Work Text:
July
It’s Jack’s idea.
Of course it is, because who else would get the group to do anything.
One summer, they’re laying down on the deck in Michigan, smoking weed and sipping on alcohol, and Jack says, “it’s so hot, I can’t wait for winter.”
This starts a debate on the seasons. Winter has a strong case with most of them of course, considering the hockey aspect of it, but then Cole adds “it’s also got the holidays!”
“We’re barely even home for the holidays,” Quinn rolls his eyes. Sometimes he wonders what kind of world Jack and his friends live in.
Trevor giggles, “Sorry to bring up the holidays, ya Grinch. Some of us experience joy still.”
Quinn scowls and holds his hand out for Alex to hand him another beer.
Jack sits up quickly, “That’s it! We can get Quinny his holiday cheer back!”
He knows Jack calls him “Quinny” just to irritate him, but it works. Instead of telling Jack to shut the fuck up like he usually does, he takes a long sip of the beer.
“We should do Secret Santa!” Jack continues, “That way if our schedules don’t let us go home, at least we get some presents delivered to our houses!”
There’s a pause in the group and Quinn adds, “Jack, you always get presents. I send you and Luke something, even if we don’t go home.”
Jack waves it away, “You’re a good brother, yeah yeah, but c’mon! Don’t you guys want to feel the seasonal cheer? The holiday joys?”
Matty laughs from far away, he’s got his feet on the water still, while the rest are closer to land. “It’s fucking summer, Jack!”
Dalton hums, “There’s this app my family used last year. It sends you a name and keeps track of who has who without anyone having to know.”
“Nah we don’t need an app,” Jack pulls up his phone, “I’ll do it now, and just text everyone a name. It’s so simple! This way no one forgets who they have!”
Trevor smokes the last of the weed and mumbles, “Who wants to bet Jack messes this up.”
No one takes him up on the bet. They all know Jack will mess it up.
---
October
This season is hell.
Well, it’s been good overall. Quinn is captain. They have more wins than he expected there to be by this point of the season, so really it’s been fine.
It’s been good so far, but Quinn still feels like he’s straggling behind where he should be.
He says as much to Jack in their routine phone call.
“You’re doing good though, Quinn” Jack says distracted.
Quinn sighs, he knew Jack would say that, but he thought he might be more helpful.
“Thanks.” He says deadpan.
Jack scoffs, “I don’t know what you want me to say. You should’ve called Mom.”
“What has you so distracted anyway?” Quinn starts up his laptop, pulling up this season’s notes to have ready for his phone call with his mom.
“I’m trying to find a PS5.” Jack mumbles.
Quinn knows why. Luke broke theirs last week, but Quinn also knows that’s what he’s hoping to get them for Christmas. He’s hoping they don’t find a replacement for it soon.
In fact, he’s got his eye on two of them because that’s what he’s planning on getting Ty for the Secret Santa present. It’s the only lead he has for Ty since they don’t really talk outside the passing conversations during the summer.
That’s a problem for December though.
“Maybe you should wait for Santa to get you one, bud.” Quinn knows Jack won’t wait, but he can try.
Jack laughs on the phone, “Santa can give me cash.”
“And you say I’m the one without holiday cheer.”
There’s a pause on the phone call when they’re both busy doing something else, and Quinn finally sighs. “I guess I’ll call Mom now.”
Jack hums, “Tell her I said hi!”
“Tell her yourself.” Quinn scoffs, hanging up. He can’t see Jack but he just knows Jack is rolling his eyes as they hang up.
---
He’s finishing up on his phone call with his mom when the doorbell rings. Quinn frowns, knowing it’s their only day off, so his teammates will be busy. His family is also on the other coast, so there’s really no one that should be stopping by.
When he gets to the door, he sees a FedEx truck driving off and a small box on the welcome mat.
Quinn waits to end his phone call before opening the package, but then pauses and stares at what’s inside.
It’s a mug with a picture of him skating with a broken stick, the puck right near it. On top of it with blocky letters is written, the horrors persist, and under it, but so do I.
It surprises a laugh out of him, and he reaches for the paper in the box, fully expecting this to be new Canucks merch. Instead he sees a shipping information with the note:
You’re doing great against the horrors. HBD - <3 Secret Santa
Quinn stares at the “Secret Santa” part. It’s not his birthday yet , that’s later on this week, and who would send their christmas gift so early.
He thinks for a second maybe Jack’s his secret santa, or maybe Luke, they hear him rant often about how stressed he is, they probably think this would cheer him up. Maybe they thought they could get away with rolling his birthday gift together with a Christmas gift.
Except, Jack let slip he has Matty, and Luke keeps asking Quinn about Josh’s interests, so he’s pretty sure neither of them have him as secret santa.
Plus, they never really get him anything for his birthday. Quinn knows his mom just signs the presents shipped to him with all their names.
He places the mug on the counter, and goes back to his notes.
Quinn finds himself glancing at his mug often after that and smiles to himself. You’re doing great against the horrors.
--
November
By mid November, he has six presents from his Secret Santa. Seven technically but two go together to form one gift, so he counts it as six.
He’s already called Jack about it. “Didn’t we have a set monetary limit?!”
Jack had laughed, “ Honestly I was so high, I don’t remember much about it.”
To be fair, they hadn’t set a limit. He knows this, of course, because he’s still planning on getting that PS5 for Ty.
The gifts had been as follows :
1- The mug that started it all with the note, You’re doing great against the horrors.
2- A downey comforter with, I hope you get some more sleep.
3- Socks with old men puns with, You’re still young at heart though.
4- The softest and warmest crewneck sweater, black with navy blue accents. It’s actually his go to sweater nowadays, it’s so good. This note was a little bit longer.
That last gift was too harsh, you’re still so young. You’re so successful at such a young age and I think you’re too good for all of us, but you never think you’re as good as you are. So when you wear this, pretend I’m hugging you and telling you…
4.5- The second part comes only a day later in the form of soft sweatpants.
You might have been seventh in your draft, but you’re number one in my heart. Also I want to get in your pants. This was supposed to be better, but I need to be fast so this gets to you on time.
5- The next gift doesn’t come with the usual package delivery system, instead it’s brought from Breka Bakery, a local bakery in downtown Vancouver. It’s a vegan chocolate ganache cake according to the note. Sorry for the last two gifts. Here’s something as sweet as you.
6- The latest one is a “Meet the Beatles!” vinyl with the note, track one and eleven are really good. I think about it often. Would you let me hold your hand? I sing this song often, but I make it ‘I want to hold Quinn’s hand’. Idk it makes me smile.
