ugly side
I took your palm and read it clearly Explaining every line
Pairing: Quinn Hughes/reader (gn) Word count: 1.47k Warnings/content: alcohol, tooth rotting fluff, cursing a/n: even though it's my birthday, here's a little gift from me to my followers <3
The warmth of the tequila shot travels from the back of your throat, down to your chest, and then setting into place in the middle of your stomach, feeling like a fire burning there.
Your friends, Jack and Aly, both nudge you from opposite sides, which just makes you giggle. Jack had been trying to set you up with his older brother for months now, and Aly was fully on board to make it happen at this party the brothers were throwing to celebrate the summer.
“Look,” he rests his arm on one of your shoulders, “I’m just saying, you would be perfect for each other! Both of you are kinda weird and a little annoying— hey!”
You continue to poke his ribs as he frowns.
“Don’t be mean, Jack,” Aly tells him, “but you’re partly right. They would be perfect. Especially with work taking you to Vancouver.”
“It’s not a sure thing,” you remind her, “two other people are up for the position.”
“And you’re better than both of them, babes! Right, Jack?”
“Sure,” he shrugs, “can you please go talk to Quinny now? I bet Luke you two would talk before the party was over.”
“I mean, I did say hi already.”
“Not what I mean! Go!”
You roll your eyes, but he pushes you gently towards the other end of the makeshift bar they had made in a rush.
“H-hey, Quinn!”
The older Hughes brother looks up from pouring a shot and gives you a wide smile. “Hey! Just the girl I was looking for!”
“Me?”
“Yeah, Aly told me you’re up for a job in Vancouver. And you didn’t tell me?”
With a laugh, you shake your head, “it’s not a guarantee. The other two candidates are a great fit, too.”
“I’m sure, but they’re not you.” His ears and cheeks tinge pink and he quickly looks back down to the shot, “um. Do… did you want one?”
You nod and he pours a second. You clink your neon green plastic cup to his and then hit the bar with the bottom of it before taking it.
The fire in your belly grows, as does your confidence.
“Wanna go sit somewhere a bit more quiet?”
He grins widely, “yeah, I’d like that. Want a drink?”
You look to the big tub of ice and find a seltzer and he grabs a beer before leading you to a quiet corner of the party.
Quinn talks to you about his city and tells you he’d be your tour guide if you end up moving there. The conversation flows easily, and you find yourself getting distracted by the way his fingers pick at the label of his beer.
“You okay?”
“Hm?” You notice that he definitely noticed you staring at his long digits, “oh. Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about the job and…”
“And what?”
You bite your lip as you think of an excuse, “have you ever had your palm read?”
He blinks a couple of times, clearly confused, “no.”
You reach out and he furrows his eyebrows, but holds his right hand out, resting it in your hand.
“For men, your right hand is going to be what you’ve gathered through life,” you tell him, struggling to remember everything you were taught at a sleepover years ago.
“Oh yeah?”
“There’s the heart line,” you trace a finger along the top line, then move to the next softly, “the headline,” and move again to the one closest to the thumb, “the lifeline, and,” you drag your finger down the faintest line causing a tickle that makes his fingers twitch, “this would be your fate line. Not everyone has it.”
“What’s it mean?”
You bring his hand closer, relishing in the feeling of his warm skin and calloused fingers. “Well, yours is pretty faint, but it looks like it starts down here and crosses your lifeline. That means you’re surrounded with support by family and friends.”
He giggles and your heart jumps at the wonderful treat of the sound, like a reward to your tipsy ears. “Well, duh, I have a great support system.”
You look up to smile at him, “yeah! This is what you’ve gathered, remember? You got all this support in your life.”
He narrows his eyes, and you smile wider at him before looking back down.
“Your life line,” you trace over it again, “is obviously about health and vitality. You point at a small circle in the line, “that signifies injury. And that makes sense for you, you hockey player.”
“It’s two for two, I’ll give it that much,” he laughs.
“You’ve also got some smaller lines around it which can be interpreted as extra vitality and health, but your main one runs close to the thumb which means you’re tired a lot.”
Quinn shakes his head, “are you sure this is accurate?”
“Shh,” you tell him before touching his head line. You study it silently for a moment, recalling the information, “yours is pretty straight. You think realistically and more logically. I don’t see any crosses or breaks, so it’s not giving me too much to work with, honestly.”
“My hand apologizes.”
You laugh, possibly too loudly, as your head throws back. A blush spreads across his face again as he watches you.
“You said there’s a heart line?” He prompts gently, “what does mine say?”
“Oh, now you believe in it?”
He waits for you to make solid eye contact, “I believe you. Tell me more.”
You truthfully don’t want to finish it. You want to sit there and hold his hand for hours more. Instead, you look back down at it.
“You have a good one. You fall in love easily, and you have no trouble expressing emotions.”
“I have some trouble,” he admits.
You let go of his hand, but he takes yours instead.
“Can I read your palm?”
“Quinn, you don’t know how.”
“Lemme try,” he says, looking down at it. He’s silent as he traces the lines, featherlight and sending a shiver down your spine. “Hm.”
“Hm?”
“Sh, I’m reading.”
You laugh, rolling your eyes. For a few more moments, he continues and you watch. His dark hair falls forward a bit so you can’t see his full face. But you can’t look away.
You’d always thought Jack’s brother was handsome but right now, it was overwhelming. You can suddenly smell his cologne more clearly than you could before. Shifting your body closer, you look at your palm too, and notice he’s not even tracing the lines.
“Quinn?”
“Yes?”
“What’s it say?”
He grins as he looks up at you, “it says you’re getting that job in Vancouver. That’s your fate line.”
“Oh yeah? What’s my lifeline say?”
“Great support system. Good friends, big changes coming up. Your head line shows that you’re smart. Way too smart to think that I’m any good at this.”
You laugh again, loudly and with your whole body.
“I like making you laugh,” he says quietly, “you’re pretty when you laugh and smile. You’re always pretty, I mean.”
“You think so?”
He nods, “your heart line… that one’s hard to read. Cause I may just be seeing things, but it seems to say that you’re missing a hockey player in your life.”
“I see Jack almost every day,” you tease.
His lips quirk up into a smile, “yeah, but he’s part of your life line. Those good friends.”
“He is a good friend.”
“He’s a great friend and a good brother, he’s trying to set us up.”
Your face warms as you speak, “you know he’s doing that?”
“He wasn’t very subtle when he pushed you over. Or when he wouldn’t stop talking about you possibly moving up north.” Quinn ducks his head, “he’s been hyping you up to me for a year. I had let it slip that you looked gorgeous when you went as his plus one to that charity event the Devs did.”
“Are you kidding?” You laugh, shaking your head, “I told him that I thought you were cute. He could have just said something, the asshole.”
“Well, I wasn’t sure what you thought cause he said I had an ugly side and that made me feel like you weren’t interested.”
You roll your eyes, “we should kick his ass. I told him everyone has an ugly side. It’s just everyone’s flaws or weird quirks. So I asked what yours was.”
“What’s Jack’s ugly side?”
“Inability to keep things between us,” you grumble.
Quinn laughs, “yeah, that’s him.”
He slides his hand to thread his fingers between yours, squeezing gently before you let go.
“I’ll be right back,” you tell him, “I’m gonna use the restroom.”
“And beat up Jack?”
“That’s a bonus,” you grin, leaning closer.
He leans to meet your face. “Can I kiss you?”
