Quinn chuckled and groaned under his breath at the same time. "Fine, have it your way. I wasn't planning on adopting anything feral anyway." The point was to appreciate it as something feral after all, he thought. But if they had the time, he'd love to have a pet. Shaking his head, he just toed on his shoes and led the way out the door and to the car. "Nah, thanks for coming with me though," he hummed before pulling out onto the street and the short distance to the central park of the city where the amphitheater lay. More so than going to the talk, he was glad to go with Shane. It was just somehow better than going with anyone else and as the talk started, he let himself fall back into his easy smile, sure that his life couldn't get any better.

Come Friday evening that week, Shane was finished up his last bit of homework, so that he could go and drink guilt free later than evening with Ciel, knowing he'd probably need to be at least a little bit drunk to actually have the nerve to bring someone home. After finished the last problem from his Calculus 3 homework that left him with a little over an hour to get read, which he did with a mixed sense of excitement and worry. He hadn't done much clubbing to begin with, and most of it was with the sole purpose of getting drunk, not picking someone up.

Once he was dressed, he walked out into the living room, grinning when he saw Quinn laying on the couch. He walked between his friend and the tv and spread out his arms, "What do you think?" he asked gesturing between his carefully styled hair and his outfit which was a dark purple well-fit jacket with a tight white t-shirt underneath with a black pattern on it, tight black jeans. "Do I look good?"

(One on the top right)

Quinn had a glorious day off for once. He spent the early part of it doubling his daily run, feeling muscles and lungs burn more than they used to for the same distance and wishing he could train more even if he didn't want to pursue running as more than a hobby. Maybe he should find a marathon for a cause. Laying on the couch, he flipped to another channel. Yeah, he should definitely fine more hobbies or another job or something. The messages were slowing on facebook and tumblr kept spitting out useless things. His phone lay on his stomach, forgotten beside the National Geographic channel.

Just as a half naked man neared a primitive looking encampment, Shane's voice broke his thoughts. Looking up, he coughed, one eyebrow raising up straight to his hairline. Well, he had been wondering what Shane did all this time roaming around his room and the bathroom. "Going somewhere?" He slung himself up into a sitting position to get a better look at his roommate. It was...well, a look that suited Shane despite looking foreign on him. "And why are you asking me?! Ask some cute guy that."

"And here I thought I was asking a cute guy," Shane muttered, rolling his eyes as he took in his roommate's shocked expression. He thought he always looked good, but he'd apparently taken it up the level like he'd hoped. Which meant hopefully he'd have some level of success picking someone up tonight. Especially if Ciel was a good wingman. "And yeah, I thought I told you was I was going clubbing with Ciel tonight. If all goes well, I shouldn't be going home alone tonight. So gotta look my best, right?"

Quinn snorted at Shane's comment, a grin on his face that said he clearly didn't get the implications. "Well, I might be cute, but you know that's not what I meant." He waved a hand in dismissal, giving Shane's outfit another look of approval before glancing to the tv screen and back. "Huh, did you mention that? Are you sure I wasn't texting or something at the time?" He certainly missed whole conversations before because he was engaged in three others at the time. But that was normal right? "Anyway, that's a good clubbing outfit. You know I tell you that you can get anyone because you're a good looking guy. Should I wish you luck?"

Shane fought the urge to level a flat look at Quinn, of course the guy would just brush off a comment like that; he was just that painfully straight. He sighed, but it was probably for the better it's not like he really wanted Quinn to know. It probably wouldn't be awkward, but something about it made him feel a little pathetic. "I'm pretty sure I did, but really this is why we talk about you needed to listen better," he grumbled, not that it was really important. "Ha, sure wish me luck, and thanks for the vote of confidence. I really haven't ever gone out with the express purpose of picking someone up, so this is a little different for me."

"Yeah I know..." Quinn sighed. "All my friends tell me that but they all want my attention at the same time so it's not really my fault." He offered Shane another smile at his admission. "No problem though, dude. That's what best friends are for. Now go out there and have fun. Tell Ciel to come over some time so I can meet him too." He shooed Shane toward the door with a gesture, glad to be someone's boost of confidence. Though if he thought about it, wasn't it weird to encourage someone to chase some ass? It wasn't like he was into that. But he talked to all his guy friends like that, so why change now? Shane would notice and he really didn't want to be asked why he was treating his best friend different.

