The Red Room was a café in a quieter part of the city that Quinn and Mack frequented. With dark wooden floors and an entrance through an alleyway, it was niche and quiet, the way the two of them liked it. The top half of the walls were covered in a red wallpaper with a repeated Victorian pattern on them, lending the café its name, while the lower half of the wall was wooden panelling on the back wall, booths on another, and the register and bar opposite them. The way the space veered to the left in an L shape afforded some privacy, and Mack took her and Quinn's regular booth there, which had a window which had a view to a secluded garden for smokers. Mack swirled her spoon around in her coffee, waiting for Quinn. Every time someone came into view, she looked up, hoping she'd see a wide tooth grin and blonde hair. But so far, everyone had just been slouching to the bathrooms which were hidden in the very back corner of the café.
She sighed and sipped her coffee out of its pristine white mug. She was going to wait for Quinn before she ordered, but the cute brunette waitress kept coming and asking if she was ready yet, so she gave in and ordered. Now every tendril of rising steam that tickled her nose smelt a bit like guilt, even though she knew Quinn wouldn't mind her ordering without her. Maybe the fact that the brunette waitress kept sneaking her glances caused the guilt to rumble in her stomach, despite the fact that Mack felt nothing for her. In any case, it was a relief when Quinn finally breezed into the café and slid into the seat opposite Mack, ordering a mocha as she went.
"So, how was work?" Mack asked as Quinn whipped her sunglasses off and lay them on the table.
"The usual. Actually, exciting, as we finished the final touches for the album for that Australian band that we've been working on for months. It's ready to hit the shelves. In a couple of weeks we're hoping to have a number one song off that album, but we'll see. As for the guys, they're ready to start touring, but their manager's not happy. They want to start in Australia, of all places, something about roots. Sentimental, you know?" Quinn rolled her eyes, smiling. Mack chuckled and sipped some more of her coffee as the brunette waitress brought Quinn's, slipping her a flirty smile as she plonked the mug in front of the blonde. Mack nodded to not be rude, as Quinn thanked her.
"I've always wanted to go to Australia," Mack murmured, shrugging. Quinn almost choked on her drink.
"What? Please tell me you're kidding. Did you know every creature there is designed to freaking kill you? Not even kidding. Have you not heard of drop bears?"
Mack rolled her eyes. "Just so you know, there's no such thing as a drop bear. And not everything there is designed to kill you. Besides, I've heard it's a great place. They have beautiful beaches and rainforests and unique animals."
"Yeah, they also have the most venomous snakes and spiders in the world, and waters infested with some sort of poisonous jellyfish. And poisonous octopus. And poisonous fish. Did I mention the most venomous spiders in the world?"
"Yes, you mentioned the venomous spiders," Mack smiled, leaning forward and kissing Quinn lightly on the lips. "But did I mention the tropical fish and colourful coral that's slowly dying because of global warming? Don't you want to see that before it disappears?"
"I'm not really fussed, to be honest," shrugged Quinn, putting her mug to her lips and gulping. Mack swatted at her with the flat of her hand and Quinn put her hands up in surrender.
"One day I'm going to book tickets, and I'm not going to tell you where we're going until we're boarding the plane," Mack threatened, pointing a finger.
"Oh god," Quinn groaned, wrinkling her nose.
"Ah, stop your moanin' and groanin'," the brunette woman demanded, poking the blonde in the arm and grinning. The two of them slipped back into sipping their coffees. The brunette waitress swaggered past, deliberately swinging her hips in time with the soft music floating out from the speakers strung to the ceiling. Mack fought the urge to roll her eyes. Hoping to give the young woman a hint, she grabbed Quinn's hand and started tracing small circles on the back of it with her forefinger. The waitress noticed and stomped back to the counter, snapping at the customer waiting to be served. Quinn was entirely oblivious to the whole affair.
"Hey, do you have any plans for the weekend? I bumped into Shelby earlier and she suggested we drop by with Damien so he and Beth can finally meet. It's been long enough, don't you think?" Mack started, looking at Quinn. The blonde shrugged, nodding.
"It's a good idea. Although Beth might be a bit of a shock to poor Damien's system. He's so quiet, you know, and she's so audacious. I hope they'll get along."
"Damien's quiet, but he's a charmer. I have no doubt Beth will wrap him around her little finger, but he's level headed enough to know to tell her to stop if she tries to push too far. Besides, it'll be good for him to have a friend outside of school."
