highkingborn

[highkingborn]

Robert’s hands by Patti Smith (1970)

[highkingborn]

HIS EYES flick over to quentin , a little reproachful as his friend calls him MARK . he knows q knows better , but he doesn't have it in him to correct him , so he'll just look a little imperious instead .

it doesn't last very long though as quentin obeys , bringing him the bottle and glasses , a smile gracing eliot's lips . ❝ thank you , q . ❞ he adjusts so he can sit up more , opening up the bottle and pouring them both a generous amount before passing q's glass back to him . ❝ dour mood aside , cheers to something coldwater . lift the mood . ❞

Margo likes me his heart screamed at Eliot while also filling him with a sense of superiority. "Margo is pretty much your other half and you're still dating Mark? Someone she doesn't like?" Someone who Quentin didn't like either which was most likely extremely obviously based on how much he'd been riding Eliot over this since the moment the front door had closed. He'd also probably been making a face, he was terrible at not making faces.

Without even thinking about it Quentin heaved himself out of his chair and grabbed the bottle El had gestured at along with the cork screw. It took him a moment and a battle but eventually he was able to yank the cork out before grabbing two glasses then freezing in place.

Swinging around at his friend Q glared at him. "Wait— why am I doing this? You have telekinesis and you were standing! I was sitting this is such—" Letting out a huff he crashed down next to Eliot onto the couch with all of the grace of a goose at least making sure to shift his arms so that the glasses and bottle were safe. His previous arm chair now fully abandoned and probably too close to someone he'd been bitching to about his boyfriend while already fairly tipsy. Ideally Quentin would drink himself into oblivion and forget about perfectly nice and corn fed all American mentally stable Mike. "You're pouring and I want like half the bottle in my glass."

[highkingborn]

HE SCOFFS a little , just a little offended by q's admission of his perception of himself and margo .

❝ margo and i are bitchy , but we're not cruel . . . . well mostly . we try not to be , in a general sense . ❞ he glances at their hands as quentin squeezes his a little tighter before lifting his gaze back to the other . there's the slightest flick of a smile on his lips .

❝ you know , huh ? what do you know about me , q ? ❞ it's a little bit of a tease , but if there's a burning desire just past his eyes , he'd never admit it .

In a manner that wasn't even remotely smooth or mysterious Quentin quickly slid his hand into Eliot's overturned one and then clung tightly to it. Something in the set of his shoulders unfurled, it was such a small thing but it felt like everything.

"Oh I know all that." Q gave him a bemused look, he'd never been blind to Eliot's faults. Everything about him captured and dragged Quentin's attention to him like a beacon. For once he didn't romanticize the person he loved he just sort of loved all of him. "It took over a month before I believed you genuinely liked me and weren't just fucking with me because you were bored. I was 80/20 on you and Margo Carrie-ing me at that first party." He'd experienced Eliot being dismissive and cruel but he'd also experienced him as someone who held him so carefully, who made Quentin feel seen and understood.

His hand tightened around El's for a moment as he processed what he'd said. "You're cutting yourself short, you were all of that stuff for at least a year before I got there. You and Margo had each other." He dragged him from death, it was inherently and historically speaking the pinnacle act of romance, he'd said 'Fifty years who gets proof of concept like that? Peaches and plums.' to him. Could be platonic, his brain still whispered to him. "It's okay if you don't know who you really are just yet, maybe you're just different pieces of everything now." A mosaic. Then he shrugged because at least to him it felt obvious. "Besides I know."

[highkingborn]

The first 5 Asks to send 💋 get a kiss

@habitualvolunteer ASKED: 💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋

ELIOT IS fairly sure he couldn't stop himself even if he tried , even if he wanted to . it had been the hardest trial of his life , getting quentin back , the gods doling out tasks . not to mention the ones that held grudges against eliot for what the monster that wore his face had done .

but he did it . he was here . QUENTIN was here . he was alive . there's barely been a first breath when eliot is there , hovering for a moment as if unsure he can touch him , afraid q might crumble to ash in front of his eyes . and then , ' ELIOT . . . ? ' . a mutter music to his ears . before he can even respond , his hands are on the sides of quentin's face and he's crashing his lips to the other man's . were this any other situation , he would be embarrassed by the tears welling in his eyes , but right now , in this moment , all he can do is clutch the other as close as he can .

❝ you idiot , ❞ he breathes against the other's lips .

