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Chapter Text

Five minutes was all Quentin could allow himself with everything going on. Alice was recovering upstairs, though no one had any answers as to what happened. Penny explained all he knew and now they just had to wait for Julia and Dean Fogg to get there and hopefully, someone would know what to do next.

Poppy was running around the cottage in excitement. It had been years since she had been there and, to her credit, once Alice was out of danger, went off to see what had changed. Margo was trying to find a spot to hide the fairy babies. Quentin was still not sure of the plan her and Eliot had come up with, but he trusted them.

Quentin had left Eliot and Penny with Alice, no longer able to look at her. It felt like it had been so long since they had last seen each other. A few weeks in reality but it felt like a lifetime. Everything felt like a lifetime ago. His brain was still adjusting to the memories of his other life and with this one altogether, time got away from him.

He thought back to the last time they saw each other. They had been awkward and he had been mad at her when she left. Quentin felt the pangs of guilt that still lingered inside him when he thought of her. It wasn’t as strong, Eliot had helped ease some of that over the years, but it was something that would never completely fade. Her lifeless face only reminded him of that so he excused himself quickly to have these five minutes.

He found himself standing in front of the clock they had traveled through. It was his first time seeing it since the memories of where it had taken him were back. Thinking back on his life; this clock had been so important to him.

It appeared on the cover of the first Fillroy book. When he was a kid, he would stare at the golden clock and trace his finger around it. Every time he came in contact with a grandfather clock, he needed to make sure it wasn’t this one. It felt like his whole life was leading to him finding this clock. Then that day, his Yale interview, there it was. Julia hadn’t believed him, and he even felt silly for thinking it too, but it showed up on that day. The day he went to Brakebills. The day he learned he was a Magician. The day everything fell right into place. The day he met Eliot.

Eliot had always told him that he didn’t remember the Fillory books, but Quentin knew now that wasn’t true. Eliot wasn’t the pure fanboy like he was, but he too had read those books and that clock had impacted him also. He told Quentin that why he had chosen Horomancy as his elective, he had been fascinated with clocks and it all led back to this exact one.

It made Quentin’s brain hurt when he thought too much about their lifelong allure of this clock, much like if he thought too much about anything that had happened. Somewhere inside him though, it felt like fate. That made any confusion clear and just a warm feeling of right take its place.

He remembered when Eliot had come to him for the button after he got banished from Fillory. The guilt that rushed through him at having to tell him that he had given the button away didn't last long. Once Eliot saw Alice, he understood quickly and they set at finding another way home.

That’s when it came back. The clock. They tracked it down and turned out Umber had it They both stood their ground that day. Quentin stood up for himself and Fillory. Telling off a God without a second thought. Eliot made a passionate plea for the clock. Declaring Fillory his home so strongly that Quentin had been surprised. He knew Eliot loved it there, but the conviction in his voice as he spoke to Umber had caught him off guard. His throat went dry and something inside him fluttered at hearing Eliot fight this way for their home.

The clock then lead them on the greatest journey of their lives. Quentin was still processing the whole ordeal, probably would be for the rest of his life, but he knew that he would never go back and change it. He would never regret the years they had spent together

Quentin hugged his arms to his chest, suddenly feeling the need to search out Eliot. They hadn’t had much time for a reunion when they met in the woods with Margo and Poppy. Neither had told Margo the full story of what had happened just yet. They wanted to work out their new relationship alone before sharing with their friends. The week he had been at sea was the longest that had gone without seeing each other since they returned and suddenly he was feeling the separation.

“There you are.” Came a soft and voice behind him. Familiar arms wrapped around him from behind and he was pulled back to rest against Eliot’s chest. “I could practically hear you thinking from upstairs.” Eliot nuzzled his face against the side of Quentin’s head just above his ear, pressing a soft kiss as he did.

“Yeah,” Quentin leaned back into him, closing his eyes and letting himself take in the moment. “I needed a minute.” He turned his body and wrapped his arms around Eliot’s waist, leaning his head against Eliot's chest.

“I get it.” Eliot rested his chin on Quentin’s head. “I missed you.” Quentin couldn’t keep the smile off his face, even though it felt wrong to be this happy in the moment they were in.

“I missed you too.” He said softly. Eliot pulled back a little to study Quentin’s face. No one knew him better and he knew Eliot would find the stress of this last key all over him.

“Want to tell me about this key?”

“I will” He hugged Eliot even closer, a shiver going through him. “I promise.”

Eliot nodded, accepting that promise because they always kept their promises to each other. His hands rubbed Quentin’s back in just the way it always calmed him.

“How’s Alice?”

“No change,” Eliot sighed “Penny’s with her, I think. The key's there, but who knows.” Eliot pulled back with a smirk on his face. “He could be watching us now.” Quentin snorted and swatted at the taller man. Eliot smiled proudly for getting a smile out of a brooding Quentin.

