Eliot happily swung his basket as they walked around the town, checking little and big spaces for Easter eggs. His basket was purple and pink. That's right, he wouldn't have it any other way. It was Easter time! Bright pastel colors were in. Of course there was matching purple and pink 'grass' in it. "This is fun. I haven't gone on an egg hunt since I was a kid." So far they had each found four eggs and could gather up to six. His prizes included a free sandwich of choice from the diner, a $15 gift card for the book shop, a free ice cream cone from a local shop and two free movie tickets. “If you have something good I like you’re totally swapping it with me for my book shop gift card.”
It was a beautiful day. The sun was bright, it wasn't too cold and there was no sign of snow anywhere. "What do you say to getting lunch once we finish finding our six eggs? I'm hungry." He'd skipped breakfast that morning.
When they’d gone to buy their Easter baskets Quentin had looked over all the more traditional looking ones but he just didn’t quite like them. Then he found a white canvas one that had a green handle and green bottom. The best part about it in his opinion was the sequined bunny on the side and the little puff tail. That was his basket. He had put some ‘grass’ in the bottom of it to hold his eggs. “Ok, but I’m waiting until we get home before I open mine. I like the anticipation.”
He stepped away to check in a planter that they were passing and pouted. “Boo!” It looked to him like someone had gotten there before them and left their finger marks when they grabbed the egg. He glanced up at the mention of lunch. “That sounds amazing. In the mood for something specific?”
“What’s the fun in waiting until we’re home?” Eliot grinned and bumped the other with his hip. “It’s not like this place is swarming with unique shops. I wish it was. God, I miss shopping in New York.” He sighed as they turned a corner then took off running. “Yesss!” He bent down and removed an egg that was sticking out of a rain gutter. “This one is definitely mine.” It was purple. “Royalty bitches.” He laughed as he made his way back to Quentin. “Okay, it’s ours. We’re royalty. I think I’ll wait to open it since someone is waiting to open all of theirs” He winked at Quentin then they carried on.
“I’m in the mood for Chinese. I’ve been craving egg rolls. Hope I’m not pregnant,” he joked, laughing out loud. He felt good despite everything that had just happened. Eliot was glad Quentin hadn’t said anything about him not wearing the collar. They would talk about things sooner or later, but for now he wanted to have some fun and enjoy their time together.
“I told you. The anticipation.” He hip bumped right back and grinned up at Eliot. It was a good day. Quentin tried not to over analyze it, but he was still wondering why things couldn’t always be this easy between them. It was just one of those things and he did his best to shove those thoughts to the back of his head for later examination. It was easy to do when Eliot was laughing and so clearly enjoying himself. The man corrected himself before Quentin had the chance to remind him that they were both royalty. “That’s right. But you could always open it if you really wanted to. You are the High King after all.” He walked on with him, scanning the area for a good hiding spot for an egg.
“You know anything is possible. Who knows what kind of weird magic is being thrown around in this place.” He was clearly just kidding with him, but there was that teeny, tiny bit of his mind that wondered if the magic here could do that to a person. He really hoped not. That would really be a step too far for him to cope with. “Chinese sounds good though. I know I’ve seen a couple of places when I’ve been out and about.”
He thought for a moment. “I think there’s one three blocks that way.” He nodded in that direction and turned at the next corner. He looked up and shook his head. “Now why would they put one way up there?” He pointed out an egg balanced on the ledge of a building. “You’d have to be able to fly, or be like ten feet tall to reach that one.”
"You're such a dork," he teased, still smiling. Eliot wasn't overthinking things. He couldn't. It would make him crazy and more likely than not lead him down a spiraling path. He was trying. That wasn't easy some days. Many days. He didn't like it here. It wasn't home. Even with all the shit that happened back home, it was what he knew, his friends were there and yeah, life was fucked up in a lot of ways, but it was home. No, he was not thinking about the whole having to stay in Fillory for the rest of his life thing. "I'll be a good boy and wait." The words came out of his mouth without thought. Fuck. He was going to ignore it. Yep. Like he never said it.
"Two things. If I ever get married I'm going to be a total bridezilla. Everyone knows it. Second, if I could get pregnant, I'd be a thousand times worse. Everyone also knows that. Swollen ankles, back aches, weird cravings, my stomach growing and growing, not being able to wear my fashionable clothes, not being comfortable, baby laying on my bladder...I'd be insufferable by the end. It wouldn't be pretty, Q."
He followed Quentin's gaze and saw the egg and couldn't help laughing. "Or be able to levitate." He moved closer to the building then rose up off the ground to easily grab the egg. "Your egg, your Majesty," Eliot said with a flourish and a bow. He was all smiles when he straightened up. "That's five a piece. One more and we can eat. Daddy's hungry."
“I never claimed to be otherwise.” He arched a brow at the choice of words but after a quick glance at Eliot, he decided not to say anything to it. He just bumped his elbow against the man’s side. It was a little acknowledgement that he had heard it, and well it was no big deal. Even if on the inside it was a big deal and brought to mind how happy Eliot had looked when they didn’t remember anything. Maybe they’d get there again. Maybe they wouldn’t. Either way, they still had each other.
Quentin chose not to point out that the man was already married and looked up at him. “But you would look so cute sitting on the couch with a big round belly and a jar of pickles balanced on it while I gave you a foot rub.” Yes he was totally assuming he would be the father of Eliot’s hypothetical baby. He took the egg and looked it over then set it into his basket. “I’m sure we’ll find two more on the way to the restaurant.” At least he hoped there would be two more between the two points.
As they walked he kept scanning for an egg and his eye was drawn to something reflecting the light. He was sure he was about to find a can or something. Quentin Coldwater was not the kind of guy who found the special eggs on an egg hunt. But he stepped over to it and leaned down to pick it up. “Holy shit.” He stood up and held up the gold egg with pink dots. “Look what I found!”
"True story and we all love you for it." If you took the nerd out of Quentin he wouldn't be Quentin. That simply wasn't acceptable. He honestly wouldn't want the man any other way. "I noticed you said nothing about when I get married. I know I'm married, but that wasn't really my choice." It was, but it wasn't. He'd taken one for the team, for magic. Mostly for magic.
Eliot gave Quentin the eye. "Replace the pickles with chocolate and pizza. Maybe some sushi." It wasn't lost on him that his friend was assuming he was the father of this hypothetical baby. Eliot wasn't sure how he felt about that. It was strange to think about on a few levels. "You or whoever better be giving me foot rubs, back rubs and tell me I'm pretty." He was certain he would need to hear that if any of this were possible.
Eliot's thoughts wandered as they started walking again. However, they were interrupted by his friend and he paused to see what had caught the others attention. "Holy shit! You found one of the money eggs. Way to go Q!" He couldn't have been happier for him. "Now you have some mad money to spend on a treat for yourself." He smiled and laughed, happy that Quentin had found one of the "special" eggs. "Maybe six is your lucky number." He tugged on Quentin's arm and they moved toward the restaurant. Along the way Eliot found his last egg.