[highkingborn]

The first 5 Asks to send 💋 get a kiss

[highkingborn]

Fuck it i'm hopping on the bandwagon

[highkingborn]

QUENTIN'S COMMENT is undeniably bitchy , but eliot can't help the little smile it tugs to eliot's lips . what ? it's funny . see ? mike wouldn't laugh . he'd consider it unkind . he's BETTER than the rest of them .

eliot sighs , draping himself across the couch , and immediately wishes that he'd opened a bottle of wine and poured himself a glass before doing so . ❝ q - open that bottle , won't you ? come drink with me . ❞ maybe his answer is stalling somewhat . after a moment , he makes a sound . ❝ no . not particularly . but then margo doesn't like most people . ❞

Nothing he said was a jab at him but it still hurt like it'd been on purpose. Because El was right he did care, he cared so much what people thought about him, it was crippling sometimes. Institutionalization levels of caring, Mike probably processed life like a normal person. Q may be confident that he at the very least possessed a personality in comparison to Mike but the one thing he didn't have was confidence.

"Yeah I guess it makes sense you'd want someone confident." He said quietly breaking eye contact and glancing at the ground for a moment to frown. "So he's not like other girls, but also the human equivalent of an UGG boot." Q couldn't help snarking slightly remembering a rant or two from Julia on the matter. He was bitchy and pretentious and drank wine and hid away reading niche kids books, he talked too much, gestured too much, was too much. He wasn't laid back and relaxed. Sports were a humiliation ritual. Eliot and Margo had to pretty much drag him out of his room to parties by his ankles. Quentin held himself up to the mirror of Mike, the most bland person he'd ever met and found himself lacking. Jesus Fucking Christ how pathetic was that.

"Does Margo like him?" Maybe they hadn't met yet, if Margo came back quick enough and turned her nose up at him surely that'd do it. They did everything together, they practically were each other.

[highkingborn]

you stupid fucking idiot i can’t believe you died and got resurrected and are now safely in my arms again. I’ll kill you

[highkingborn]

" if you're trying to tell me it gets better..." " no. god no. i'm trying to tell you--- " YOU ARE NOT ALONE HERE

ind. priv. sel. e l i o t w a u g h written by salem

[highkingborn]

ELIOT FEELS . . . wary . usually when people come through the fountains , they're confused and discombobulated , babbling and being generally very inconvenient . but this man is . . . not any of those things . he's in charge , very conscious , and his questions aren't what eliot is used to .

❝ the doctor ? ❞ he asks with unabashed skepticism . brows remaining furrowed , he looks the other over . ❝ i'm eliot . ❞ something keeps him from adding that he's the HIGH KING . at least for right now . his eyes narrow at the request to go to the fountains . could the man have gotten so lost already ? ❝ sure . . . ❞ he starts to walk past him . ❝ where exactly are you from , doctor ? ❞

oh- that does pique his interest. a point where worlds converge; a great place to hide something in plain sight. though, that does make his job a bit harder- but infinitely more fun. ❛ do you think you could take me to these fountains? ❜ he'd not come that way, like the stranger thinks- the TARDIS is parked just around the corner, perception filter keeping it safe from prying eyes. ❛ my name's the doctor, by the way. ❜

[highkingborn]

HE MOST certainly does not trust her . she doesn't give off very TRUSTWORTHY vibes , but then eliot thinks that of most government officials .

❝ with all due respect . . . no . you can tell me how much YOU know though . ❞

❝ That depends,❞ She offered him a cool smile, a touch of sarcasm lingering at the end of that sentence, light, but there.❝ Why don't we start with how much you think UNIT already knows about Fillory Mr Waugh, and we'll go from there? ❞ 

@highkingborn / accepting.

[highkingborn]

IF ELIOT didn't know better , he'd say quentin almost sounds jealous . but that doesn't really make any sense , so he disregards the thought . he does laugh at the images quentin has built up of eliot's potential lovers , though.

❝ i don't know about some of that , but i'll DEFINITELY accept retired movie star . who owns his own yacht ? quick , q , give me his number . ❞ but then he shrugs . ❝ i don't know . mike is - - - he's not like the rest of us . he doesn't care how people see him . he's mike and that's all he's trying to be . and , sure , maybe that means he drinks beer and watches , god forbid , FOOTBALL . but that's just part of the rest of him , and he's not trying to hide or change any of it . it's - - - refreshing . ❞

Quentin froze before frowning immediately, he'd been doing a good job, a great job even. He didn't roll his eyes even one time and he knows that because he'd been trying like hell not to. "I'm not."

Dragging in a deep breath his shoulders slowly climbed to his ears. What he could say ran through his head, I just think it's weird that this guy was just visiting his old college. I mean during the middle of the week and after we already had an alumni visit? Doesn't he have like— a job? Or friends or hobbies or literally anything better to do with his life? But then Eliot might hate him, and he was more evolved than that so he swallowed it.

"I just don't... really get it. The appeal. But it's not like... my job to get it obviously. It's your life and whatever." He bit his lip trying to keep his tone light hearted and uncritical. "I kind of thought if you'd ever date it'd be a guy with an eight pack and an accent with interesting stories from all over the world who's into like buddism and ashwagandha. Or a— retired movie star who knows niche facts about theatre and can quote shakespeare and owns a yacht." Eliot could do better, he could do so much better.