They’re all signed “ <3 Secret Santa ”, which is driving Quinn crazy.
He’s already called Jack to demand he tell him who has him as secret santa, but Jack keeps laughing. “Do you know the meaning of secret?”
Quinn can’t even remember who was in the list in the first place. It was all of the guys by the lake that night, yes, but he knows Jack added some of the others that were at the Michigan house earlier in the summer, as well as some of his other friends like Nico.
He can cross off his brothers, and even Josh because Josh was clear when he turned Quinn down a few years back.
Plus Josh has a girlfriend now. Well, Quinn frowns, most of them have girlfriends now, he thinks. They’re all on and off all the time, he’s not even sure who’s currently single.
Quinn really hopes it’s not Nico. Jack would kill him.
---
The Canucks play the Ducks at the end of November. So far they’ve had really good games, Quinn isn’t really worried about it.
Except he’s so distracted because he’s not had a present in over a week, which is more time in between gifts he’s had before.
He really misses getting little surprises in his mailbox regularly.
During warm ups, Trevor skates up to him. “Take it easy on us, yeah?”
Quinn laughs, “No promises, Zegras.”
Trevor smiles and looks down at his stick, where he’s moving it back and forth without a pattern. “You doing anything after this?”
“Sleep maybe?” Quinn shrugs.
Trevor nods slowly a couple of times, “Well maybe-”
He gets cut off by Elias skating over, “Zegras! Sorry to steal Quinn away. Need our Captain.”
The last thing Quinn sees out of the corner of his eye before heading towards his team is Trevor’s full body sigh.
3-1 isn’t a bad score at all, but Quinn leaves the game feeling like he’s missed something. Like he forgot to put away his skates maybe, or like he left the stove on, which makes no sense.
There’s something in the back of his mind that keeps nagging at him that he missed something. He hopes it wasn’t important.
---
December
His secret santa makes up for not sending anything the rest of November. Not that he has to send more, Quinn acknowledges, but it’s still nice to look through the mail and find something from his secret santa.
It just makes him smile, okay? He’s totally normal about this.
Quinn feels sort of guilty for the PS5 he ordered to ship to Ty with a “Merry Christmas! From your Secret Santa”. When he compares it to the gifts he keeps getting, it feels so impersonal.
To be fair, he doesn’t want to get into Ty’s pants. So maybe it’s different.
So far, he’s been getting a package every other day, most of them small. He appreciates them, yes, but he looks forward to the notes a little more.
This keychain made me laugh when I saw it. I hope it makes you laugh.
I want to hold your hand, but I guess I’ll let these gloves do it instead.
The Grinch. Just like you. Hope this holiday season has been better than most for you.
I have this shirt. I think if I see you with it, I can pretend you have on my shirt.
I dream about it, sometimes. You in my clothes. So here’s another shirt similar to one I own.
Sorry I can’t think of something witty for this watch. It’s a watch. Yeah.
I just think you’d look hot in this coat idk idk idk
That game against the Panthers was so good. You looked so good.
I am drunnk offf thsu righ nw thout yood lik it. sry cant semd weedd
Here’s some chocolates as an apology for that last one
Quinn has a collection now of the little notes on the dresser. His favorite might be the one he got with the shirts, but he won’t say that out loud.
The list of suspects has to be short. He’s never actually told anyone about his preferences . It’s never something he ever thought he could pursue, so he’s just never going to date.
Somehow, someone found out he’s not straight. He’s only told Josh that one time he tried to start something with him, but again, Josh is off the list.
Well Jack and Luke know too, but they weren’t supposed to tell anyone and he trusts them.
And technically Trevor, Cole, and Alex know because one time he got so high while they were watching the Amazing Spider Man and he might have had a horny rant about Andrew Garfield.
Dalton probably knows because Quinn thinks he overheard when Josh was letting him down.
So apparently, there’s a couple of people who might know.
At this point, he’s just waiting until Christmas when the secret santas get revealed. He can wait less than a week.
If he posts an extremely rare instagram story of a selfie in one of the shirts with the hopes his secret santa sees it and messages him, that’s no one’s business.
Does he want to know who it is? What if he doesn’t like him?
What if it’s Alex, or Cole and he has to let him down gently? What if it’s Nico and he has to face Jack’s wrath? Or Dalton and he has to awkwardly tell him he’s not the Norris he had a crush on?
What if it’s Trevor?
A jolt of want rushes through him. He has to stop himself. It’s not Trevor.
There was, however, this moment they’d had earlier in the summer that makes him hope.
They were the last two laying on the dock while the rest went inside for lunch. They were lying next to each other, looking up at the sky, passing the weed back and forth, too comfortable to get up.
Trevor had complained about his haircut and how it wasn’t exactly what he wanted, and now he was going to have to grow it out and it won’t look as good, and on and on and on .
Finally, Quinn scoffed and pushed Trevor’s hair around. “You’re Jack’s hottest friend. You’ll survive.”
Trevor grinned, “You think I’m hot?”
Quinn hummed, “Doesn’t everyone?”
“Quinny, I don’t care about everyone-”
“Don’t call me that” Quinn interrupted. He knows it’s caught on from Jack, and Quinn doesn’t really care, except it’s a force of habit to try to get them to stop.
“ Quinn ,” Trevor continued, “I only care if you think I’m hot.”
Quinn looked away from the sky and over to Trevor. His plan was to dramatically look at him and hum and shrug, maybe add a “you’re alright” .
Instead, his eyes traveled Trevor’s body and he pictured touching him, maybe licking all that exposed skin, “and maybe more” his mind provided.
Instead, he saw that (admittedly normal ) haircut and pictured himself taking Trevor’s hair between his fingers, pulling on it to move him where he wanted.
The want shocked him. It had been years since he last let himself want someone so close to him. Sure, he can fantasize about a celebrity or someone on the other side of the world, but this was Trevor .
Jack’s best friend Trevor. In the NHL Trevor. Lying next to him Trevor.
“Everything about you is hot, Trevor” Quinn whispers. “You’re walking temptation.”
He had blamed it on the weed, on the traces amount of alcohol that must’ve been in his system still, on the hot day that was clearly making him delirious.
Trevor didn’t laugh like he expected him to, instead he paused and searched Quinn’s face.
“Do I tempt you ?”
Quinn was saved from answering by Jack yelling at them about their food getting cold.
It must have been a joke to Trevor, Quinn thinks. They never brought it up again and Trevor never came close to flirting with Quinn again.
