We might want to sort this out. (Quinn)

[notmadeofglass]

A few months had passed since Tina's boyfriend decided to confess to not being who he had said he was while simultaneously insisting that his feelings (and their relationship) were real. She had decided to go on vacation, then came back to New York for a bit, then decided that going back to the villa in Tuscany just would be uncomfortable and awkward. Steve-Quinn was welcome to stay as long as he wanted, though. She was mad, not going to make someone homeless.

She'd simmered down considerably, though, and decided to attempt to figure out where things were with them. She had no expectations, though she was pretty sure no Italian hookers had been involved. She left a message with Steve-Quinn asking him to meet her at a restaurant in New York. She knew he was in the city. She'd checked the customs computers.

Comments

[i_can_hit_that]

Quinn Barton was, indeed, back in New York. He was glad to be free after spending the last couple of months in a Turkish prison. He had to call Veronika and hope she hadn't thrown him off the team. He didn't like thinking about the circumstances surrounding it (which will be explored soon!)

He'd gone back to the villa in Tuscany but it didn't feel like home without Tina. Every day they were together he knew he should have told her sooner. He should have told her at the start of things and let her choose. But he wanted to be someone other than Quinn Barton so much that he made up "Steve Clinton" and let it ride.

When he finally got back to the Symkarian Embassy he found a message waiting for him. When he read it he almost didn't believe it.

Tina wanted to meet.

Months ago, when he told her who he was she'd been angry. Very angry. She hadn't returned his calls. He'd believed that they'd get back together when she calmed down but when the days turned to weeks and the weeks became months, Quinn wondered if Tina would ever forgive him. By now, he'd given up the idea of getting back together.

Now she wanted to see him. He dialed her number into his phone and sent a text.

Hi. Just got home from out of town. Did you still want to meet?

[notmadeofglass]

Yep. I'm still at Four and Twenty Black Birds. 439 3rd Ave in Brooklyn.

Well he responded. There was that.

[i_can_hit_that]

Give me twenty minutes. I'm on the way.


Quinn walked in about twenty-five minutes later (damned traffic) and looked over toward Tina. He could hear her heartbeat long before he walked in. He'd memorized the sound long ago in case the worst ever happened.

"Hi." he said, offering her a smile. "You look great."

Quinn wore his usual blue-jeans and black t-shirt with work boots. Normal "Steve" wear.

[notmadeofglass]

Tina was dressed considerably nicer than when he last saw her, which was saying something since she always dressed nice. A $10,000 handbag hung daintily off her chair. Her hair had been expertly highlighted.

"You look good, too. Traffic bad?"

[i_can_hit_that]

"Thanks. Yeah, traffic was a little bad but being in a cab is heaven compared to the last couple of months. How have you been?" he asked.

[notmadeofglass]

"I've been decent. What have you been up to?"

[i_can_hit_that]

"I've been okay. I just got out of prison...in Turkey. They thought I was someone else and it took a couple of months straighten out." Quinn said, trying to laugh it off.

He paused.

"I missed you."

[notmadeofglass]

"What the hell? You were in a Turkish prison? Those places are hellholes. Are you okay? How are you just laughing that off? That's insane. Jesus."

She shook her head.

"I missed you but that is beside the point."

[i_can_hit_that]

"Because if I don't laugh, I'll think about how bad it was and then I'll go nuts. So I laugh." Quinn said.

Pause.

"Is it really beside the point? Isn't that why we're here or did I miss something?"

[notmadeofglass]

"You just disclosed you were in a Turkish prison. Anything is beside the point when you're talking about Turkish prison.

[i_can_hit_that]

"Tina, you're focusing on the wrong part of the story. I got out. That's the important part." Quinn said.

"Or do you want details?" he asked.

[notmadeofglass]

"My boyfriend with the identity crisis ended up in a Turkish prison. I'd like to know precisely whose entire digital life to destroy. Details. Now."

[i_can_hit_that]

Quinn couldn't help a smile. She referred to him as her boyfriend. And she was getting protective.

"Okay, I can't talk about the whole thing...but it was a Madripoor crime syndicate called the Four Winds. I personally thought they watched too much Conan the Barbarian but they thought I was some guy who stole money from them. The guy in the surveillance film didn't even look like me." he said.

"The roughed me up a little and knocked me out. I woke up in a jail cell. So yeah. There was that."

The Following Night

[i_can_hit_that]

Quinn sent Tina a text the following night with the address to a Chipotle restaurant.

I thought our first date was a good place to start.

Re: The Following Night

[notmadeofglass]

Tina was surprised at the choice, but it was a good surprise. She met him at the appointed time at the restaurant. Or rather, she was a little early and beat him there.

Re: The Following Night

[i_can_hit_that]

Quinn arrived on time and smiled when he saw Tina. Tonight, he'd dressed up a bit in an off-the-rack purple dress shirt and black slacks. He even slicked back his hair a bit to appear a little more polished.

"Hi. You were the first person to get me to like Chipotle burritos. I thought we could come here to start over."

Re: The Following Night

[notmadeofglass]

"This definitely beats the jeans and t-shirt you had going on on our actual first date. You clean up okay, did you know that?" She smiled.

Re: The Following Night

[i_can_hit_that]

"Yeah, looking back on that I realize it wasn't my finest moment. I'm going to remember that on our dates from now on." Quinn said.

Re: The Following Night

[notmadeofglass]

"Good. Because you looked a little sketch then. Not tonight, though. Tonight you're doing well. Good work. So are we eating here?"

Re: The Following Night

[i_can_hit_that]

"I looked sketch? Ouch! So mean." he laughed, guiding her to a table.

"Yes, we'll eat here. Then I thought maybe you'd like to go for a walk and talk like we used to." he said.

Re: The Following Night

[notmadeofglass]

"We can do that. I'm not going to pretend that I'm not worried that we won't have a lot to talk about, but we can do that."

Re: The Following Night

[i_can_hit_that]

"Oh, I'm not worried. I'd like you to ask me questions about me and what I do. I'll tell you whatever I can. I just want to spend time with you like we used to and hope that we're not so far apart that we can't find our way back." Quinn said.

Re: The Following Night

[notmadeofglass]

"Do I get to reserve the right to harm you should you not tell me the entire truth?"

Re: The Following Night

[i_can_hit_that]

"There are some things I really can't tell you because they're top secret but I will tell you as much as I can without putting you or anyone else in danger. Is that fair?" Quinn asked.

Re: The Following Night

[notmadeofglass]

"I'm not totally sure how I feel about the idea of secrets at this point even when you have a valid reason for it. Protecting me was the excuse you used previously to not tell me the truth about who you were."