"Yeah, sure," Shane said, waving goodbye to his roommate as he walked out the door, not entirely sure what would happen if Ciel and Quinn met. He wasn't sure he really trusted Ciel not to say something horribly revealing. Or just embarrass him in front of Quinn because he could or that's how he naturally was.

A few hours later, his thoughts weren't even on Quinn even more. His world instead narrowed down to the guy he currently had pushed into the wall in the hallway of his apartment, there lips locked in a steadily more passionate kiss. Hands already roaming in to place that were decidedly not pg-13. He moaned into the kiss, starting to lead the other male away from the wall and to his room, a part of his brain aware enough to seek at an area slightly more private.

Picking someone up, had been easier than Shane anticipated. The other man, whose name he wasn't fully confident in but something similar to Jacob, or at least it started with a J, had approached him first. They'd talked for a bit, both sipping on drinks, before moving towards the dance floor, Ciel giving Shane an encouraging thumbs up from the bar while turning back to the guy he was chatting up. As they danced, their hands had wondered, and Shane had to work hard to push comparisons to Quinn out of his mind, especially how the other fit in his arms like he'd always figured Quinn would. It didn't take long before Jacob had suggested they move elsewhere, Shane easily agreeing, and offering up his own apartment, without much fuss. A part of him wanting to prove to himself, and to Quinn--not that Quinn could appreciate the message--, that he could do this. He could move on and find someone actually attainable.

After Shane left, Quinn finished his program on the tv before moving to his room, flipping open his computer. He felt bummed that the party one of his old college friend had been throwing got cancelled days ago. It was too close to make new plans and now he found himself stuck home on a Friday night. Even Shane went out and had fun. As if to mock him, his phone rang minutes after browsing through social media and about ten cute animal videos. "Hey."

"Quinn baby, are you free?" Jamie's voice rung without any preamble, low and already somehow in his face despite being over the phone. He blinked, sitting back at little from his computer screen where a duckling hung midair, frozen water droplets flinging behind it. That needy voice normally had him jumping right up, but he found himself muting his video and un-pausing it before responding.

"....Not really. Are you drunk?" It was funny, but she'd been ignoring him for so long now that he felt like continuing the trend. He'd missed her, but also...not. She did sound drunk.

A huff of frustration sounded over a low din that could have been a bar. "What the hell! Since when did you care!? Jerk!" The line went dead with a quick snap and Quinn pulled his phone back to look at it, confused. Well, that could have gone better. Sighing, he tossed the phone aside and went to take a warm shower. He supposed a couple hours already passed since Shane left and the quiet of the apartment seemed strange. Not even the fall of water filled it.

Quinn was just scrubbing shampoo through his short hair, pulling out the styling in his bangs when he thought he heard the front door open and shut. Shane must be back and he paused to listen for a second, but the muffle of the water covered up anything he might hear. However, as time passed, the noises got louder, still too indistinct to really hear. Did he bring someone back? Quinn finally turned the water off and a rare flush washed over his face as the noises cleared. His forehead hit the shower tiles, eyes squeezed shut like he didn't actually expect this because somehow he hadn't. All he thought was, he should have taken Jamie's offer. And just why hadn't he?

The next day, Shane woke to an empty bed and no note, which he expected and he figured he'd have done the same if they'd gone to the other guy's place. While he liked the idea of having a boyfriend, why he was reluctant for the one-night stands to begin with, the guy from last night certainly wasn't that. Even if they'd had fun the night before.

Stretching, he stood from his bed, sighing slightly as he moved through his morning routine. He'd probably try to study a bit today, get ahead on some reading for the next week, so maybe his week nights could be easier. Right now though, he just wanted something to wash the taste of alcohol out of his mouth, so once he was dressed and clean, he stepped out to to the kitchen, yawning slightly.