So it’s left in the summer memories, and Quinn tries his best to not think about it again.
Plus, it can’t be Trevor. Last he heard he was dating a girl in California. He remembers hearing about it sometime around All Star Weekend, and he never heard they broke up so, they must be together.
It can’t be Trevor.
He only vaguely acknowledges the disappointment that thought brings him.
---
There’s a present waiting for him at his porch when he gets home from practice on the 23rd. It’s in an Amazon labeled box, which is strange since most of the presents have been through FedEx.
He’s quick to open it, excitement coursing through him, and is disappointed in seeing grey Jordans. They look nice, yes, but he thinks it’s pretty anticlimactic. He goes to check the shipping notes, to see if this is a pun or something.
Merry Christmas! The other part of your present will be at the Michigan house for the summer (it’s just a grill) - Dalton
So. Was it Dalton all along?
It couldn’t be, right? This note is way off, and there’s no “<3 Secret Santa”. Unless this was the big reveal?
Quinn looks at the clock, he’s got to nap now before the game but he won’t get any rest if he doesn’t know .
He can’t find Dalton in his contacts, so he messages him on Instagram.
_QuinnHughes : Hey thanks for the present!
Dalton_Norris14 : Yeah np
_QuinnHughes : you got me for secret santa right
Dalton_Norris14 : yeah, why
Dalton_Norris14 : was I not supposed to say?
_QuinnHughes : nah I think it’s fine
_QuinnHughes : Did you send something else earlier in the month?
Dalton_Norris14 : ?? No
Dalton_Norris14 : the grill should be going to Michigan
Dalton_Norris14 : did they send it at yours instead?
_QuinnHughes : no no, just got something else and wanted to see if it was from you
Dalton_Norris14 : nah sorry bro, it was just that
Dalton_Norris14 : I don’t have nhl money sadly ha!
_QuinHughes : lol no worries, just checking
_QuinnHughes : thanks again!
He tries to nap even though he’s more confused and disappointed his “<3 Secret Santa” wasn’t even his real secret santa.
It is a relief, however, to be able to confidently cross off Dalton from his list of possibilities.
---
Christmas passes uneventfully. His family video chats for a bit Christmas morning, but it’s only for about an hour, then Quinn is left to his empty house.
Plenty of his teammates had invited him over to spend Christmas with their families, but Quinn felt maybe it’s time he can let himself sit with the disappointment he’s been feeling the last couple of days.
It’s not that he expected his secret santa to show up at his house at Christmas like it’s a rom-com, with a speech ready about how he can’t live without Quinn.
He knows statistically, whoever it is is in the NHL, or in the professional hockey world in general. Their schedules wouldn’t allow for any grand gestures at Christmas, Quinn gets it.
It’s just Quinn hasn’t received anything after the chocolates. Did his secret santa regret it?
Did he have a bit more time to think about it and think Quinn wasn’t worth pursuing? Did he realize Quinn is in the NHL, so any relationship would come with public opinion, and maybe thought it’s best to stop all together?
It’s one thing for Quinn to stop himself from catching feelings or being attracted to anyone because Quinn can tell himself it’s for the best. His life can just be hockey.
It’s another thing to realize maybe no one would ever fall in love with him in the first place because his life is too much work to put up with.
So he’s fueled by the self pity to set up his phone on the coffee table and take a picture of himself lounging on the couch with a PS5 controller in hand, wearing his sweatpants and black crewneck his secret santa sent him over a month ago.
It’s slight desperation that drives him to add the flirtiest version of Santa Baby on the story before posting it to his Close Friends list that’s just hockey players he’s following.
(He forgets he has his brothers on the Close Friends Circle until Jack replies to the story with a “ew unsubscribe me from your thirst traps”. As if a fully clothed picture is a thirst trap.)
Quinn gets a few replies asking him what he’s playing or asking him if he’s enjoying his Christmas. He doesn’t really know what he’s looking for, or even if his secret santa watched the story already.
Trevor replies and Quinn flushes with the hope that it’s him admitting he’s the Secret Santa.
TrevorZegras : that looks like a soft sweater
Quinn’s heart is beating fast. He doesn’t know if it’s logic or wishful thinking that keeps pointing out to him all signs point Trevor.
_QuinnHughes : It feels like a hug, it’s so soft
_QuinnHughes : favorite sweater lately
TrevorZegras : It looks soft, I don’t blame ya
Every time Quinn thinks he can’t get more disappointed, he learns he can.
That was the biggest opportunity Trevor had to tell Quinn he’s his secret santa, so if he didn’t take it, it must mean he’s not.
Quinn stares at the message thread with Trevor, hoping that “Typing” pops up, or that Trevor starts a call. Expecting something .
It’s Christmas day and Quinn loses all hope that anyone could ever be attracted to him, let alone love him.
---
January
He’s had his pity party over the holidays, and tried to move on as much as he can with the mug staring at him every morning, reminding him he’ll never be in a relationship.
It’s a new year. His season is going well so far, he’s taken to the role of Captain, he’s scored in most of the latest games. Everything is good.
He doesn’t realize how bad he’s been feeling the last couple of weeks until he feels a rush of excitement when he sees a FedEx package on his porch.
It’s a copy of The Amazing Spider Man with the note, Sorry I chickened out on Christmas. I kept thinking you’d rather your secret santa was Andrew instead of me <3 Secret Santa
Quinn freezes, hears the blood in his ears, feels his breath leave his body.
It has to be either Trevor, Cole, or Alex. No one else was there for his under the influence Andrew rant.
Unless they told someone about it.
Quinn can’t keep up with this added stress, he’s already too stressed about hockey.
He calls Jack and doesn’t let him get much past hello before interrupting.
“Did you tell anyone about me? About my crush on Andrew Garfield?”
Jack laughs, “What? Are you high?”
“Jack,” Quinn cuts off. “Just answer the question.”
He must hear the seriousness in Quinn’s voice, he doesn’t keep joking around.
“No, Quinn. I haven’t told anyone. Luke hasn’t either just in case he’s your next phone call.”
Quinn sighs, “Okay, thank you.”
“For the record,” Jack continues, “the other three haven’t either. I made them promise. Well I blackmailed them maybe, but it’s the same.”
“So, you really think they didn’t tell anyone?” Quinn asks.
“I have so much on Alex and Cole so they wouldn’t, trust me. And Trevor loves you too much to spill any of your secrets.”
He feels out of breath when he whispers a “what?”
“Hmm? Cole and Alex say a lot of shit, they know I have too many screenshots.”