"True. So, Saturday? Should I call Shelby and let her know we're coming?"
Mack nodded, hope and a dash of fear mingling in her stomach. Her words had come out sounding a lot more confident than she felt. Of course she hoped that the two kids would get along splendidly, but there was a part of her that feared that they wouldn't; they lived on two completely different ends of the personality spectrum, after all. But isn't it said that opposites attract? Kids usually got along well with one another. And Beth was open minded. Surely she'd coax Damien out of his shell with her loud personality. Mack chewed her lip for a moment, and thought that if things didn't work out, at least they didn't have to do it again. They'd managed all that time to go without introducing the two - surely they could continue keeping them apart if they turned out to hate each other. Still, she was hoping they'd get along.
"Stop stressing. They're kids, they'll be fine. Kids don't usually hate each other on instinct," Quinn broke into her thoughts, comforting her in exactly the way she needed. She smiled, sighing to calm her racing thoughts.
"You're right."
Mack swallowed more of her coffee, suppressing a chortle as the waitress shot the pair of them a glare as she walked past to clean a recently abandoned table, three coffee mugs and some napkins sitting on it, the tabletop peppered with grains of sugar. This time Quinn noticed, and frowned, but any words she went to say were shot down by Mack shaking her head at her.
"Don't bother. She was trying to hit on me, and now she realises I'm with you."
Quinn's eyes widened with understanding, then she broke into a wide smile.
"It's because you're gorgeous," she said sweetly, leaning over the table to kiss Mack, who giggled in response.
"Well, I try," she murmured breathlessly.
"No you don't," Quinn growled playfully. Mack grinned.
"Hm, no, I don't."
"Asshole."
"Aw, baby, don't be like that," flirted Mack, feigning hurt. But Quinn crossed her arms and looked the other way, into the small courtyard where a couple of smokers stood with cigarettes hanging from their fingers, streaming smoke. Mack folded her own arms and pouted at the blonde, who resolutely ignored her. The stubborn moment dragged on and on, until Mack found herself genuinely worried. Right up until Quinn turned back to her.
"Gotcha," she grinned, poking her tongue out of her mouth at her girlfriend.
"Bitch," Mack returned, punching Quinn lightly on the arm.
"As long as I'm you're bitch, I'm happy to be called that," she laughed. Mack rolled her eyes but her heart lifted and grew, filling her whole chest with warmth. This was why she loved being with Quinn - this lighthearted fun they could have, teasing and flirting and laughing. Maybe it wasn't always like that, because what serious relationship ever is? But at least they could fall back into their happiness, as though it were a safety net, patiently waiting and forever willing to hold them up. It was the one thing Mack could count on in her life, the only thing she was able to count on for years. Outside of Damien, Quinn was the only thing that could rescue her bad day, even if an infinite number of things could ruin it.
Sometimes Quinn retreated into herself. Sometimes both of them fell into the pattern of a typical introvert, but when it mattered, they pulled through, coming out and making bad days brighter. If Mack had to choose one person to spend her life with all over again, she'd make the same decision; she would always choose Quinn. Quinn who was her muse and her driving force, her balance and her support. Quinn who was patient and loving, and kind and strong. Quinn who would never leave her for another woman, even if it was someone she used to love.
And that was the thing; Rachel crept into Mack's thoughts so often because Quinn used to love her. She'd never admit it now, and she'd only ever mentioned it once, but Mack couldn't forget high school, how Quinn was looking at Rachel, while she was looking at Quinn, and Rachel was mooning over that Finn boy. She was Mack's biggest insecurity because she used to be her biggest threat. It was sometimes hard to consolidate the present with the past, and the fact that things weren't the same now as they used to be then. They'd all come a long way. Sitting here in this café with Quinn was something that a high school Mackenzie Laurence would never have been able to foresee. The fact that it was happening, that it happened on a regular basis was still a shock. She would fight to hold it until she had no breath left in her body.
Suddenly leaning forward, she pulled Quinn by the back of her head into a kiss, long and passionate and representative of everything she couldn't put into words, for fear of sounding inadequate. Quinn hesitated for half a second, taken aback by the suddenness of the kiss, before throwing herself into it, returning the passion in an equal measure as it came. Mack knotted her fingers into the back of Quinn's hair, pulling her closer, kissing her harder, until she had to pull back for lack of air.
"Wow," muttered Quinn groggily and Mack smiled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the brunette waitress standing with her mouth hanging open.