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.