“Yeah, well, let's give him a show” He leaned up and kissed Eliot. Softly, but full of everything he was feeling and everything he always felt for this man. Pulling back, Eliot was smiling down at him, looking more content than he had when they met earlier in the woods.

“Can you promise me something?” He found himself asking as he laid his head back to Eliot’s chest.

“For you?” Eliot smiled, “Anything.”

“If I ever set sail to someplace called The Abyss again, please come with me.” Eliot stared into his eyes with a frown. Quentin knew this look meant they would talk about this later, but then Eliot nodded and kissed his forehead.

“Ok.” They stayed in the embrace for just a few more seconds before they heard Poppy or Mago crashing around in the other room, their privacy would soon be interrupted.

“Well,” Eliot straightened himself up and slowly withdrew his hold on Quentin. “Back to the salt mines.” Quentin smiled at the old phrase they had always used and nodded.

“I guess the five minutes are up.” Stepping away from each other, they returned to their newest quest.

Chapter Text

Eliot knew it was time to go, time to get on with the next step of the quest. Keep the momentum going because they were at a stage in this where they were on a timetable. He had just told Margo that they needed to shelve their issues until this was all over because the quest was too important. The thing was, he could do that with Margo, he couldn’t do that with Quentin.

Quentin told them about the key that Poppy had found. As he talked, Eliot could see that Quentin was making a point to not look at him for too long. He told them about Benedict and Eliot felt his stomach drop.

He never would have imagined that the sweet mapmaker had struggled so much. Shame fell over him for not noticing, though he knew that before he hadn’t been the type of person to really see that in someone who wasn’t one of his closest friends. He hoped now after a lifetime he had grown and could see someone in danger before it was too late.

Then Quentin had told them he had held the key, he had faced his own “depression monster” as Poppy put it in an odd cheerful tone. Eliot’s eyes tore into Quentin willing him to make eye contact, but Quentin was just staring down at the ground now, letting Poppy explain the effects in a more scientific tone that he was sure Quentin felt took the edge off of the the actual experience for his and Margo’s benefit.

“Why would you touch a key that did that to you?” Margo asked. Eliot had the same question on the tip of his tongue, but found himself unable to say the words.

“Well..” Quentin seemed uncomfortable and now he finally looked right at Eliot. His face was begging Eliot to not get mad, shelve more away because they didn’t have the time to deal with the anger that comes with all these feelings that were swirling around them these days.

“It was my fault” Poppy spoke up. “Got him drunk, he passed out, and I put it in his hand.” She at least had the decency to look regretful about it; even if her causal tone said otherwise. Quentin shifted uncomfortably at her side and he once again dropped his gaze from Eliot’s.

“Well who the fuck do you think you are?” Margo’s anger was quick and sharp, no amounts of pleading looks from Quentin could shelve that.

“Look we don’t have time for this.” Quentin quickly intersected. “I touched it, I dealt with it, and I’m not holding it now, so it’s ok.” His eyes found their way back to Eliot again. Eliot felt like his chest was going to explode. He clenched his fists at his side and tried to breathe a little slower and not make a scene.

“Jesus,” Margo muttered, adjusting one of the bags she carried on her shoulder. “So you two and Penny are going to find this key somehow? What’s the big plan over who touches it next?”

Eliot started to tune out at this point. Quentin and Poppy had ideas of carrying the key without anyone touching it, plans of where to go to get it. All of which sounded like a bad idea to Eliot. Though in the back of his mind, he knew that if it were anyone else, even Margo, going to retrieve this key, he would agree to these plans because it was what they needed to do. But it was Quentin and he knew Quentin’s demons too well.

“Q, can I have a word?” He finally found his voice, interrupting Poppy mid-sentence.

“I don’t think there’s really much time.” Quentin stammered.

“Oh, it will be quick.” Eliot said with a sneer in his voice. He stepped forward and grabbed Quentin’s arm and dragging him away. “We’ll just be a minute.” He called over his shoulder to Margo and Poppy.

“I like your eye patch!” Poppy was saying as Eliot pulled Quentin into one of the empty bedrooms of the cottage on the first floor.

“Eliot,” Quentin started, in that tone that he used when he knew there was fight coming.

“No.” Eliot firmly said as he shut the door. “I’m speaking first.” Quentin sighed and rolled his eyes. “Do you really think I’m going to let you go out there and seek out something that will try to kill you? That’s going to tap into your darkest place, that let’s not forget, I know all about? No way in hell are you going.”

“ Let me?” Quentin asked slowly, his voice quickly reaching his most annoyed tone. “Since when did I need you to let me do anything?” Quentin crossed his arms as he spat out that question.

“Since you think it’s ok to run off to try to get a key that will make you kill yourself!” Eliot exclaimed, his voice starting to rise. “And also, that key is inside of a dragon and your quest partner ” He spat that phrase out bitterly which caused Quentin to snort and roll his eyes. “Basically roofied you with depression magic!”

“Ok Eliot, it’s a much longer explanation than that.” Quentin said holding up his hand in a defensive manner. “And I’m not here to defend her because I don’t trust her, but I could use her knowledge to help get this key so we can finish this fucking quest finally!”

