(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Cinnamon Roll ♥ (cinnamonrollq) wrote in chances_rpg, @ 2023-04-14 00:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | !gamewideplot, ~ex the magicians: eliot waugh |
Quentin really was trying to get settled into his new life. It wasn't what he expected it would be, but it was at least something. Spending some time with baby Hope was nice, but it all felt awkward to him. He felt completely out of place with the people he loved, no matter what he did and he hated it. He knew it was probably all in his head, but he couldn't quite shake the feeling.
So he decided he would just have to power through, at least with the one person who was actively trying to help him through this. IT had been why he'd reached out in the first place. He hadn't expected Eliot to ask him to hang out or anything, but it had happened. He still thought it was insanely random, and he wasn't the Quentin who should be going with him, but he'd agreed to go. He left a note for Julia and Lily that he was going to be out then dropped his pen and notepad into his bag along with his keys and phone before heading out the door.
He gave the address to the Uber driver then sat back and looked up the shelter on his phone to see what they had available. He had no idea what exactly Eliot was looking for, but it didn't hurt to get an idea of what was available. He had not expected to find so many other animals on the adoption list. The rabbits were way too cute! By the time he got there, he'd begun to wonder if he might get one for himself. It might be helpful.
To be honest Eliot hadn't expected Quentin to say yes to going to the animal shelter. He was struggling. It hurt him to know that, to feel so utter helpless and unable to do anything to make things better. However, he wanted to take Q reaching out to wish him a happy Easter as a good sign. At least he hoped it was.
On his lunch break he'd gone to a pet supply store to get everything he needed having decided he wanted a kitten. Everything but the carrier and soft blanket had been taken back to the apartment. Thank everything for portals.
Eliot stood just inside the entrance of the shelter when the uber carrying Quentin pulled up and he got out. He tried to shake off any nerves as he took a deep breath. "Hey," he smiled, greeting Quentin. "Thanks for doing this with me." It was good to see him. "Shall we?" He opened the door then walked in behind Quentin.
A young woman came up to them once they were further inside, asking if she could help them. "I'm here to adopt a kitten," Eliot answered. The woman took them to the section where the cats were and excused herself after saying she would give them some time to look them over.
Quentin climbed out of the car and walked up to Eliot. He pushed his hair back off his forehead and tucked it behind his ear. "Hey." It took him a moment to actually approach the man. Mostly because his instinct was to hug him, but he wasn't sure he should, so he didn't. HE just gave him his goofy grin then walked up to the door. "What are friends for?"
Once they were inside he let Eliot do the talking. They were here for his kitten after all. As much as Quentin wanted to get himself one, maybe a pet was not a good impulse buy. He followed along then just melted at all the cats mewing at them. "Oh my gods! They are so freaking cute!" He was immediately drawn to one of the floofiest orange cats in the enclosure. "He's so fluffy!!"
"For helping pick out an adorable kitten of course." Eliot was still smiling as he began looking at the cats and kittens. Laughter escaped him when Quentin proclaimed how cute they were. He paused in front of the cage that held an orange fluffy cat. "Well, you two have pretty hair in common." And he had no shame or guilt at saying that because it was true.
Eliot slowly moved further down. "They're all so cute." How was going to pick just one? A tiger striped kitten came to the front and Eliot stuck a finger to pet it, but the little guy sniffed it then tried to suck on it. "Awww, you are precious." He was a possibility. Moving further down toward the end he came upon a black kitten who ran up to the front of the cage and hissed at him when he went to pet him then immediately started rubbing against his fingers. Look at you trying to be all tough, but really you're just a teddy bear.It was love at first sight. "Q, come see this one. He's adorable."
"They have bunnies around here somewhere too." He reached out to let the fluffy cat sniff at him then scritched him a little behind the ears. "Sorry my friend, I'd have to check with Julia before bringing you to her apartment." Even as he said it he realised that it wasn't home to him yet. He shook his head and pushed that bit of self-pity to the side when Eliot called him over.
Quentin stepped over to where the man stood with a little black kitten purring and rubbing against his fingers. "They are all adorable, El." But that black one was really cute. He moved so he was standing right beside him, hips touching without realising it. "I think he likes you though."
Bunnies. Memories of Fillory drifted through his mind for a few moments. "You think so?" He liked him and knew he was the one he wanted to adopt.
"He's a she," the young woman said moving to stand on the other side of Eliot. "She was brought in two weeks ago with a litter of four. The others have been adopted already. She does seem to have taken to you which is good. Would you like to her hold her?" Eliot replied with an enthusiastic yes then set the carrier down. The moment she was in his arms she started purring as he pet and played with her. She was so tiny, so cute. "She's the one." He looked up. "I'd like to adopt her. You have to hold her, Q." He handed the kitten over smiling as she continued to purr.