[highkingborn]

HE GLANCES down at the fingers that brush against his . he hesitates just a moment , then slowly , purposefully , he turns his hand over , opening his palm for quentin's . the complicated stuff can come later . right now , they're both alive , both here , sitting side by side - he's glad to be able to hold quentin's hand .

he glances at the other , confusion briefly furrowing his brow before understanding dawns . ❝ OH . you mean orpheus . ❞ he looks over and shrugs a shoulder . ❝ what ? i watched HADESTOWN . ❞

he goes a little serious again though , actually taking in q's words . ❝ i think maybe bringing you back to life may have skewed your image of me , coldwater . i'm not - i've never been that man you think i am . i'm . . . i'm selfish . and self - involved . and arrogant with such a false sense of self , i don't know which version of me is even real anymore . but FULL OF LOVE and patient have never been words used to describe me . ❞ he's quiet a moment , and then , ❝ . . . at least until maybe now . ❞ another moment of hesitation . ❝ until you . ❞

He stayed quiet and hesitantly reached over brushing his fingers against Eliot's trying to build up enough courage to hold the hand of someone who's turned him away and then dragged him out of the ground. He'd made promises like that before to Julia and his Dad, from hospital beds and institution waiting rooms. They never counted for much in the end no matter how much he meant them, so controlled by his own thoughts. But this was different.

"I would have stayed if I could." He just couldn't let go of the chance to end things for good, not himself but the tale of the Monster. Getting rid of that fucking thing, protecting everyone at all costs. It was admittedly a bit of a knee jerk solution, but he was so uniquely set up to finish it, it felt like fate. Quentin almost hadn't even cared about Everett who'd felt more like Kady's battle. It was all a bitter answer to his every single attempt. Getting what you used to want when you finally didn't want it.

He remembered standing there with Penny watching the consequences of his own actions on the people that he loved. The unfairness of finally seeing Eliot as himself but with a veil between them. "I wanna say I can't believe you actually managed to get me here. But you've always been synonymous with Magic." He shrugged at this simple fact of life. "I guess if anyone was going to defeat a 6th century bc literary staple of the inevitable weakness of man when it comes to love and patience it'd be you."

[highkingborn]

happy 33rd birthday quentin coldwater who is totally alive

[highkingborn]

I HAVE A MAGICIANS THEMED TATTOO NOW! (pics under cut)

[highkingborn]

HE'S STILL got a self - satisfied little smile on his face when he closes the door and turns back into the cottage . his head lifts when he realizes quentin's directing his attention to himself . he sighs at the comment .

❝ a heartbreaking fact of him , this is true . it's okay . i can train it out of him , ❞ he remarks with a smirk . it takes him a moment , but then eliot zeroes back in on quentin and narrows his eyes . ❝ you seem . . . put out . why ? ❞

STARTER FOR @highkingborn

"So Mike he's—" Quentin rolled the glass in his hand glancing over towards the door Mike having finally left. He'd been trying his best, really he had. Eliot was so excited about this guy and five seconds of interaction where he'd been chugging martinis Eliot had had waiting for them didn't give him much time to draw any conclusions. But Quentin had ideas about the kind of guy that could get Eliot to try monogamy and this just wasn't even remotely it.

"I didn't—I didn't uh, know beer could even get into the cottage without like... blowing up." He shrugged with a quick laugh because on one hand he'd been slightly serious. It was a relief after an undergrad where Quentin's whole everything had everyone thinking he was an IPA craft beer snob that instead he was handed cocktails on the regular.

Maybe he should have made a quick turn out of there and grabbed Julia from the library for emotional support first. They could have gone full High School where she says all the right things that are perfectly complimentary yet vague to a person while he nods instead of word vomiting. "So that not happening was weird..." He added softly trailing off while trying to think of something encouraging to say.

[highkingborn]

D O O M E D BY THE NARRATIVE, BUT NOT TO DEATH. D O O M E D TO SURVIVE. D O O M E D TO STAY ALIVE INSIDE THE STORY. D O O M E D TO NEVER ESCAPE THE NARRATIVE, NOT EVEN THROUGH DEATH. YOU ARE ALLOWED NO EXIT. THERE IS NO WAY OUT FOR YOU, AND THERE NEVER WAS. YOU COULDN'T DIE IF YOU WANTED TO. THE NARRATIVE HAS A HOLD ON YOU, AND IT WON'T LET GO. DEATH IS TOO SWEET A DOOM FOR YOU. THE STORY HAS SOMETHING MUCH WORSE IN MIND.

...THERE IS NO WAY OUT.

[ TORCHWOOD 3 ARCHIVE INITIATE … ACCESS GRANTED … ]

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