“And it has to be y ou that goes to get this particular key?” Eliot crossed his arms, his heart was pounding in his chest. He could feel himself getting to the root of his anger and it was taking him to a dark place himself.

“El..” Quentin must have seen the change just as quick as it happened because suddenly, the fight flew out of him and his eyes went soft. “I’m going to be ok.”

And just like that, Eliot felt a dam breaking inside him. His eyes welled up and reached out for Quentin and pulled him in.

“Shit Q..” He muttered as he buried his face in Quentin’s hair. “What the fuck?”

“I know,” Quentin whispered, hugging him tightly. “This is new for us.”

It was new. When this whole thing had started Eliot and Quentin had just been friends. Eliot would never deny that he had developed a massive crush on Quentin from the second he had stumbled out of those bushes that fateful day, but a true friendship outside of Eliot’s flirting and innuendos quickly developed.

Eliot found himself opening up to Quentin faster than he had even with Margo. Telling him about his painful past because he couldn’t stand that alone and fearful look on his new crush. That admission opened the doors to a friendship that Eliot had never truly been able to define. He could easily say Margo was his best friend, and the closeness they shared, he shared with no one else, but getting to know Quentin in those early days had been a different experience. It was like they had met before and were catching up.

There had been snags in their friendship, most notably the emotion bottle threesome that had Eliot sure Quentin would run for the hills. That incident though only seemed to bond them more. The crush he had faded in a way, or at least it didn’t dominate Eliot’s thinking toward Quentin anymore after that. Their friendship moved into something more solid and real. Then came the mosaic.

In their other life they had been relatively safe. No beast was after them. They had magic. They had a purpose. Most importantly they each other. They didn’t need to part ways on seperate missions and wonder if the other was ok. They had lived a quiet and peaceful life and now they had suddenly been shoved back into danger and losing their safety net that had been each other. Eliot wasn’t sure if he could take if the first time they were seperated, Quentin almost died.

“We knew this was going happen.” Quentin said gently, moving his hands to rest on Eliot’s face. “We have to do what we need to do. When this is over, we can try to find our normal life again.” Eliot nodded, remembering the millions of conversations they had after becoming whatever they were. They knew that their new relationship would make things difficult if they ever made it home.

“I can’t lose you.” Eliot barely said the words. “You can’t touch that key.” Quentin just nodded and kissed him.

“I’ll do my best.” He said resting his forehead against Eliot’s. “And you do your best because I can’t…” Quentin couldn’t finish the sentence. Eliot knew his death in the other life still affected Quentin greatly. It had been the first thing he remembered and it had been a big hurdle they had to overcome in the past few weeks, one that was still not over. Seeing the fear now in Quentin’s eyes made Eliot snap out of his own fears.

“Hey,” He took a breath. “You’re right, we can do this.” Quentin seemed relieved that Eliot’s positivity was coming back and a smile came on his face.

“And, don’t worry about Poppy. I can handle her” Quentin said quickly. “And she’s not my quest partner ” Eliot chuckled.

“You make me sound jealous.” That got a look from Quentin. “Ok, so I don’t like you questing with anyone else.” They were veering dangerously close to the topic that neither knew how to address really. Life partners was the closest label they could put on themselves but they tried to stay from defining their relationship. It wasn’t them. You couldn’t box everything they felt and everything they had been through into one simple category.

“I know where I am in your heart Quentin Coldwater.” Eliot grinned as he tucked some hair behind Quentin’s ear. “You go kick some dragon ass and make that bitch carry the key.” Quentin laughed at Eliot’s turn to humor and hugged him.

“You be careful too” He said. Eliot kissed the top of Quentin’s head then pulled back to look into his eyes.

“Q, if you do hold the key,” He made sure Quentin was holding his gaze so he could fully get what Eliot was going to say. “You need to remember where you are in my heart.”

“El, I-” Eliot took Quentin’s hand and placed it over his own heart, cutting off whatever Quentin was going to say.

“I know you. I know what you struggle with, no matter how much it gets easier, it’s always there.” Quentin swallowed hard and Eliot pushed on, he needed him to hear him.

“But I know you. I know the part of you that you don’t even understand, and it’s so much stronger than any magic key could ever touch.” Quentin seemed surprised at Eliot’s words. “I believe in you Q, and I believe you will come home to me.”

Quentin’s eyes began to shine and he surged forward catching Eliot’s lips in a fierce kiss. One that deepened and filled Eliot with everything they never really knew how to put into words. They were left holding onto each other breathlessly.

“I promise I’ll be safe.” Quentin finally whispered.

“Good,” Then he grinned. “That was all I wanted you to say. You didn’t need to turn this into some emotional thing.” Quentin laughed and he shoved Eliot aside.

“Dick,” He muttered.

“Come on Q,” Eliot smiled proudly and put an arm around Quentin. “Your quest awaits.”