The best thing Eliot could say about this new place he'd been pulled into was that Quentin was there. He didn't know what he would have done if he'd lost him again. Other than that there wasn't much this place had going for it. It reminded him too much of his upbringing. Only far less advanced. There were no modern conveniences to be seen. Thank god, they were magicians and could still use their magic.
"Hey, beautiful, are you ready to go out and have a look at the houses." That term was used loosely. Most were dilapidated and/or in need of repairs. It certainly wouldn't be like house or apartment hunting elsewhere. Eliot reached for Quentin's hand and laced their fingers together. "How are you doing?" He had many concerns about being in a place like this with nothing modern including access to doctors and medicines.
Quentin was unsure why the universe had chosen to bounce them from home to Vallo to here, where ever here was. But he was thankful that at least this time it had brought him and Eliot together. It would have been so much worse if it had only been one or the other. He knew if he had been alone, he would have spent too much time worried about Eliot, and vice versa. He didn't want to focus on that though. It wouldn't do them any good.
"Not exactly how I envisioned us going house hunting but..." He smiled and took Eliot's hand then let the man lead the way. He shrugged at the question. "I'm okay. Cold. Wish we'd known so I could have brought more than this sweater with me. Probably wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so wet here." As they walked he looked around to get a better lay of the land so to speak. He eyed the church in the distance and shook his head. "SO how big of a place do we want? And how much work are we willing to put into it?" He would be happy with a one room but very solidly built home that didn't need much work so they could get moved into their own space right away.
"I know." Eliot wished it was under better circumstances and in a different place. He moved to slip his arm around Quentin and draw him closer when he said he was cold. "We'll find a place and if nothing else get a fire going to warm you up." The thought of Q getting sick here with even a cold didn't sit well with him. There probably wasn't even the simplest of medicines anywhere to be found.
Talk of the type of house they wanted did lift his spirits some. "Well, nothing too small. I want some room....space. I'd like at least two bedrooms. Whatever that means in a place like this." As they walked past a few houses some repairs needed were more obvious than others. "I'm willing to put in as much work as we need to to start making it ours." He smiled and turned to press a kiss to Quentin's temple.
"What about this one?" It appeared larger than others. Repair work on the roof was needed, but many of the homes were in need of that. They walked up to the front door, opened it and stepped inside. A lone chair sat in the corner. It was plain to see the place was quite dusty and dirty. Cobwebs everywhere. "Oh, look honey, birds nests are in here." Eliot wrinkled his nose because what that also meant was evident. The Four seasons this place was not.
Quentin wrapped his arm around Eliot's waist and smiled. "Warmer already." He glanced up at the mention of two bedrooms and shook his head. He didn't think they needed that much space, but he didn't bother trying to argue the point. Eliot had a point anyway.
"Some of these houses don't look too bad." He walked along with him and eyed some of the larger homes. Definitely too much for just the two of them, and he knew he did not want to have anyone else living with them. Not unless they absolutely had to and he hoped it would never come to that.
"Doesn't look too bad from the outside. Let's see what it looks like on the inside." He walked inside then moved away to look around. In moving he disturbed some dust and feathers which immediately triggered a series of sneezes. "SO gross." He moved out of the main room and down the hall toward the other rooms. He walked back out. "There's a bed in one of the rooms and one of the closets has some bedding that doesn't look too damaged. Just going to take a lot of cleaning to get this place liveable."
Eliot made a face again when Quentin sneezed. "Gross is an understatement." It lacked the color, warmth and modernness of the cottage back home. How were they let alone everyone else going to make it here?
"Is it a bed big enough for two magicians? Better yet is it even comfortable or sturdy?" He walked down the hallway and looked in the first room. It was empty, but very dirty. In the second he found the bed and walked over to it. He gave the frame a kick. It didn't fall apart. Eliot made his way back to Quentin. "So do you like this or want to keep looking?"
There was a lot of work to be done on the house to make it liveable, but it looked solid enough. Most of the roof was intact too, and he thought that was a good thing. "I think it is." He had no idea what size the bed was, but he thought they could sleep together comfortably, even if they didn't want to snuggle.