Quinn really doesn't want to know, “No, no, the Trevor part.”
“That he wouldn’t tell anyone? Yeah, I trust Trevor the most.”
“What did you mean, though?” Quinn continues, “When you said he loves me?”
Jack sighs over the phone. “He’s my best friend, Quinn. I think it’s in his job description to love my brothers, too.”
Trevor is Jack’s best friend. Yes, he knows that.
Quinn might have forgotten that’s why he could never allow himself to even entertain the idea of Trevor in the first place.
What would happen? Quinn gets with Trevor, Trevor thinks Quinn is too much work, they break up, and Jack gets upset at Quinn for even trying?
Would Quinn ever actually try? He’s told himself plenty of times he would never date while in the NHL. How would that even end? Get outed by Hockey Gossip blogs? Lose the C on his jersey, or worse, his position on a team?
“Quinn? Are you there?” Jack’s voice startles him.
“Yeah, sorry.” Quinn sighes, “Ok, yeah, sorry.”
He’s aware he keeps repeating himself, but he’s still processing the shift from the excitement of the possibility of Trevor loving him to remembering he can’t be in any relationship anyway.
“Are you ok, Quinn? Why did you ask? Did someone say something?”
Quinn can tell Jack is really worried and he uses that to ground himself back.
“Yeah,” Quinn says, “I’m good, don’t worry about it. I just- I was just wondering.”
It’s a weak excuse he knows, but Jack doesn’t push.
Jack hums, “Well since we’re on the phone, let me tell you what Nico did yesterday.”
Quinn lets Jack’s voice wash over him as he monologues how cute Nico is . He wishes he was as comfortable as Jack.
Jack doesn’t care about the consequences, doesn’t care if Nico will love him back, if they get outed, if they eventually get their acts together and date, if everything ends in flames.
“You can’t let the fear stop you from going after what you want.” Jack had told him once.
Quinn never tells him that’s first-draft-pick privilege that’s not given to the rest of them.
---
February
Over the last month, there’s been four more packages delivered to Quinn’s house. The packages sit on his coffee table, closed. What’s the point, he keeps thinking.
His resolve lasted only until Valentine’s day when he gets a package and an edible arrangement delivered.
Fuck it , he thinks. They have a day off. He can waste it on ruining his life.
He starts from the first package that was delivered less than a week after the TASM movie DVD.
It’s a deep blue blanket that says “I sleep well knowing I’m the best Hughes” in white letters. It makes him snort out a laugh while he reaches for the shipping note. No one asked, but you have my vote as best Hughes. <3 Secret Santa
As he’s opening the next box, he has the vague, disappointing thought that this gift confirms it’s not Trevor. Jack will always be his favorite Hughes.
The next box is the biggest of them all and when he opens it, he sees a blender. There’s nothing witty on this one, just heard yours broke and I’m sure you haven’t gotten a replacement. <3 Secret Santa.
Quinn wishes he would’ve opened this when he got it, a couple of weeks back because he’s right. Quinn hasn’t replaced it yet, so he’s been struggling with a barely working blender that takes so much longer to make shakes.
The third is small. It’s fancy cologne in a fancy bottle, way fancier than he would ever buy himself. Yet another attempt to give you things that I use so I can pretend we’re a couple who uses each other’s stuff. This is the same cologne I use <3 Secret Santa
He stops the thought that he could track down who uses this cologne before it completes forming. He’s no longer trying to find out who his Secret Santa is. That way lies madness and all that. He’s only opening the boxes so he doesn’t waste the contents of it.
That’s his excuse at least, and he’s sticking to it.
The last of the four boxes has a framed picture of all three Hughes at that first game against each other. So much hotness in one picture. Oh and your brothers are there too I guess <3 Secret Santa
Quinn feels butterflies in his stomach at the thought that not only is this Secret Santa into him, but he’s also aware how important his brothers are to him. Well, anyone who goes to the Michigan house in the summer would know, he guesses, but it’s still nice.
He walks over to the kitchen counter where the new package and the edible arrangement are and catches “READ FIRST” on the edible arrangement card.
It’s written where the name is supposed to be after the “From” label. Which makes sense, honestly, Secret Santa hasn’t left a name, even a made up one, on any other gift, so why would he do any different on this one.
Quinn is still disappointed.
The card simply reads, I wish I had the courage to tell you on Christmas like I planned so I could kiss you when I see you next. Since I’m too much of a coward, I’ll give you some hints. I won’t deny it if you ask me. Ask me. <3 Secret Santa
Great, now the fruit is ruined for him.
Quinn can’t imagine even thinking of asking someone if they’re the one sending him gifts and cute notes. Maybe his Secret Santa doesn't know him as well as Quinn thought the did because he can’t picture a worse hell than that.
He opens up the box and it’s a Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle snow globe. Quinn turns it every which way, trying to understand what the clue is. He can’t remember sharing a moment with anyone during a Disney movie.
Was a castle supposed to mean something to him?
The note is short. Our teams will play against each other before the season ends. If you don’t ask me by the Playoffs, I’ll assume you’re not interested and completely stop everything. <3 Secret Santa
Quinn is quick to the kitchen where his season calendar is, to look through the schedule.
Great , Quinn thinks.
There’s still a lot of games left in the season, including ones against the Montreal Canadians, the LA Kings, and the Aneheim Ducks.
Back to square one.
---
March
There hasn’t been any presents, which makes sense since it sounds like Secret Santa left the ball in Quinn’s court.
Fucking shit.
The month starts with road trip games. The last match before the road trip was against the LA Kings, but Alex wasn’t with them.
Thank fucking Christ.
Not that Quinn doesn’t want to see him. He’s just not sure how he’s supposed to act if it’s been Alex all along. Quinn is a professional at avoiding any sort of confrentation. He’d like to keep it that way.
Luke texts him as the team drives into the Honda Center. ”Jack and I left something for you at Trevor’s. Don’t let him keep it. Love you”
Quinn smiles. Luke thought it was so cool they were going to be in the same city two days apart for both Aneheim and Vegas.
Jack had sent him a selfie of him and Trevor after their game two days ago. Trevor looked so good .
All Quinn replied with was, “where’s Luke”
“Out getting wasted” Jacks reply came some minutes later.
Quinn didn’t appreciate the joke. At least, he hoped it’s a joke considering they have another game two days later. He knows Jack hates it when Quinn asks him about Luke though, so he knows could have just said it to annoy Quinn.
