"Um, is someone like Mark really necessary?" Quinn asked, desperate to talk about anything but his past. Ezra blinked, then turned an accusing look towards Leo.
"Leo, you already took him to meet Mark?" He asked accusingly and Leo raised his hands.
"I thought it would be good for him to know that Mark was there. He was asking the kinds of questions that might mean he’d need a Mark in his life, and I want him to be safe and happy." Leo said. Quinn couldn’t follow his line or reasoning, while Dorian and Ezra looked at Quinn with new eyes.
"The kinds of-Leo, you just brought him here. He’s going to be confused if you introduce him to Mark right away." Ezra said and Leo shrugged, sitting down at the table the two men had been sitting at.
It was then that Quinn realised that they were not alone. Several other tables had people sitting at them, sitting on others, but it was calm, peaceful. This was a rest room in a sense, and the people were listening in on their conversation, but mostly focusing on their own relationships.
Quinn’s face warmed.
"Mark helps prep people." Leo said and Quinn turned his attention back to him, finally letting go of Ezra’s hand. "If they’re new to bottoming, I always suggest that they go to Mark. He’s skillful, honest, and kind. He’s got good hands, and no one has left his room with any complaints. He’s not an employee, but he doesn’t really interact with others outside of the prep room. He gets off on helping others." Leo explained. Quinn blinked.
"I’m not a beginner." Quinn said bluntly. Noah groaned, turning and yanked a chair from another table and sat down next to Leo.
"Yeah?" He said dryly. "I’m aware." Quinn flushed as he shot a glare towards Noah who simply shrugged. The three other men glanced between them, clearly interested in the story and Quinn’s face burned.
"Noah...picked me up and helped clean me up when things were called off." Quinn mumbled, knowing that if he didn’t give them that much information after Noah stirred the pot, things could get worse. "He’s...seen me at my worst, truly." Quinn was sure he could light a fire with how warm he was.
"Oh Quinnie, he didn’t even help you clean up?" Leo asked, sounding heartbroken. Quinn swallowed thickly.
"No, he was never that considerate." Quinn said. Objectively, that was just the truth. Quinn had just been blinded before now. Ezra looked horrified, while Dorian looked pissed.
"Need me to beat him up for you?" He asked and Quinn laughed, loudly.
"I would prefer you to not even know who he is, honestly. You’ll think less of me." Quinn said and Leo frowned.
"No we wouldn’t." He said and Noah scoffed, his arms crossed.
"Don’t say that. I love Quinn, but fuck I wanted to shake some sense into him when he told me who he was getting involved with. I didn’t try to change his mind because he’s as stubborn as a damn mule, but fuck. Anyone would be better." Quinn glared at him. Noah didn’t have high opinions of a lot of people, but there were some that he was known to hate.
Michel Baxter was one of them, and damnit, it wasn’t like Quinn’s relationship with him when they were kids was unknown.
"Noah Duncan, shut your damn mouth." Quinn growled and Noah shrugged wordlessly. It was too late, however, since Quinn could see how the cogs in the others’ heads were spinning. It was only a matter of time before Leo, the most connected out of the group, connected the dots.
"No!" He gasped, a hand flying to his mouth. "Quinnie, no!" Noah smirked when Leo spun, checking to see if he was right. From the smug, annoyed look in Noah’s eyes, Leo knew he was right. He spun back to Quinn, reaching for him and taking both of his hands in his own. "You poor, sweet thing! How in the world did that happen? Did he blackmail you?" He asked and Noah scoffed.
"Quinn had a crush on him. Can you believe that?" Quinn kicked Noah.
"Shut! Up! I was a child then." Quinn hissed but Noah snorted.
"What? So child you slept with him? Please, Quinn, how many times did I tell you he wasn’t worth shit on the bottom of your shoe?" Quinn frowned, his face scrunching together and Ezra gasped, connecting the dots.
"Are you serious? Him? What in the world did you see in him?" Ezra asked. Dorian still hadn’t caught on, which told Quinn that he wasn’t as involved in the same scenes as the others. Good for him.
Quinn, panicked and flustered, answered maybe a bit too honestly.
"His dick." Quinn said, before he gasped and tugged at his hands, trying to cover his mouth and take a step back. However, Leo’s grip tightened as his eyes widened in shock. Noah burst out laughing, and Dorian let out a strangled noise. Quinn closed his eyes, embarrassment flooding him. "Forget that, please." He begged and Leo snorted. His whole body began to vibrate as he began to laugh, forcing Quinn to shake along with him.
