This was too much. She was teasing him way too much. Quinn was feeling especially vulnerable because he hadn’t engaged in any sexual activities for a while now, and more especially because the person teasing him was Darcy herself, whom he had not properly seen for that same period, not just some girl whose face he wouldn’t remember, or some detached body he would only recall certain parts of. Darcy was right here, beautiful, naked, and wet; her lips were just barely touching his, and her eyes were looking right into his, wondering whether or not he would succumb to her temptations.

“Do you?” He replied, eyeing her lips lusciously.

“I do.” She whispered in a seductive tone. The switch inside him had been flipped. Before she knew it, Quinn was kissing her, hard. She closed her eyes and surrendered to the simultaneously aggressive and tender touch of his lips. She felt his body advance towards her, and she instinctively backed away, falling back to her bed, with Quinn looming on top of her. The waves of his eyes caressed all of her body with droplets of love and lust, and she could not help but cover her intimate parts under the weight of his all-absorbing oceans.

“Don’t worry,” he said reassuringly, removing her hand from between her thighs and bringing it to his lips, kissing it softly. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. I just want to look at you.”

Darcy nodded coyly, not sure what to say. Her heart was beating like crazy at the sight of this side of Quinn. All her confidence from earlier had vanished into thin air. He leaned his face close to hers, his arms caging her wrists.

“W-wait.” She mumbled just before he went in for another kiss. Quinn instantly stopped in his tracks.

“What is it? I was just going to kiss you.”

Darcy averted her eyes for a moment, pensive. “You know what this means right?” She asked in a low voice.

“That we feel the same way?” Quinn was a little puzzled.

“Yes but not that!” She seemed frustrated. Quinn released her wrists and sat up. “Then what is it?” He said in a warm voice.

“Do I have to say it?” Darcy frowned at him.

“I think so, since I am not sure what you mean.”

Darcy sent him an embarrassed glare, then sat up herself, covering her body with her knees. “This kind of thing, you won’t do it with anyone else, right?”

Quinn’s eyes flickered in surprise before he cracked out a broken smile. “Darcy, just how shitty of a person do you think I am?”

“I don’t know, okay? You and I are very different, so maybe your concept of love is different from mine.”

Quinn sighed. Then, realizing that this matter needed proper clarification, he picked up Darcy’s bathrobe and placed it on her shoulders. Her cheeks reddened like a pair of blooming roses. He sat on the bed corner next to her.

“Darcy, I understand that you think that I would just sleep around with anyone. Honestly, up until that day, I did.”

Darcy buried her face in her knees, not wanting him to see the hurt expression on her face. “Because, up until then, I did not know what it meant to be in love. I just went with the flow of things, you know? and I never remember anything once I woke up. Then I fell for you when I felt that I shouldn’t, so I craved that forgetfulness. I drank and smoked until I threw up just so I could lose myself, and then I wouldn’t think of you anymore. I didn’t think it was wrong of me because I didn’t know what else to do. It was only when you caught me in the act that I realized how pathetically I had been living. And_”

Quinn wished she would look at him, but he didn’t want to force her to. He leaned his head on hers as a reminder that he was here with her. Her toes curled adorably. Quinn smiled. “And, Darcy, who apparently brushed my heartfelt confession all away, I love you. I won’t ever try to deny that anymore. I will treasure this feeling no matter what happens. Obviously, since this somehow needs to be said, that also means that I won’t touch anyone else.”

A curious hazel eye peeked at him. “That’s so cliché.” Her voice was muffled. Quinn laughed. “Yeah, I guess it is for a reason. When you’re in love, you want to dedicate all of yourself to that loved one, something I realized pretty late.”

“It’s... it’s not entirely your fault, actually. I think that if I were you and thought that the guy I shouldn’t like in the first place would never like me back, I would certainly do my best to forget all about him and my feelings for him. Though, in my case, I would do it through reading and writing, not through getting fucked up.”

“Wait... Did you already like me when you saw that?” Quinn’s voice was sorrowful.

“Yeah.”

“... I am the worst.” Quinn lifted his head from hers only to bury it back in his fingers. “I can’t even imagine what you must have felt.”

“Yeah, it was pretty terrible. I- I actually considered doing it back.” She declared, and Quinn looked back at her in alarm.

“What?”

“I thought that maybe if I... No, never mind, let’s not talk about it.”

“Aha...” Quinn’s lips drew a melancholic smile. “Was it with Joe?” He inquired bitterly.

“No, Quinn, I didn’t do it, idiot. Hear me out properly.” She flicked his forehead gently. “I just said I considered it. And seriously, Joe of all people?”

“... You seemed pretty close with him.” Quinn sighed in relief.

“Dude, he’s the private detective I hired. “ Darcy chuckled, softly placing Quinn’s hair behind his ear. He shuddered under her touch. “I didn’t take you for the jealous type, though.”

“Let’s not go there...” He then took her hand in his. “Darcy. Don’t ever do things like that out of revenge. Yes it would hurt me, it would literally destroy me, actually. But, for your own sake, don’t give something as precious as your body to someone you don’t love just to hurt me. It’s not worth it.”

Darcy leaned closer to him and placed her hand on his leg. He flinched as it was a little too close to his inner thigh. “Then what about your body? How come you can easily give it away? I remember the girl saying that you went limp halfway... And you told me that you wouldn’t even enjoy it unless you’re drunk shitless... how is that any different from allowing yourself to be raped? If I did it, at least I would be conscious enough to say no and yes.” Darcy climbed on his lap and placed both her hands on his cheeks. Quinn seemed to melt entirely between her fingers, his features instantly relaxing to an expression of a baby-like wholesomeness. He felt complete when she touched him. “But you took even that option away from yourself. Just like you feel that my body is precious, I feel that yours is as well. So don’t ever surrender yourself to strangers like that.”

Quinn wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his head on her chest. He closed his eyes like a child finally feeling safe within his mother’s loving embrace.

“I love you Darcy. Thank you so much for saying this.”

Darcy hugged his head and planted a soft peck on his scalp. “You’re such an idiot, Quinn. From now on, let’s treasure each other and ourselves.”

“Yeah.”