During warm ups, Quinn skates up to Trevor. “Hey, Trev, I’m coming over to yours after the game, yeah?”
Trevor is frozen for a second, then a huge grin spreads across his face. “You are?”
Quinn nods, “Luke said you have something from them?”
“Oh” Trevor’s grin falters. “Right, yeah, of course.”
It’s not that Quinn was hoping for Trevor to profess his undying love in the arena before the game, but still. He might have been hoping for something .
The game is tied 0-0 for so long, it feels like they might go into overtime, but then the Ducks score and the game is over, and Quinn keeps getting disappointed.
Leaving the locker room on his own while the rest of his team leave together on the bus makes him feel weird. They’ve all done it before, yes, but it’s usually for family, or for girlfriends.
Trevor isn’t his girlfriend.
The thought makes him flush, especially when he sees Trevor waiting for him by the door.
Quinn is already dying, how is he going to survive a car ride with Trevor.
“That was a good game,” Trevor says right as they close the car doors behind them and work on their seatbelts.
There’s a buzzing in Quinns ears, his hands are cold but are sweating and damp. He can’t remember what his breathing is supposed to be like, how one normally would sit in a vehicle.
When he just croaks out a “yeah”, Trevor turns to look at him and laughs.
“Quinn, you look like I’m about to murder you. Are you ok?”
So clearly he’s failing at passing for normal. He clears his throat and shifts on his seat. “Yeah, yeah sorry. Just-” Quick, what’s a good excuse, Quinn thinks. “Tired.”
Well.
Trevor snorts, “After a game? Surprising.”
Quinn sighs with his whole body, “Yeah, sorry.”
“Stop apologizing.” Trevor smiles, “Why are you being so weird?”
He doesn’t answer Trevor, instead, “Is this the first time we’ve hung out?”
Trevor frowns out the front windshield. “I guess if you don’t count all the summers, yeah.”
“Well, we wouldn’t count them, right?” Quinn asks.
He can tell it’s the wrong thing to say because Trevor tenses his hands around the steering wheel and doesn’t answer.
If Quinn was almost relaxed at some point during the car ride, he’s certainly not by the time they get to Trevor’s house. The silence from the car lingers outside of it, while they walk up to the house, and into the kitchen.
Trevor grabs some cookies from on top of the counter and silently hands it over to Quinn. “This is what your brothers left for you. I was planning on driving you back to the hotel but if you want to get an Uber or a Taxi, I can call one for you.”
Something about the way Trevor looks dejected, or like he somehow thinks Quinn is desperate to leave his house, breaks away at Quinn’s heart.
He’s not sure why he even brought up the fact they haven’t hung out before. Something self destructive within him just wanted to point out Trevor can’t actually like him because he doesn’t actually know Quinn.
If it is Trevor, anyway. Lately he’s been thinking it might be Cole. There’s just a part of Quinn that hopes it’s Trevor.
“I can, uh” Quinn pauses when Trevor turns to face him and their eyes meet. “Stay?”
Trevor looks surprised, and Quinn realizes Trevor might not even want him to stay.
“I mean, of course you can kick me out, you don’t even have to drive me if you don’t want to, I can wait outside for a cab or something.” Quinn wishes he could shut the fuck up.
“You can stay.” Trevor says quickly. “I mean, if you want. I can drop you off tomorrow morning.”
Quinn plays around with the box of cookies, too anxious to even try to pass as calm.
“Are you sure? You looked…” He can’t even think of how to finish that sentence. “Upset at me” sounds childish, “Disappointed” would be too close to the truth, and Quinn really doesn’t want to know that Trevor is disappointed with Quinn.
Not even just because of tonight, but in general.
What if Trevor did like him and Quinn ruined it by his, well, everything .
“Yeah, sorry, I’m just tired.” Trevor smiles, a hint of a joke in reference to Quinn earlier.
Quinn smiles back and tries to relax.
---
He finds himself relaxed half an hour later, sharing a couch with Trevor, and watching an episode of the Amazing Race.
Trevor is making small comments here and there, and Quinn is enjoying the moment. It feels so easy to lounge next to Trevor and nod along to his comments.
It’s so familiar and Quinn finally realizes why that is. Throughout the summers, this is where they usually find themselves, sitting next to each other. When it’s with the group of guys, their elbows are over each other’s, squished together on the sofa with way too many guys on one couch.
If it’s just two or three of the group, hanging out on the couch, they have a bit more space, but Trevor still usually sticks close to Quinn, filling him in on the background of the film, or about how it reminds him of something that happened during the season.
Huh , maybe they do interact more than Quinn thought.
How has he not realized Trevor has been sitting himself next to Quinn all that time spent at the Michigan house.
By the time the next episode of the Amazing Race starts, Quinn stops watching the TV, instead looks at Trevor.
He’s on a story about how they got the cookies when Jack and Luke were at Trevor’s two days back. It turns out both of them did go over to Trevor’s, not just Jack. Quinn is a bit relieved to know for sure Jack didn’t just let Luke go out and get drunk.
Trevor goes on about the cookies, from a local bakery apparently ( “I love buying from local bakeries, they’re always better than anything else” ), and how Luke really wanted some but Jack kept telling him to go back to the hotel, but Luke wouldn’t and Trevor tried to make them both happy but Jack rolled his eyes when they stopped at the bakery anyway.
While he keeps going on about their night, Quinn feels his heart swell at the realization that Jack was right. Trevor might be best friends with Jack, but he still really cares about Jack’s brothers.
I hope it’s you , he thinks. I could fall in love with you so easily .
He ignores the thought that he already might be.
Trevor pauses in his story when he turns from the screen to glance at Quinn, and finds Quinn staring back at him.
“What?” He asks cautiously.
“Nothing, I just really like listening to you talk.” Quinn isn’t sure where the hell the confidence to say that came from but he appreciates it more when he sees Trevor flush.
“Sorry,” Trevor starts, “I’m talking a lot, right.”
Quinn shifts slightly, so his elbow rests on Trevor’s arm. “Nah, tell me more about these cookies.”
Trevor laughs but he does. They end up going to bed late in the night, staying on the couch as long as they could. If by the end of the night, Quinn ended up with his whole side pressed along Trevor’s and his nose pressed to Trevor’s shoulder, that’s no one’s business but his own.
He smells familiar, Quinn thinks before passing out that night.
He dreams fancy cologne and tall castles.
---
April
Quinn is stressed , even more than usual.
The season is winding down and they missed the playoffs, but he’s stressed about the deadline his Secret Santa gave him.