"Morning," he said, around another yawn, nodding slightly to Quinn in the living room as he moved toward the kitchen. "I hope I didn't wake you when I got back last night," he said, not sure if his roommate had decided to sleep early or not. And his thoughts hadn't been very focused on trying to be quiet last night.

"Oh," Quinn murmured, looking up from the socks he was in the middle of taking off, his running shoes on the floor next to the couch. The tv was on, but with the volume turned off and he didn't seem to pay it any attention. "Hey. Not at all. I hadn't gone to sleep yet..." He shook his head, switching thoughts quickly because that wasn't the right thing to say. That was as awkward as saying Shane's fun had woken him from a sleep. Now he said he'd listened to it, which wasn't true. Except, it kinda was because he had ears and Quinn fumbled with his sock.

In truth, he found he slept terribly after that and he could think of no real explanation except perhaps that some question nagged at his mind. 'What kind of guy had Shane been with?' It was absurd. He didn't need to know, nor did he want to, but it had popped into his head anyway. Sure he shoved it away and went back to facebook, but it had been there and that was enough to make his face look a little tired now.

Putting on a smile, he eyed Shane. "You look like you slept well."

"Yeah, I guess I did," Shane replied as he searched through the fridge for some sort of drink, also grabbing some milk to pour himself a bowl of cereal. He decided to just ignore Quinn's strange statement for the moment, not really sure want it meant. Nor if Quinn really meant to say it. And well he didn't want to make things awkward between them, already feeling a bit of that creep in around the edges. Something he hoped wasn't permanent and just a matter of his behavior being different. That things would settle back to a normal. "You got any plans for today?" he asked, already pondering through what materials he needed to study today to make up for what he didn't do yesterday.

Quinn was silent for a second. Despite always knowing what to say and speaking even when he didn't, he just didn't have any words right now. Folding his socks, he set them on top of the running shoes and stood to head into the kitchen. "Oh, I made an omelet earlier. I still have some of the ingredients out if you want me to make you one as well," he hummed, gestured to the non-perishable foods on the counter. It was a quick turn to the conversation, but he tried to make it natural. He never wanted any sort of awkwardness between them so it was weird that there was any in the first place. "Anyway, I have something I'm doing later this afternoon with a group of....ah, I guess they were Remmy's friends mostly and we were going downtown, but that's all I know. I'm not doing anything until then though and that's not until three-ish. You?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure," Shane said, pulling out of the carton of eggs and the milk. He started scrambling together his eggs picking out his toppings and mixing a few into the eggs he was scrambling as Quinn reheated the pan, melting butter into it. "I'm doing school work today. I can't get behind no matter what, you know how it is," he said as they worked to make the omelette, Shane not resisting the urge to flick some cheese at Quinn, a grin on his face as the awkwardness between them dissipated.

Once his omelette was made, he moved to the counter, grabbing a fork and immediately started eating, "So who all you hanging out with?" he asked, around a mouthful. "Jamie? I haven't seen her in awhile and I feel like for a time there it was almost as if she lived here and not at her own place," a bit of an exaggeration but it was how it felt sometimes, "And yet it's been a couple weeks and I don't think you've even mentioned her."

"Oh yeah, I totally know how that is," Quinn answered, half joking though still not as full-hearted as some of his other jokes. Maybe he was just tired after not sleeping well. He couldn't seem to converse with Shane quite the same as usual. Shaking his head, Quinn focused on the omelet which made him feel more normal. He flicked cheese back at Shane, a laugh coming out this time. "Nah, it's no one you've met except for Dave. I think I introduced you two a while back." Dragging a hand through his hair, he smiled sheepishly. "But it's not like that really. Me and Jamie....yeah, I don't really know. We haven't been talking much lately. She was so needy and now it's the opposite, but yeah..."

"Hm," Shane moved around Quinn ruffling the other's hair as he did, aware the other was still in a bit of a funk and wanting to pull him out of it, messing with the other was usually a good way. "I do remember Dave. But that sucks about Jamie. I guess she's not gonna magically turn into the one huh?" He couldn't keep a straight face as he said this, knowing there was never really any chance of that, no matter how much Quinn and Jamie saw each other. He sat at the table taking a bite of the omelette.

