Archive of Our Own ^beta

Eliot didn’t really expect his second chance with Quentin to go exactly the same way as the first one. At the very least, this time around, they were starting out with huge baggage of physical and emotional trauma. And yes, at first Quentin’s ultimatum that they’ll only get a second chance if Eliot agrees to go to therapy felt like a slap to the face. This was probably the first time he had a fight with a boyfriend before even kissing him (if we’re not counting the before-the-current-relationship-kisses). He generally had a lot of firsts recently. Jessica the therapist, for example, whom he was seeing in her office twice a week, and taking a long walk through the Central Park afterward. Stupid walks for his stupid mental health.

He also understood it would be different without the quest. A common goal was good for smoothing things out and providing some certainty. Even if he fucked up, Quentin always came back. “Have you considered that sometimes people actually choose you for you, and not because of some external circumstances?” Jessica’s voice rang in his head. And yes, he did, he did consider this, but it wasn’t easy to believe this. Because let’s be honest, throughout his life, quite a few people wanted to be with him to trade spells or to find out if the rumors about his talents in bed were true. Oh, and let’s not forget about Mike. So how was he fucking supposed to learn to trust that some people were willing to go through shit together with him, without any other incentive? Jessica in his head just sighed disapprovingly.

What Eliot didn’t expect, for some reason, was how different it would be with other people around. When your social circle isn’t just Arielle, a talking beaver and a village fair once a month, but Kady who always comes home at the worst possible time (after the third time they gave up and moved out), Margo who’s jealous of the time he spends with Quentin (which was a new experience on itself because no one really was sort-of-rightfully jealous of his relationship before), Alice who’s always asking Quentin for help with restoring the Library (Eliot refused to admit that he was jealous as well)…

But the biggest surprise was Julia. The ‘hedge bitch’ thing wasn’t the best situation for meeting anyone, and for a long time, he refused to see anything else in her. After a while, he came to terms with her presence in Quentin’s life, but they didn’t really interact. Before now.

First, the experience of being possessed by Monster and his Sister gave them a unique bond of people who were deeply traumatized in the same way. He hated the moments when Julia tried to make him talk about it, but at the same time, talking to Julia about it was easier than talking to anyone else because he didn’t have to explain it. And talking to someone about the trauma was important, yes, he got it, thanks, Jessica.

Second, he kind of expected Julia to be a little hostile towards him because it was… well, her role as an honorary sister-in-law, or whatever they were. But no, after giving him the talk about hurting Quentin again, Julia was suspiciously friendly. So friendly that it was Quentin who got jokingly offended that they were conspiring against him. Another new experience. Never before has Eliot had a relationship with his partner’s family. The only time he was introduced to parents was when someone’s mom walked in on them in bed (an experience he really didn’t want to relive). But Julia was starting to feel like a younger? older? sister he never had.