He’s since crossed Alex off his suspect list when he went to play them right after playing the Ducks. All Alex did was nod at him from afar and when Quinn tried to talk to him, Alex seemed focus on something else.
It’s down to Trevor and Cole and he knows which one he hopes it is, but he’s also aware if he talks to Trevor and it’s not him, Quinn would never leave his house again.
He’s been talking with Trevor more since the night he went over to his house for the cookies. It’s been mostly texts here and there or ten minute long voice messages sent from Trevor about the latest episode of the Amazing Race.
There’s been only one phone call when the Ducks played them at Rogers Arena but Trevor couldn’t come over after the game, since they were traveling that night.
It had been pleasant even though Quinn had to carry that conversation because Trevor’s responses were small hums or whispered short sentences.
“Why are you whispering?” Quinn had asked.
“I’m in the back, trying not to let the team hear I’m on the phone.” Trevor whispered.
When Quinn had asked him why, the response was, “Their newest prank is to steal the phone and put it on speaker so everyone can join in. I’d like to keep you mine tonight.”
Quinn might have replayed “I’d like to keep you mine” in his mind a million times after that.
In contrast, Quinn hasn’t heard much from Cole. Every time Quinn messages him “Good game” , Cole just reacts with a thumbs up. He’s 99% sure it’s not Cole.
He really wishes Trevor would give him a hint, though. What? Quinn is supposed to go into this guessing and hoping Trevor actually likes him?
That is also, if Quinn wants a relationship out of this. He’s still not settled that internal debate.
---
Quinn calls Jack and Luke to congratulate them when they announce the Devils will be in the playoffs. Both the brothers are on speaker, but Jack is taking the lead of the phone call. Quinn thinks Luke probably doesn’t even want to be there.
They thank him and talk logistics about what games Quinn will go to and Jack mentions Trevor might be going to some of them.
Quinn tries to brush it off like he doesn’t care, doesn’t even want to know what games those will be so he can maybe go to the same ones.
“Did you like the cookies by the way,” Jack asks, “you never said.”
“Yeah,” Quinn replies distracted. He’s still checking over the calendar to compare it to the playoffs schedule. “They were just cookies though.”
“What do you mean?” Jack asks slowly.
Quinn sighs, “I mean I don’t get why you guys left me some cookies. You coud’ve given them to your teammates or something.”
There’s a pause on Jack’s end of the line. “We could have done a lot of other things, why do you think we left some of those cookies for you at Trevor’s?”
“Why?” Quinn asks.
Jack groans, “It’s like you’re trying to miss the point.”
Quinn rolls his eyes, “Jack, I’m trying to plan this trip, can you or can you not focus. I can’t play games right now.”
He hears Luke yell “how does he not get it” in the background and Jack shushing him.
---
May
Quinn doesn’t really see Trevor during his brothers’ games in late April. Even when they’re at the same game. He swears Trevor purposely sat next to his dad so Quinn sat with his mom, and tried to catch Trevor’s eyes every now and then.
He tried to catch Trevor once after the game, even by sneakily getting his dad to invite Trevor to go to dinner with the family, but Trevor declined.
So now it’s mid may and Trevor’s barely texted him much, and Quinn feels like he wants to cry.
One of the shirts he got from his secret santa makes it into the luggage he’s taking to the Michigan house. His mug and the snow globe are also nestled in between some clothes.
The snow globe because he’s taken to stare at it from all angles to try to find the clue, and his mug because he might be emotionally attached to it already.
He’s emotionally attached to everything his Secret Santa has sent him, but he can only pack so much.
---
June
Quinn gets to the Michigan house before Jack and Luke do by about three hours, but it’s enough of a head start to hide the snow globe somewhere they won’t see it.
He expects Trevor to be one of the firsts to get there after Jack and Luke, but after day four of no sign of him, Quinn decides to suck it up and ask.
“Where’s Trevor?” Quinn tries to ask nonchalantly. They’re grilling out back on Quinn’s new grill, curtesy of Dalton, his actual Secret Santa.
Jack shrugs, “New York maybe? I can’t remember if he was planning on going to Boston.”
Quinn hums, “When is he coming in?”
“He’s not.” Jack frowns and looks at him, “You know he’s not.”
Disappointment floods through him. “How would I know he’s not coming?” Quinn maybe says it too loudly when he sees Ty and Matt look over.
“You turned him down,” Jack says quietly. “He said you told him you never want to see him again.”
“What?!” Quinn whips around to face him.
Alex passes by right at that moment, and puts up his hands, “Woah, I’ll take over grilling duties. You guys go hash out this fight somewhere else that’s not near a fire.”
Quinn wants to explain that they’re not fighting, that he’s just trying to find out where Trevor went off to, but instead gets pulled by Jack into Quinn’s room.
Jack sighs, “Alright, it sounds like his version of the story might not be true, so tell me your side.”
Quinn frowns, “He just ghosted. I tried hanging out with him even at your playoffs. He kept ignoring me, though. You know dad invited him to dinner and he said no?”
“Did you think maybe it would’ve gone better if you had asked him directly?” Jack asks slowly.
There’s a pause while Quinn is trying to figure out how much he’s willing to tell Jack. He doesn’t want to put him in the middle of this, any more than he already is.
“Did he tell you?” Quinn asks.
Jack glances to the door before looking at him again, “He’s my best friend, Quinn.”
Quinn nods, “That’s why I couldn’t do it.”
“Ok, you lost me. What are you talking about?”
“Y’know to…” Quinn can’t even say the word, date . “I didn’t want anything to change. I know he’s your best friend, I didn’t want to do that to you.”
Jack scoffs, “You can’t blame me for you breaking his heart. How was this the best option? You moping around the house, and Trevor being in another state?!”
How is it Quinn found another way to ruin it all?
“I didn’t even- I couldn’t even have done anything about it,” Quinn starts. “I wouldn’t have talked to him about it, anyway, because I wasn’t even sure it was him.”
“What do you mean? He said he basically signed his name on the last present.”
Quinn really wants to ask how much of it all Jack knows, but finds himself really not wanting to know.
Either way he rolls his eyes and takes out the snow globe from the drawer.
“How was I supposed to get that it was him from this?! We never even watched a Disney movie together, let alone talk about anything Disney?!” Quinn shouts.
Jack glares at Quinn after turning the snow globe over. “You mean this snow globe that says ‘Disneyland, Anaheim , California’ at the bottom?! You needed a bigger clue than that?!”
“Oh,” How had Quinn missed it? “So Trevor really likes me?” He asks quietly.
