decided to say, “Um, I can’t think of anything but if you want to tell me anything right now just go ahead.”
“I have a really big secret,” Quinn said seriously, and pulled back to look him in the eyes again. “Which is,” she paused, dramatically. “I love you.”
Artie really hadn’t been expecting that at all. “I love you too,” he said, suddenly feeling kind of overcome by gratitude, guilt, and something else he couldn’t really place. “I’m sorry I lied to you for so long,” he added, and bit his lip to stop it from trembling.
Quinn lifted her hands up cup Artie’s face. “Hey, it’s okay. I can understand why you did it. Just don’t pull that crap again,” she said smiling slightly then shifted herself so she didn’t have to twist so much and kissed him, letting it go on for a lot longer than she initially intended.
He let himself kiss her for a moment, tightening his arms around her waist, before pulling back. “I think we might need to cool it before we get ahead of ourselves,” he said cautiously, though definitely reluctantly.
“That’s a good idea,” Quinn said just as reluctantly then moved back to sit beside him. “So we’re all good now?”
“I think so,” he said, going back to biting his lip. “Unless there’s anything else you and my mom discussed that I should be forewarned about?”
“I don’t think so. Though, I think you might want to brace yourself. She seemed kind of, um, shocked that I didn’t know,” Quinn said, biting her lip now too.
Artie blushed a little. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.” He leaned in and kissed her again, then grinned again. “Hey, so now I can tell you about the cute physical therapist who gives me my massages.”
“What the fuck?” Quinn said immediately, pushing away slightly. “Don’t kiss me and then tell me about some slut who rubs you down.”
“You told me that you wanted me to be honest with you,” he said, probably too logically. “Otherwise I would have had to lie and I don’t want to do that anymore. Besides, you’re much cuter.”
“Well at this point I would hope there aren’t things like that that you need to be honest about. But if that’s what’s going on, then fine. Glad you have that other special someone. Maybe I’ll go find someone for on the side,” Quinn said, glaring at him.
“Come on,” Artie said, pouting a little and reaching out to put his hand on her thigh. “I’m kidding. And I love you. And.... I encourage you to also massage me.”
“You are so pushing your luck today. So no, I don’t think I will massage you. Besides, you probably only want me to so you can have a happy ending,” Quinn said, raising an eyebrow at him.
“No, I think I’m okay in that regard,” Artie said immediately, glancing at the door and hoping Quinn would remember that even though his door was closed, his mom was definitely still home. “But maybe I am pushing my luck. I’m okay with that.”
“Well I am going to push my luck right now. Because I want to come with you some time. I mean, to your physical therapy. I come with you.... Um, never mind,” Quinn stopped herself from finishing that because she didn’t want to get herself all worked up when she knew that nothing could happen. “I just want to see what you do and what it’s like and stuff. If you’ll let me.”
Artie blushed some more and resisted his initial urge to shake his head no in response to what Quinn had just said. “Um, okay, maybe sometime while we’re here. Or just eventually.”
Quinn nodded, satisfied with Artie’s answer. She knew they would probably have to go at this slowly, since it seemed to be a vulnerable subject for him, but she was okay with that. “Okay, love you,” she said before placing a kiss on the cheek.
“I love you too,” Artie said, secretly hoping she’d forget about wanting to come with him after a few days.
Moving in more towards him, Quinn just hugged him for a few moments before pulling back and looking at him. “Do you want to go eat lunch now? Your mom made pasta. It was really good except then she told me about this stuff and I sort of freaked out and left so I didn’t eat that much. Whatever you want to do though.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Artie said, kissing Quinn on the cheek quickly before scooting over to the edge of his bed. “Wait, did she want to talk about stuff with you? Like is that why she invited you over? Maybe I should wait here. Although I thought she was done with that after she had a talk with you when you rejoined the Cheerios.”
Quinn bit her lip nervously. “I don’t really know why she invited me over. But I guess I can go check on that. Wait. You’re not just sending me out there so you don’t have to face her right now, are you?” She raised her eyebrow at Artie.
Artie did his best to look brave and completely carefree. “No, not at all. You should go check on that, though. Please. I insist.”
Still looking at him with her eyebrow raised, she scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up. “I think you’re lying. But you’re so bad at it that it’s practically not a lie, so I won’t get mad at you for it. So I’ll just pretend this didn’t happen and go see what your mom wanted.” She gave him a kiss while they still had privacy then started walking out. “Be right back.”
She wandered back into the main part of the house and spotted Catherine reading in the living room. “Um, hi Mrs. Abrams. Sorry I ran off earlier. But everything is fine now,” Quinn started, speaking sort of quickly with nerves. “Was there something you wanted to talk to me about before? Like, since you invited me over for lunch and stuff?”
“Oh, Quinn, I’m glad everything’s okay now, though I’m still going to have to ask him later about why he didn’t tell you. That is so unlike him. Usually he tells everyone everything,” Catherine said, closing her book and setting it aside. “I suppose I didn’t have anything specific. I just wanted to see how you and Artie were getting on at college. It’s a little different, dating in college as opposed to high school, and I wanted to make sure everything was okay and that...” She trailed off then, wondering how to phrase things. “I’m sure you’re together a lot but hopefully that’s a benefit to your relationship rather than a hindrance.”