"Wonderful! Lets put her back for now and have you fill out the paper work and then she'll be ready to go to her forever home." The kitten was put back and Eliot went to do all the necessary paper work.
He would have to come back to look at the bunnies. Maybe. He was too busy watching Eliot fall in love with a kitten to worry about getting himself a pet. He just smiled and looked up with the woman showed back up. "OH...well she is adorable."
He was caught offguard and he didn't have time to protest before he had a tiny purring ball of fluffy black kitten tucked against his arm. Ok, she was really cute, and maybe a little bit perfect. He was already picturing her curled up sleeping on his lap while he read.
And with that thought his little happy bubble burst. Luckily the kitten was just as quickly taken back from him and he had a moment to compose his face again before he looked up at Eliot. "What will you name her?" He looked back at her then walked back over to eye the orange floof he had noticed first.
"She likes you," Eliot smiled. He was being drawn away to do the paper work, but he stopped to answer Quentin. "I don't know yet, but I'm sure it will come to me. Maybe you can help me think up a name."
Eliot anxiously and excitedly filled out the paper then paid the fee. "Congratulations on becoming a pet parent." Eliot beamed as they walked back over to the cage and the kitten was taken out and handed to him. "Hello, darling," he cooed at here, "are you ready to go home?" He dropped a kiss on her forehead then asked Q to open the carrier. He carefully placed her inside on the soft fluffy blanket. "Can you call us an uber, Q? I can't wait to get her home."
"Yeah she does." Not that it really mattered. Well, maybe she would like the other Quentin too then. He didn't say anything about a name for her, but of course now he was thinking of names for a kitten that he wouldn't really get to see much. Whatever. It didn't matter.
When Eliot walked back over to collect the kitten, Quentin did what every other millennial would do: He pulled out his phone and took a picture to document the moment. Okay he took a couple of them then sent them off to Eliot so he'd have them. He tucked his phone away again and helped get the kitten into the carrier. "How about Regina? Or Bastet..." He shook his head and shut the carrier door once she was settled in it. "Nah that's too obvious.
He pulled his phone out again and opened up the app to get their ride ordered. "Should be about ten minute wait." He tucked his phone back into his bag and looked up at Eliot. "How about Lofn? She's a Norse deity I forget for what, but she's a lesser known one." He shrugged. "I just keep running gods and goddess names in my head trying to think of one that would fit."
"You are such a super nerd with all those name choices," he chuckled giving Quentin a nudge with his arm. "Thanks for getting the uber." They walked to the exit and stood waiting. "You'll have to come over and see her and play with her." There was no tension or worry in saying those words. He was fucking tired of walking on egg shells around everyone. He would live his life how he wanted.
He was just over everything. Quentin aka Q2 was here and he wasn't going to act like he was a stranger because others might get upset or whatever. Eliot couldn't do that anymore or he'd get an ulcer at this rate. "Do you want to go out to dinner or maybe coffee on Friday after I get off work? We could just get coffee and walk around the city a while."
Quentin just shrugged. "Gotta live up to my reputation." He smiled up at him and shrugged. "We'll see." He wasn't sure how comfortable he would be going to the other Quentin's home. Especially if he was there. He knew they would run into each other eventually, but he kinda wanted to put that off as long as possible.
The next question came out of nowhere. Well maybe not exactly nowhere, they were friends and he hadn't actually seen Eliot in a very long time. And he missed his friend so he nodded. "That sounds fun." He wasn't sure if they should have just coffee or dinner too, but mostly the walking around the city sounded like the best part of the night to him.
"You're welcome to come over anytime. I mean that." He wasn't going to sate the obvious. Part of him didn't understand why the Q's couldn't just suck it up and stop acting like they were. Mind you, he understood why they did and they were allowed to feel it, but he felt so caught in the middle and he wouldn't do that anymore.
"Excellent. You let me know which you want to do by Friday. We can meet out in the lobby at say seven." It would be nice to spend more time with Quentin and get out and about.
Quentin looked up at him and wanted to say something to explain why he couldn't just show up anytime. But he just couldn't think of any reason other than he simply did not want to meet the other Quentin, and he was certain the other Quentin didn't want to meet him. So he just nodded. "I know you do, El."
Before he could say anything else his phone went off to alert them that their ride was there. He looked in at the kitten. "You ready to go see your new home, little one?" He laughed softly when she tried to puff up at him. "Oh come on! You got your soft blankie and everything." He stood up and moved to open the door for Eliot and the carrier. Once he was out, Q ran ahead of him to get the car door for him.
Once they were all inside he verified the address with the driver and settled back into his seat. He didn't say anything for a bit then looked over at him. "I want you to pick a place you like and take me there." He paused a moment then added. "For dinner."
Eliot laughed at the kitten arching. "She still likes you, but is just trying to be tough. Or maybe is a little scared. Don't worry cutie, everything is going to be okay. I promise. We'll get you home and settled in with everything." He may have gone a little overboard with all the cat accessories he bought, but he wanted to be prepared.
