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Anna tried to relax while she waited in the living room of Quinn’s apartment, but she was nervous as hell. After a couple of months thinking about this over and over, she finally figured that she could approach Quinn with a new dynamic in their relationship so to speak. She's never really felt comfortable with anyone else to talk about things like this. Granted, she hasn't been in a relationship for a couple of years, so it was understandable. Looking at her wrist watch for the umpteenth time, Anna sighed and pulled out the small printed packet that she had typed up. This would be fine, it would go well and then she would laugh about it later.



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Quinn wrapped up his call as fast as he could. He felt so bad on inviting Anna over, he had even made sure his housekeeper was out for the night just in case, but almost as soon as they stepped through his apartment door his work phone rang. This was unusual since his time off was fairly sacred. He only got a call when s**t was hitting the fan, or it was set up beforehand. This was the s**t kind of call. So with an apology he left Anna in his living room, letting her know she was welcome to anything in his kitchen, before heading to his room to take the call.

It hadn’t taken as long as it could have but it was still a good fifteen-twenty minutes before he rejoined her in the living room. “Sorry about that. I hope I didn’t leave you for too long.” His eyes drifted over the space as he tried to imagine how Anna saw the open planned apartment. The living space took up most of the main area, a simple wooden dining table and carpet marking the division between the kitchen and living room. The whole space was a mix of colors and textures. Mostly in the muted earth tones but there were pops of other tones, a few jewel shades and the like. Comfort was what he was going for, not magazine perfection. Honestly he had originally planned to go with a design company to furnish the place but when he saw their idea of basically iron and white leather he just bulked. It would be a cold day in hell before he did appearance over functionality and comfort.

“Did you want a glass of wine or something? I don’t have a very large selection but I do have a very good red if you want some.”



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Would wine help her nerves? Anna thought about it then nodded, “Sure, and don't apologize, I know how work can be~” Maybe after this they could try to find something to help them both relax for the night, that is if Quinn was comfortable with her staying over. She looked around his home while waiting for him to come back with the wine, taking in the openness and color of it all. Which if she were to be honest, this was the exact opposite of what the CEO of a big company would decorate and furnish their home. It was something that was almost close to what she would have for her home, without some of the disorganization and more knick knacks.

Anna started to relax a bit as she continued to observe and take in the fact that Quinn was just like everyone else (something that she's learned over the course of their relationship), and suddenly the thing she came up with for their talk in the first place didn't seem as daunting as it did when she walked in through the door. Once Quinn came back with the wine, she thanked him and took a sip, followed by a deep breath afterwards. “O-Okay….I wanted to…Propose something to you. Erm.” This was a bit hard still and she was embarrassed as hell right now. What if he thought she was a freak or something?

Okay Anna, just say what you practiced.

“I…Quinn I wanted to add something to our relationship. I wrote up something for you to read but I will also talk about things verbally in terms of what I'm asking.” She gave him the paper, trying not to twiddle her thumbs or look down with embarrassment. “T-This would be something that is always on going unless one of us needs a break or a check-in. Ive done alot of research and thought off and on over the years. I just couldn’t find someone I wanted to do this with…Until now at least.” She gave him a soft smile, “I would like to know if this would be something that interests you? If not that is perfectly fine, I don't mind continuing as we are.”



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Quinn smiled and quickly grabbed a fresh bottle. Soon he was carrying over two glasses of the very nice red. He handed it over before taking his own seat, settling back into the plush couch. He was taking a sip when Anna started conversing. Since she was so anxious and serious he immediately leaned forward and settled more on the edge of the couch. It made it easier for him to put his glass down on the coffee table and take the offered paper.

He started to read it, a confused look on his face as he continued. “I mean, I’m not opposed to it but is there something wrong with our relationship as it is right now? Like, is there something missing or what? If it’s just to try something new that’s ok but if there is something wrong I would prefer we address that first.” Quinn looked at Anna, earnest in his thoughts of working through any problems they had like adults. He didn’t want to be blindsided by a relationship ever again.



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“What?! No! I just…” There was nothing wrong with their relationship as it was currently, or at least not that she could think of. “O-Our relationship is fine!” She signed and looked down at her lap. “Actually….” She shook her head, “W-We can just forget it. I'm sorry I brought it up, I didn't mean to cause any confusion.”



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He breathed a sigh of relief before he got up and came over to kneel in front of Anna. He had already put down the paper so his hands were free to take her hands in his and made sure he was squarely in her view, even though it wasn’t exactly what he would call a comfortable position. “Nope. You brought it up and now we are going to talk about it.” He freed one hand to tilt her chin up so his neck could be at a more natural angle, “I’m sorry if my past relationship trauma snuck in and added to your anxiety regarding this matter. It was not my intent. I was dumped without any warning or explanation so when you suggested we should change something I was worried that the same thing might happen.” Quinn leaned forward so their foreheads were touching, he was so close, he could have kissed her with barely any movement on his part.

“I just didn’t want to lose you without trying to work it out first.” He didn’t want to let her go… but if they tried their best to remain together and it still didn’t work, he wouldn’t hold her back. But if that paper was what she wanted, not them fixing something that was broken, well… he always was a little bossy. He was willing to try it if she was, although they would have to come up with some ground rules. Something for them both to follow. That would be his only condition before he fully agreed to try.



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Anna let out a sigh of relief, reaching her hands up to cup his face gently. “You know I wouldn't do that to you. If it's not going to work I will tell you.” They were two grown a** adults, the least they could do was talk about things if they were actually not working out. “You're not going to lose me, I'm quite happy where I am.” What’s on the paper was meant to enhance what they currently had, not to act as something that was supposed to fix something that never needed fixing in the first place.

“I'm sorry I'm so nervous, I've just never done this before. You're the first person I've felt comfortable with.” she hoped that was enough of an answer to assure him that she wasn't going anywhere.



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Quinn grinned and leaned forward just enough to peck her on the lips, “Good. We are grown a** adults so we should act like it and talk things out.” He leaned back and sat on his heels, still at her knees but not so in her face. “So on that note, let's discuss this idea you had. I am glad you feel comfortable enough with me to propose this plan but for both of our sakes lets get some ground rules and safeties in place.” He had grown a lot in the last few decades, no longer was he a kid who had a tendency to hop fences or break-and-enter, at least not so much any more… There was a time and a place for rules, and this was one of them.

Feelings were not something he wanted to hurt, at least not hers. So this conversation was one of those necessary steps before going any further. “Do you want me to go get a notebook or something so we can write everything down?”



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Anna smiled at the quick peck she was given, which helped her to relax further. she was still a bit nervous, but not so much that she practically wanted to leap out of her skin. Even hearing Quinn swearing made her giggle and relax a little just because he hardly ever swears in front of her at least. It's….Nice. safety and rules was something she had been thinking about her entire drive here. She knew what her hard no's were as well as a safeword for herself. But she did consider the fact that Quinn might need one as well. This type of proposal is constant, meaning breaks and check-ups would need to happen in between.

“Yes, a notepad would be perfect.” Then they could work on a contract so to speak with the proper wording needed for this sort of arrangement.



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With a nod Quinn climbed to his feet, he placed a hand on her head for a second before he ducked back into his bedroom and after going through his desk, returned with two yellow legal pads and pens. This way they could both write down things before combining them into something more substantial. He suspected this conversation might take a bit, which was fine with him, better to get this all hashed out so there weren’t any real questions left hanging. Not for something like this.