Jack lets out a long sigh and sits on Quinn's bed. “Come on”, he pats the bed next to him. “Tell me why you don't want to date my best friend , who by the way, I love almost as much as I do you.”
“I just-” Quinn sits next to him before lying back on the bed and putting his arms across his eyes. He’d rather not even see Jack for this.
“Lets think this through, Jack. What if we date. Then what? We get outed? We lose our spot in the NHL? What if we break up? We did it all for nothing? Then what, you end up hating me because you think I shouldn’t have even dated Trevor in the first place?”
Jack is quiet until Quinn moves his arms to look at him.
“How can you think I’d ever hate you? Quinn, I’d be more upset if you let me hold you back from living out your life and going after what you want.”
Quinn snorts, “It’s not as simple as that, Jack.”
Jack shrugs, “Sure it is. Do you care about him? Do you think you can love him?”
Quinn nods.
“Do you think you would be happy with him?”
Quinn hums, “I don’t know how much you know about it-”
Jack puts up his hands and closes his eyes, “Not that much, please don’t share details!”
“- but,” Quinn continues, holding back a laugh, “For months, he would send me presents and the whole time, I was really hoping it was him. But the problem’s not that. The problem is-”
Jack groans and throws himself back to lie down next to Quinn.
“I don’t want a big coming out. And what if we date but we never see each other and he ends up resenting me for never going on dates and then-”
Jack slaps a hand over his mouth. “I just don’t understand why you can’t allow yourself even the slightest happiness in the world.”
Quinn doesn’t reply, doesn’t want to get into his “hockey needs to be first, and that can’t happen if I’m dating someone that could jeapordize that.”
“Stop catastrophizing!” Jack continues when he sees Quinn won’t reply. “What if you actually talk to Trevor and work this out with him . What if he has the answers to your questions but you never ask ?”
Quinn stares. “Did you just say ‘catastrophizing’? Where did you learn that word?”
Jack laughs and gets up, “Nico gets horny when I use big words.”
“Gross, I don’t want to know!” Quinn groans.
He can still hear Jack’s laugh after he’s left the room and closed the door.
It’s nice, Quinn thinks, to have someone he can talk to about Trevor. He’s definitely more calm about it now.
He holds to that calmness while he pulls out his phone and calls Trevor.
Trevor picks up on the second ring, “Hello?”
“Hi, Trevor. Where are you?”
“Why?” Trevor sounds suspicious.
Quinn sighs, “Listen, can you please come to the house?” He pauses then adds another long “please” for good measure.
“Yeah,” Trevor says slowly, “I should be there in half an hour”
---
Before the half hour is up, he corners Jack and finds out Trevor was planning on coming to the house today anyway. So if only Quinn had held out about an hour or so without breaking down, he would have had an option to be chill and not have the rest of the guys avoiding him, thinking he might lash out at them as well.
He doesn’t really regret it, though. It was nice hearing Jack be so supportive. Plus, now he knows for sure it’s Trevor.
Trevor, who shows up at the door loudly announcing the party is here! He doesn’t get farther than that before Quinn grabs his wrist and drags him to his room.
He gets a little thrill down his spine at finally going after what he wants.
“Not that I didn’t find that hot, but what was that ?!” Trevor asks after Quinn closes the door behind them.
“You’ve been ignoring my texts.” Quinn crosses his arms.
Trevor bites his bottom lip, “Are you actually annoyed at me, because remember you asked me to come over.”
Quinn sighs, “I also wanted you to answer my texts.”
Trevor doesn’t answer, instead searches Quinn’s eyes for something . “I don’t get it, I thought you didn’t want me in your life. You didn’t say anything before the playoffs.”
Quinn glances at the snow globe, “Yeah, it might have taken me a while to find out it was you.”
“So you found out it was me, was disappointed, then took a bit longer to figure out how to let me down gently?” Trevor asks quietly.
“Well,” Quinn laughs, “more like, I was hoping it was you, couldn’t figure out how to make sure it was you, then was hoping you’d just tell me eventually.”
Trevor stares at him. “What do you mean?” He finally asks after what feels like hours of silence.
“I mean I was hoping you would be the one to start something because I don’t- I’m still-” He trails off.
Trevor moves himself right in front of Quinn and puts his hands on either side of Quinn’s neck. “Do you really want this, Quinn?”
Quinn can’t meet his eyes but he nods.
“But?” Trevor asks.
Quinn is surprised Trevor picked up on something holding Quinn back.
“I don’t want to come out, and I don’t want to lose you or have Jack mad at me, or have to miss out on other years here, or-”
Trevor cuts him off with a, “Do you want me, Quinn?”
Quinn sighs, “Yes, but we haven’t talked about what it could do to our careers or if our families-”
“Quinn. Forget about the future or the past right now. It’s just you and me in this room.”
Trevor pauses and Quinn looks up to meet his eyes.
“Do you want me, Quinn?”
Qinn nods.
Trevor laughs, “I’m going to need you to use your words.”
“Yes, Trevor. I want you. I want to date you and hold your hand.” Quinn laughs.
Trevor bites a grin, “You want to hold my hand?”
It’s so cheesy and part of Quinn wants to die at how Trevor can make him feel so ridiculous but he’s so close to singing the Beatles to Trevor.
Quinn shoves Trevor gently and rolls his eyes, “We can’t just ignore the world, Trevor.”
“Well how about we start by eating these burgers you guys were grilling, and then we take on the world, yeah?”
There’s butterflies breaking out of his stomach at Trevor’s use of the word we .
“Then we can hold hands?” Quinn asks.
Trevor lets out a loud laugh, “Yes, Quinny, then we can hold hands.”
Quinn shoves him on his way out of the door. “Don’t call me that.”
Trevor catches up and grabs his hand in his. “Ok, baby. Is that better?”
Quinn rolls his eyes but he can’t really be annoyed, especially when he’s holding his hand. “You can’t get out of it by calling me a cute pet name.”
“I didn’t, I called you a baby. Like, a cry baby.” Trevor laughs.
Quinn yanks their joined hand so Trevor would run into the door knob. His plan works perfectly.
The rest of their weeks at the house is a lot like every other year they’ve spent at the Michigan house. Only this time, Trevor sneaks into Quinn’s room every night.
Quinn finds himself humming the Beatles all summer long.
---
Epilogue
September
The social media personnel is new this year, and Quinn still can’t fully remember her name, but she’s bubbly as she yells out to the camera. “Hi everybody! We’re here with Captain Quinn Hughes who’s having a fantastic season so far!”