Quinn pouted as Shane ruffled his hair, feeling like a kid. Still, a smile tried to pull on his face. It wasn't like this thing with Jamie was that big of a deal to him, but rather, he just didn't know what to make of it. So where to go from here? He didn't even know why he was feeling lukewarm toward her all of a sudden. "The one?" He half snorted at that. "We both knew it wasn't that, but you know, I still like her. Probably more than I expected to," he admitted. "Or at least, I think I still do. But what does it matter in the end? Like you said, we won't ever be anything."

Shane chuckled, "Yeah but it's fun to joke huh?" Shane said. He paused, "You think either of us are ever gonna really get there. Neither of us have the best dating records." He sighed, shoveling another bite into his mouth before continuing around it. "I mean I barely date, having let school consume my life. And a friends with benefits situation is so very rarely gonna be anything more than that."

Quinn shook his head, looking halfway serious as he regarded Shane. "I don't know," he sighed. He usually didn't think about finding 'the one' or marriage. He just didn't long for that. Still, he wasn't sure that he didn't at all want his happily ever after. He hasn't thought one way or the other. "But is it really so bad to just have friends with benefits? It's not exactly the teachings of either my mum or dad's culture, but I think it's fine to skip those things. I mean, are we really that unhappy right now?" He shrugged once, trying to convince himself he meant that full-heartedly. However, Shane was making him think right now and he didn't know what to do with that.

Shane shrugged, "I don't know, I mean yeah the sex is nice and whatever, but I never really saw myself ending up as the one night stand or fuck buddy type, you know?" He paused looking over at Quinn, wondering how much of this was the fault of the guy in front of him, in more ways then one, and how much of it was just Shane being himself. "And like my parents would never approve. They barely managed to wrap their head around the gay thing at first. Like sure they'd never kick me out, but it was hard at first. Somehow I feel this would just be too much you know? Even if I was straight, the talking to I'd get from them would be enough to make my ears fall off."

Quinn hummed. He wasn't sure why, but Shane's words slightly surprised him. Maybe it was just a statistic he read somewhere about gay couples ninety percent of the time only being in it for sex. If he said that though, he'd sound like a stereotyping jackass. Shrugging, he just grinned instead. "At least I don't have that problem with my parents. The cultures are too different and we don't talk about those things in the first place. Thank god!" Though he wasn't sure if his parents would care deeply who he slept with or didn't. It seemed silly for Shane to get so concerned over it.

"Must be nice, even if I tried not to tell my parents, they'd still find out somehow," he kinda stared at Shane for a few seconds, zoned out as he thought about it, "I mean, I think the thought that I was disrespecting their wishes might be enough to make me act weird. Which is so dumb, but you know, you want them to be proud of you." He paused, "Besides, I still just really want that assurance of knowing that theirs this one person who is my someone. And only my someone."

Quinn sighed, but his smile didn't dissolve, just maybe turned a little softer on the edges. "I get respect. It's a fine line to walk." And one that often played a big role in his father's culture, though in different ways than most people were used to. Whether to a parent or an elder, respect must be earned and kept. He shook his head, punching Shane lightly in the arm. "Honey, you're an outdated type though. Romance!" he scoffed. "But yeah, it would be nice. I just have no intention of searching for it until it finds me. No sooner than that. What the point in stressing over something like that, eh?"

"Maybe I am a sap, but hey I can dream, huh?" he chuckled. "But you really don't think about it ever?" he asked, "You don't imagine that perfect girl whose just gonna match you in every way?" He found it hard to believe, not with how much Quinn loved people. He'd have to have had some imaginations about it, and met some people who got close right. And maybe he sounded a little bit ridiculous right now, but he admitted curiosity.

Quinn shrugged, wanting to move past this conversation already. It wasn't his style to think about stuff like this. "It's not like that really. I don't imagine or create in my head. It's just instinct okay? I'll know the person when I find them. Simple as that," he answered after a second. That was his style--to go by feel. And he was sure he'd know the person for him when it happened. And maybe it would happen, or it wouldn't. He didn't have to care about the future now. "Anyway," He spun away from the kitchen, remembering he had emails to respond to. "Don't we both have better things to do right now than talk about this?"