"There is no way in hell I am forgetting that." Leo muttered. "Well, at least I know he’s not a waste of space where it matters, at least, but Quinnie, I promise you, you’ll forget about that tonight." Leo’s words were soft, sweet, and almost made Quinn believe him.
"You will." Noah added, and Quinn snapped his eyes open, jerking his head towards his best friend.
"How the hell do you know that for certain?" He demanded, directing his anger and confusion towards the man who was making it worse. Noah smirked.
"Hate to break it to you, Quinnie, but pretty sure that he’s just average for a dominant alpha. You’ve never seen my erect cock before, but you’ve seen me soft. Do you honestly think I’m smaller than him? That Leo would be?" Noah asked and Quinn blinked, startled at the line of thought that Noah was going.
"I, uh, d-don’t think about those kinds of things." Quinn muttered, and Noah rolled his eyes.
"Don’t be holier than thou with me. Where are we right now, Quinnie? We’re at a sex party. You don’t need to put on airs here. Just enjoy yourself for once." Noah muttered, grumpy, and Quinn had no idea what to say in response to that.
He didn’t need to.
A soft, tinkling sound filled the air and shortly after, the lights began to dim. Leo let out a low chuckle.
"Ah yes, we were getting close to the time where everything starts." Leo mused, smiling up at Quinn where he still held both of his arms. "Now, you are well and truly in it, Mr. Rivers. Like Noah said, I do hope you enjoy yourself tonight." He said, smiling up at him. "And forget about that stain, Michel Baxter." Dorian gasped at the reveal while Quinn firmed his lips into a thin line and groaned.
"Noah Duncan, you are dead to me." Quinn muttered and Noah scoffed.
"There is no way you mean that. I drove us here." Noah said.
"I’ll take a taxi back." Quinn muttered.
"Your parents like me." It was a low blow, but exactly the kind of thing that Noah would say. Quinn wanted to flip him off, but since Leo was holding onto his hands, he couldn’t.
"Here, let me help." Dorian said and Quinn watched as Dorian thrust a large middle finger towards Noah. Quinn grinned, turning towards Dorian.
"Thank you." Quinn said and Dorian blushed.
"No problem. I tend to be able to sense when someone wants to give someone else a middle finger. You just ask, and I’m happy to oblige." He offered shyly and Quinn chuckled.
"You can pretty much just always flip Noah off from this point on then." Quinn said warmly and Dorian flushed more.
"Understood." He said gruffly and Leo laughed.
"You’ve already won over Dorian, Quinnie. That was quick. I thought he was going to put up more of a fight, but that doesn’t seem to be the case." Leo teased and Dorian huffed.
"I mean, look at him! He’s cute, why the hell would I even resist? Plus, I could pick him up with one hand and snuggle him against my chest and he isn’t scared of me." Quinn blinked at Dorian’s gruff words while Leo and Erza were smiling.
"Scared of you? Why would I be scared of you?" Quinn asked, genuinely confused and Ezra chuckled.
"He’s bigger than most other dominant alphas, Quinnie, so even some betas balk at being intimate with him. Plus, our dear Dory is big all over." Ezra hinted. Quinn blushed.
"Well, that’s their loss, isn’t it?" Quinn argued and Leo really laughed at that.
"Careful, or he might just sweep you up and hog you for the rest of the day." Leo joked. Quinn glanced at Dorian, his flushed face, and found it rather endearing on the bigger man.
"So, how does this whole shindig even begin?" Noah asked, interrupting the moment. The others turned to look at him, and Quinn was glad that Noah had asked, not him.
"Well, that depends on who is asking. For the most part, when the lights dim and the chime sounds, people undress." Leo said, his eyes sliding to Quinn. Quinn could feel the heat behind his gaze, and that of the other two men with him.
"And then?" Noah asked, acting as the snarky mouthpiece to Quinn’s inner thoughts.
"Then, you do what comes natural." Leo said, his thumbs carefully, slowly rubbing circles in the skin of Quinn’s inner arms. Quinn shivered. Quinn felt his body warm up, his pulse quickening, and his throat closing.
The way that the trio was looking at him was...was making it rather clear that all of them weren’t hiding their attraction to him. Quinn was a little confused that these three were attracted to him, but Noah’s sigh drew his attention.
"You should go put your book away, Ezra. I don’t think you’ll be getting much reading done after this." He said, sliding a knowing look towards Quinn. Quinn flinched. Noah knew exactly what might happen, but instead of being angry or anything similar, he looked...relieved. For Quinn’s sake.
Quinn’s heart throbbed. How the hell did he get such a good friend like him?