"I guess we'll just have to test it to see if it is comfortable." HE just wished it was clean. He watched Eliot assess the bed and nodded. "I think this one well enough, but I think we should look at a couple others. See if we find one where the insides are better than this one." He doubted they would find one, but it was worth looking.
The thought of laying in that bed as it was wasn't very comforting. They could air out the mattress and wash down the frame, but would that be enough? What about linens? This was all too much and made him long for the warmth and modern conveniences of their cottage. "I guess it will have to do." Everything would have to do.
"Okay, beautiful, lets go look at a few more." He didn't think they'd all that different, but maybe they'd find some type of useful items in them. He took Quentin's hand and they left, making their way to another house.
It wasn't very different. Dirty, empty and in need of the a good cleaning. He looked around as they walked through then stopped. "Q, look!" Eliot walked over to a shelf and picked up two dusty glass bottles with corks. "They need cleaning, but we could keep water in them." It wasn't much, but it was something.
Quentin didn't expect they would find a better house than the first one, but maybe they'd find a better bed, or more furniture, or more useful items they could haul back to the other house.
HE walked on with Eliot and then into the second house. Slightly less dirty. He walked behind him and looked up at the ceiling. "Fewer holes in the roof here." He smiled at the discovery. "Let me go check the bedrooms see what I can find."
Quentin made his way out of the main room and glanced into what would pass for a kitchen. A table that might hold up to some basic use. Promising. He poked his head into each of the bedrooms. "The bedrooms are about the same, except both rooms have a bed AND someone took the time to cover them up before they left." He was afraid to disturb the dirt and dust just yet though.
Eliot looked up at the ceiling then nodded when Quentin said he was going to check out the bedrooms. He moved about the 'kitchen' and opened a cupboard. A smile pulled on his lips. Never had he been so happy to see dishes. A few plates, some copper-looking cups, silverware and some bowls. He opened the other doors and only the last one revealed a cooking pot. He quickly scooped it up.
"Two beds? That's wonderful." He turned around and walked over to Quentin. "How about a cooking pot? And there are some dishes here. It's not much, but if there are fewer holes in the roof maybe we should stay here. We could still go scavenge some of the other houses." He sat the pot down. "What do you think?"
"Yup. Two beds." He turned and looked at Eliot with the cooking pot in his hand. "Beds and a pot to cook in? Sounds like we just hit the jackpot!" He laughed and moved to what should be the bathroom. Well, there had to be one huge drawback. No running water meant the toilet wouldn't be working, but there was a tub in there that looked like all it needed was a good cleaning.
He walked back out of the bathroom and sighed. "What I wouldn't give for running water." Sure they had magic but cooking would need water. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Eliot to hug him from behind. "But this house is in better shape than the first one, and bonus dishes. We'll see what else we can find, but I think I like this house."
"We have hit the jackpot." As much as they could here. Eliot followed Quentin and was glad to see a tub in the bathroom. It was another small plus. Carrying water to put in it would be a pain, but they could make a portal to the well or the stream and wouldn't have to walk back and forth between them and their house.
He walked back out into the main room and tried to visualize it looking better, like a real home. He hoped it would one day. He smiled and then sighed when he felt Quentin come up behind him and placed his hands over the ones on his waist. "At least we can portal to get water." He turned in Quentin's arms and kissed him. "Home sweet home it is then," he smiled.
It was a sad state of affairs when this was considered hitting the jackpot. But it was what it was, and he needed to make the best of it. HE shifted his arms so that his hands were resting on Eliot's waist. He leaned up for that kiss and smiled.
"Yes! Portals to the well, and whatever passes for a bathroom here." He leaned his head against Eliot's shoulder and sighed softly. Sure they'd picked a place but there was still so much work to be done. "So...home sweet home, just need check a few more of the buildings to see what we find?"
"I'm afraid to see what passes for a bathroom around here." Eliot hugged Quentin tight and swayed with him a little. "This place is going to be fabulous. Just wait." Not because of anything in it, but because the would make it their home.
"That's the plan. Hopefully, we'll find some more useful items." But who knew. They left and checked some more of the buildings finding a few more household items, but more importantly pieces of wood roofing that could be used to repair the hole in their roof.