Inside the car he cooed at the kitten again, smiling when she tried to suck on his finger again and rubbed against it. He turned to look at Quentin and smiled. "I can do that. I haven't really been to any of the nicer restaurants, but I'll find one I'd like to try and text you when I do." Part of him was surprised that the other wanted to have dinner, but he was happy. He'd really wanted things to start evening out for everyone.
Eliot looked out the window and realized it had started to rain. Oh. There was a good chance another vision could happen. Did Q know about the vision thing aka the current weirdness going on? He glanced over at him. Even making a dash inside, they'd still get wet.
“She’s had a very exciting half hour and she’s probably a little overwhelmed.” That word always brought that movie to mind. You can be overwhelmed and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed? He knew the odds were, yes at one point the word was used, but it wasn’t now. And Jesus he really was a super nerd, wasn’t he? He turned his attention back to Eliot and the kitten because that was better than his own weird thoughts at the moment.
He shook his head at the mention of fancy places. “Oh, that’s fine! I really don’t want anything fancy. That place that made a really good hoagie that you had once would be great.” He smiled then turned to look out the window again. Weird that it was raining really only when they got closer to the Station. Was it some weird magical rain? He couldn’t remember hearing anything about it, but that didn’t really mean anything. He could have easily missed it even if something was said on the net.
As the car slowed to let them off he looked over. “Do you want my jacket to cover the carrier so she doesn’t get wet?” It wasn’t raining that hard, and they wouldn’t have very far to walk so he could stand to be without it for those few seconds. Once the car came to a complete stop he shouldered his bag again and climbed out, careful to keep his bag closed as he felt the rain hitting his skin. At least it wasn’t a very cold rain. He hated those.
While he stood waiting for Eliot to climb out with the kitten his vision shifted and for a second or so it was as if he were watching a movie or TV show. Only he was in it, and he was laying on a couch. It wasn’t the one in Julia’s apartment so he had no idea where this was taking place, but he could clearly see himself with a book open on his chest like he’d fallen asleep reading. Common enough occurrence in his world so he wasn’t concerned until he saw a streak of black leap from the edge of his field of view and land squarely on his stomach then meow indignantly at him. This caused vision him to wake up and sit up just a bit before laughing. “OH So sorry, my little princess. I know I’m terrible for ignoring you.” The next thing that happened startled him a bit, though it really shouldn’t have. A very clearly fresh from sleep Eliot walked into view holding a cup of coffee for him. At least he’d put pants on, Quentin wasn’t sure he was up for full Monty Eliot even just in dreamscape/vision form.
And then just as suddenly as it had come, his vision cleared up again and he was looking at Eliot, holding the carrier with the black kitten securely inside. Ok, that was just too weird. He wasn’t sure if he should say anything so he just waited for Eliot to get out of the car then shut the door and walked toward the building to get in out of the rain.
"She really has. Poor thing. I bet she'll sleep good tonight." Hopefully Quentin would love her as much as Eliot did. He'd sent him a text he was at the shelter looking for a kitten to adopt.
"I'm more than okay with it not being fancy. Maybe an outdoor cafe." He'd find something. The offer of his jacket to cover the carrier so the kitten wouldn't get wet was sweet and he accepted. Once Q had the jacket off he carefully draped it over the carrier.
Eliot took a deep breath when the car came to stop. He got out of the car and it was only moments later a vision began. He stood in the kitchen making two cups of coffee. Obviously he;d just woken up. He was in pajama bottoms, shirtless and his hair was sticking up. Serious case of bedhead. He moved into the living room and saw Quentin in the couch, book on his chest and Luna meowing at him. "Sorry if she woke you." He sat on the couch and handed one of the mugs to Q.
Just like before the scene faded away and the sounds of the city filtered back in. That had definitely been Q2. He moved to get into the building motioning for Quentin to follow with his free hand. "This rain," he said shaking his once they were in the lobby. He wasn't sure he should share what he'd see. "Thank you for coming with me to help pick her out." He paused. "I'll have your jacket cleaned and get it back to you."
“It’s the time of year for it at least.” So either he was the only one to have a moment, or Eliot didn’t want to bring it up either. Quentin could go with either one of those as he followed the man into the building. He ran his fingers through his hair to get most of the wetness from it and smiled up at him. “Yeah, of course. You can just bring it with you on Friday. I might actually need it then.”
He wondered for a moment if he should hug him or not, but ultimately decided against it. He just held a hand up and waved at the man. “I’m gonna take the stairs. See you Friday. Seven o’clock. Right here.” He pointed to the spot they were standing then paused another moment as if debating with himself but finally, he just nodded and turned on his heel to walk to the stairs. He opened the door and disappeared into the stairwell without another look. He had a lot to think about if that vision was to be believed.