“Don’t go too hard on him,” Quinn said, sort of amused, though also worried for Artie’s sake. “We talked it out and everything’s okay, so... yeah. I mean, everything including stuff at college. Or at least I think everything is okay...” She trailed off, again wondering if Artie had said something to his mother. “Why would spending time be a, um, hindrance?” Jesus, even Artie’s mom could see that Quinn was too clingy. She forced herself to take a few breaths so she didn’t start freaking out again.
“Just in case it becomes a distraction,” Catherine said delicately. She only had a vague idea thanks to one particularly stressful night for Artie in which he’d called home and asked for a care package of cookies, then complained about Quinn always being around. “Although I know he’s very happy with you.”
“Seriously, if Artie thought I was around too much couldn’t he just talk to me about it instead of getting his mom to do his dirty work?” Quinn grumbled and crossed her arms. “Message received though.”
“He didn’t ask me to do this, and if he hasn’t talked to you about it himself it’s probably not something that’s bothering him,” Catherine replied, unfazed by Quinn’s body language. “Again, I just wanted to see. And also, you’re both being... safe, yes?”
About to reply with something to the extent of Artie wasn’t exactly in her good books for honesty right now, she abruptly cut herself off. “Um... safe?” Oh God, please don’t let this be about sex she silently willed. She really did not need that awkwardness.
Catherine nodded, somehow looking only slightly uncomfortable. “Yes. No offense, Quinn, but you do have... a history.”
Quinn’s mouth hung open, scandalized. “I--But--Why--” She spluttered before finally managing to say a full sentence. “Why do you think this is an issue? We’re not doing anything!” A blatant lie, but it’s not like she was about to tell Catherine just how frequently she and her son had sex.
“Well, in the event that you and Artie... have sex... I hope that you take all precautions possible,” Catherine said, though she was very skeptical of Quinn’s denial.
“Look, I’m not going to get pregnant. Can this conversation please be over?” Quinn said pathetically and felt herself blushing. This was so embarrassing.
“If you’re sure,” Catherine said, before standing up. “I put your lunch in the refrigerator so you just have to reheat it if you’d like to finish it.”
Quinn nodded, still feeling quite embarrassed (well more like she wanted to die). “Yeah, Artie and I were going to come out and eat anyway. So, I’ll just um, go get him.”
With an awkward smile she turned around and retreated to Artie’s room. Only to find him in bed. Napping. “Baby, wake up,” she said, pouting, then slid in bed next to him. “Or maybe if we both just sleep now, when we wake up it will go away,” she whined pathetically. Not that he really had any idea what Quinn was talking about. Or if he was even listening at all.
Artie stirred a little once Quinn got into bed with him, then opened his eyes and smiled at her. “I know where this train will take me but I can’t be sure. But it doesn’t matter because we’ll be together.”
Even though she was still deeply embarrassed, Artie quoting Inception made her smirk a little. “I wish this was a dream we could wake up from. Your mother just asked me if we’re being ‘safe’ while at college.” She scooted closer and buried her face into his shoulder.
Artie stretched his arms above his head and yawned a little. “Oh. Well, we are safe. Neither of us really party all that much and when we go places seatbelts are always involved. And as far as I know, we’re not using recreational drugs.”
“That’s not what she meant,” Quinn moaned into Artie’s shirt. “She meant during... sex.” Ugh, thinking about her boyfriend’s parents knowing about their sex life was so horrible.
“Oh,” Artie said, kind of pathetically. “Um. Why did she need to ask that? They already gave me a condom 101 talk when we were still in high school. So I can’t figure out what else she would need to. Discuss. About that. With you.”
Quinn shrugged, still pouting. “I don’t know. But it was just really unnecessary. But... never mind. It was just. Ugh.” She sort of wanted to ask him about how his mother had made hints that Artie thought she was being too clingy but he would probably just try to say something to make her feel better and not be honest and she really didn’t want that.
“I’m sorry my mom is kind of... eccentric,” Artie said, quietly so she didn’t overhear, then moved one of his hands onto Quinn’s waist. “I did miss this,” he added, tilting his head a little to kiss her forehead.
“It’s okay, this is making up for it,” Quinn said, turning her head to kiss Artie’s neck. “I sort of told her we would be out soon to eat. I’d much rather stay here, though.”
“You should come over on Monday and we can pretend that we’re still sneaking around,” Artie said contentedly. “I think this is an awesome idea.”
Quinn giggled and kissed his neck again. “Your parents will be at work? That could be fun. I kind of miss the sneaking around.”
“I miss it too. Now we mostly just avoid your crazy roommate,” Artie said, yawning again, when all of a sudden his door opened. Not all the way, but enough for his mom to tell them very sternly that their pasta was ready and waiting for them in the kitchen, before turning and walking away.
Once he figured the coast was kind of clear again, he frowned and looked over at Quinn. “I guess we aren’t good at sneaking around anymore.”
Instinctively, Quinn buried her head into Artie’s shoulder again. Would the humiliation never end? “I don’t think she’s happy with us. We should probably go before she comes back.”
“She’ll have to get over it,” Artie said, though he didn’t sound too convinced. “But okay. Let’s go.”
After giving Artie another kiss she managed to get herself off the bed. “You know you’re cute when you’re all rebellious.”
Artie sat up and followed suit, moving himself into his wheelchair before reaching out for Quinn’s hand. “Well, you’re cute just all the time so I’m just trying to catch up.”