Page 154 of Cohesion

Xena gracefully hopped up onto the bed and settled next to Will. Peyton lifted Persephone up next to her. She immediately curled beside Xena.

“Me,” Jericho said.

“It was nice,” Peyton said. “I thought you said you played piano?”

“I do. Better than I play guitar. Sebastian could probably teach me a thing or two.”

“Will you play for us?” Will asked, looking at Sebastian.

“Yeah, Seb, will you play for us?” Jericho asked, flipping the guitar and holding it out to him.

Sebastian hesitated as he reached for it. He slid his hand over the body and up the neck. He turned it in his arms and shifted, crossing his legs so he could rest it on his knees. He played a random chord before pressing his hand down and stopping the strings’ vibrations. He turned his head, locked eyes with Quinn and smiled.God, that smile. It undid Quinn every time. Time and frequency would never lessen its impact.

“Here, take it,” Sebastian said.

“That’s not a good idea,” Quinn said, hands up in protest. They might be musically inclined; he most definitely wasn’t. Whatever they were, he was the opposite.

“I taught you how to play,” Sebastian cajoled, twisting around.

“You taught me ‘Happy Birthday,’ and it was the worst attempt ever made in the history of attempts. A worse attempt has never been done.” It wasn’t an exaggeration.

Sebastian laughed. “I can’t argue with that. Even screeching cats sound better.”

“Thanks,” Quinn said dryly. “You didn’t have to agree quite so fast.” He accepted the guitar and tried to hold it like Sebastian had. He was sure he looked as awkward as he felt. Music had never come naturally to him. He couldn’t be good at everything, and his talents lay elsewhere.

Sebastian moved, settling behind Quinn, a solid warm presence at his back. Quinn would have been happy just leaning there and letting that heat soak into him. Close his eyes and fall asleep to the steady thump of Sebastian’s heart. Sebastian could play with them sitting like this, and he could drift away listening to it.

“Okay, fingers here… and here,” Sebastian said, moving Quinn’s arms into position.

Peyton and Will moved over to Jericho, and the three of them curled up together to watch, Will absently carding his fingers through their hair. Prime positioning.

Xena moved to Peyton’s feet, Persephone following her.

Quinn tried the first few notes that Sebastian showed him and somehow managed to make it sound like something was dying. Xena’s ears twitched. Quinn laughed loudly and dropped his head back on Sebastian’s shoulder. Sebastian kissed his forehead. “I warned you, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did,” Sebastian murmured. “It was perfect.”

“It was not perfect,” Quinn said, another laugh bubbling out of him. “This is humiliating.”

“It’s nice to know you aren’t good at everything,” Peyton said teasingly, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled wide. He lifted a knee and rested his elbow on it. “Guess youarehuman like the rest of us. Riley was right.”

“Don’t ever tell him that,” Sebastian said.

“I guess so,” Quinn said. Had that ever been in doubt? He was an extremely flawed person and could only be humbled and grateful that they looked at him and saw more good than bad. None of them were perfect. It’s what made each of them special and why they all fit together. Their missing pieces slotted together to make a whole. That wouldn’t work if they all had smooth, round edges.

“Keep playing for us,” Will said, halfway between awake and asleep, eyes partly closed as he lounged. He settled further back against Jericho’s chest, with Peyton between his legs.

Warmth flooded Quinn like a hug. Being surrounded by four men who had so quickly become everything to him was a dream. When he’d lost Sebastian eight years ago, he hadn’t thought he would ever find the same level of happiness ever again. He had truly believed that he’d had his chance at his forever, and he’d destroyed any hope of keeping it. Everything that had happened afterward was a punishment that he’d rightly deserved.

Yet somehow, he’d found his way here. Back into Sebastian’s arms along with three other men that they were building something truly special with.

Even if he could somehow turn back time and fix what had gone wrong, he wasn’t sure that he would. It had led them here, and he couldn’t regret the path they’d taken if this was the outcome.

Weeks ago, Will had said, “We’re just waiting for you.” He’d been wrong. Quinn had been waiting forthem.

Five words.

Five men.

A pentagon.

Symmetry.

Perfection.