Quinn smiles.
“Ok,” she continues, “This will just be rapid fire questions. Are you ready!”
Quinn nods.
“Ok, what’s your go to after game snack?”
“Bananas” He’s not sure why he said it, but it’s the first thing that came to mind.
“What’s your next vacation spot?”
“Greece” Trevor already booked their tickets for next summer. Quinn worked through his first (negative) thoughts of will we still be together by then.
“Who’s your favorite NHL player?”
“Zegras” Quinn does’t even think about it.
“Who’s your least favorite NHL player?”
“Zegras” Quinn smiles.
She laughs before asking the next question, “If you had to switch places with another teammate, who would you pick? And you can’t say Zegras, he’s not a teammate.”
Quinn blushes, “Nah, it’s Demko all the way.”
“Really? Are you interested in goaltending?”
“It might be a nice challenge. It’s only for a day, right?”
She laughs, “You’re right! Well that’s all the time we have, thank you Quinn Hughes for your time. Hope this season brings a lot of more wins our way, yeah?”
Quinn nods, “Yeah, thank you. We hope so.”
Jack makes fun of him when the video comes out, but Luke thinks it’s sweet that Quinn can only think of Trevor.
Trevor texts him, love me or hate me, you can only think about me.
Quinn’s reply reads, you and Demko
Trevor calls him to yell, “I’ll take Demko down, Quinny! Don’t make me fight him.”
Quinn knows he shouldn’t find this endearing, but he still smiles into the phone. “I’ve got the night off, want to hear which name I moan when I cum?”
He hears a loud noise and Trevor cursing from a distance, probably dropped his phone.
“Quinn!” Trevor shouts. “I’m out with the guys!”
Quinn laughs, “Oh are you?” He absolutely knew. “I guess I’ll call Demko!”
The last thing he hears when he’s hanging up the phone is Trevor cursing him out.
He spends his night going over old photos and videos of him and Trevor, because apparently he’s now a big sap who does things like keep a photo album for when he misses Trevor.
He gets a text sometime later of a picture of Trevor making a ridiculous face with his hair in all directions, clearly drunk. For your spank bank he adds.
Quinn hates how he feels fond instead of annoyed or embarrassed. He adds the picture to his Trevor folder, regardless.
---
December
There’s no secret santa this year, thank fucking christ, but Quinn is still struggling to buy presents to be shipped to his family and to Trevor.
He’s on the phone with Trevor a couple of weeks before Christmas, trying to find out what Trevor will get him so he can get ideas of what to send him in return.
“I don’t know,” Trevor says, “I feel like I got you so many presents last year, it’s your turn to send me some. I might take this year off.”
Quinn scoffs, mostly because this does not help him choose an appropriate gift for him. “You can’t take our first official Christmas off!”
Trevor laughs, “You’re right but I’m still not telling you what I already got for you for Christmas.”
“Stop showing off,” Quinn mumbles, “Just because you’re ready for Christmas while the rest of us struggle.”
“C’mon baby ,” Trevor only calls him that when he’s making fun of him. His go to actual sweet pet name is usually Quinny or Love, or any other funny phrase he heard that week. “You love my presents. I even gave you good birthday gifts!”
He flushes, remembering a specific gift delivered to him the week before his birthday, a photo album with suggestive pictures of Trevor sent to him directly from Aneheim through Fedex Express shipping.
Quinn still can’t believe Trevor didn’t die from the anxiety of having those kind of pictures out in some Fedex truck, driving up the continent in days.
Couldn’t be Quinn.
“Yeah, you certainly take the risks I would never take.” Quinn says drily.
Trevor laughs, “Listen, you can’t get on my level so don’t even try to. You know I would love anything you give me for Christmas!:
Quinn knows this but he still feels bad for not giving Trevor great gifts like he deserves.
“Tell you what,” Trevor continues, “If you Facetime me all Christmas, I will consider that a win. Best Christmas present.”
Quinn scoffs, “We were going to do that anyway.”
“We were?”
There’s a part of Quinn’s heart that breaks any time Trevor acts or says something like he’s surprised Quinn likes him. He knows Trevor isn’t doing it on purpose, most of the time he thinks Trevor doesn’t even realize it, but Quinn picks up on the excitement and disbelief in Trevor’s voice.
“Of course we were,” Quinn says softly, “why wouldn’t I want to spend Christmas with my boyfriend.”
Trevor laughs, “Ew, I can’t believe you called me your boyfriend, that’s embarrassing.”
Quinn knows Trevor is trying to deflect, to make joke so he doesn’t have to talk about why he didn’t think they’d Facetime on Christmas, but he lets it pass.
“Last time I call you my boyfriend, I guess.” Quinn mumbles. It’s true they never really put a title to it. They haven’t really told anyone enough to have to put a name to it.
Their siblings know they’re together because they found out after seeing them make out. Some of Quinn’s teammates like Elias know about it because the time they played against each other, they picked up on the fact that Quinn and Trevor went off together after the game.
Quinn still hasn’t told his parents. Not because he doesn’t want to, because Lord knows keeping it a secret from his mom is giving him so much anxiety, (he’s stopped calling Ellen as much because of it), but because he doesn’t even know how he would go about it.
Does he come out first then wait a couple of days and tell them about Trevor? Does he tell them immediately with the coming out? Does he skip the coming out all together and talk to them about Trevor? Will his mom be upset at him?
Will his dad say they have to break up because if things go wrong, he loses his “adopted fourth son” Trevor?
Needless to say, it’s not that Quinn doesn’t want to tell his parents, it’s that even thinking about it leaves him with crippling anxiety, he can’t even form any words.
So they’ve never used the word boyfriend, and according to Trevor’s reaction, he won’t again.
“No, no” Trevor says, “No take backs. Now you have to keep calling me your boyfriend.”
Quinn smiles, “And what will you call me?”
Trevor hums, “I guess that depends on what kind of present you give me for Christmas.”
“How about a mug?” Quinn asks.
Trevor’s laugh erases all the anxiety he felt before this phone call. All the stress about the perfect gift, how his parents will take the news, if Trevor would ever want to come out and what would happen if Quinn doesn’t want to, if Quinn does come out and what would happen to them, if Jack would lose his best friend, if Quinn would lose his.
All the thoughts that circulate his mind at all hours pause for a second, and Quinn smiles.
“I will take anything you want to give me, Quinny Love.” Trevor’s voice sounds fond.
---
The End
(Quinn finds himself wanting to give Trevor a ring for Christmas)