#ic ♤ margo ♡ open starter

[runcnlove]

[ O P E N for Eliot; set in the verse where baby Teddy got lost in the woods and was accidentally sent by a questing creature to the alternate timeline which is the show's main timeline and ends up on Earth around S4 ]

❛ Well, were you ever gonna tell me I had a nephew? ❜

Margo's voice is soft as she leans against the doorway, watching El watch Teddy sleep.

The boy hasn't left his Papa's side ever since he first laid eyes on him, more often than not curling against his side or climbing into his lap or holding his hand or leaning against his leg, as if he was afraid if he let go of him, Eliot would disappear.

( Which, Margo couldn't really blame him for, not only because she felt much the same way – though tried to restrain herself, so as not overwhelm her best friend with her affections – but also because she couldn't even imagine what it was like for a child of his age to be thrust into another world and as good as lose one of his fathers – though not necessarily permanently, no one could guarantee that Eliot would be back, so maintaining the balance between not breaking his heart now and making sure not to give Teddy too much false hope so as not to break it later if something goes wrong was hard, and most of them didn't handle it well, her admittedly included – and then, after barely getting him back, to lose his other father... Margo desperately wanted to believe not permanently either, what with all of them searching for ways to get Q back, one way or another, but it hasn't yielded much results yet and getting him back seems more difficult than getting El back with El, they at least knew he was alive and in his body, though trapped in the backseat )

When Teddy first appeared out of nowhere and Quentin explained to her who the little boy clinging onto him for dear life was, Margo – after needing a moment to come to terms with the fact that she was an aunt and her two best friends were fathers, and neither of them felt it was important enough to tell her, the bastards – thought that the timing couldn't be worse, what with Eliot being possessed by the Monster and the Monster's murderous quest and insistence Q and the rest of them by extension has to take part in it.

But with time, she realized that maybe Teddy – the little ray of sunshine he was, clearly taking after Q in some ways – appearing when he did was a blessing. It gave them something positive to focus on amidst all this mess. He brought light into their lives, in varying degrees, most of all into Quentin's.

Watching the two of them together – even with Q constantly worrying about Teddy's safety if the Monster found out about him – made her realize with a pang just how bad his mental state got because of this whole mess and how much Teddy was helping, bringing a spark back to his eyes and a smile back to his face that were absent for too long.

And now, it seems that Teddy's presence is helping Eliot in the wake of his possession, being gutted by a magical axe ( which Margo still feels very guilty about even though she knows it was necessary at the time ) and losing Q. For the boy at least, he's making an effort.

Margo doesn't want to think about how much he would spiral if Teddy wasn't here for him to focus on or how bad it could get.

[runcnlove-temp]

Margo's opens

for anyone

#1 (any season, any setting; open for her friends aka Eliot, Quentin, Alice, Fen, Julia, Kady; will be selective with anyone else)

for Eliot

#1 (season 1 or pre-canon; Brakebills)

#2 (season 2; Whitespire castle)

[runcnlove-sb]

[ O P E N for her friends aka Eliot, Quentin, Alice, Fen, Julia, Kady; will be selective with anyone else ]

❛ You've been crying... I can tell. ❜

[runcnlove]

[ O P E N for Eliot; set in the verse where baby Teddy got lost in the woods and was sent by a questing creature to the alternate timeline which is the show's main timeline and ends up on Earth around S4... also, Quentin lives ]

Julia has brought Teddy over as soon as Q texted her that it was over; that Eliot was back and the Monster was gone. She was one of the two people Q trusted the most and with Margo and her axes being crucial to the mission, Julia's mission was to watch over Teddy until it would be safe for him to reunite with, hopefully, both his fathers.

( Honestly? The relief that message brought her had as much to do with her happiness at the news that the latest crisis that took so much out of all of them and most of all Q was finally dealt with without costing any of her loved ones' lives as it did with the fact that Teddy's bad mood since Q left, the anxiety he was trying so hard to drown out by throwing himself into drawing surprisingly detailed for a boy of his age pictures of what she assumed was their life at the Mosaic – though there have been a picture or two clearly meant to be an illustration for a scene from 'Fillory and Further' – much the same way Q had been burying his nose in a book, most often the 'Fillory' series, when he had was overwhelmed – if she wasn't sure before, this proved without a single doubt that Teddy was Q's son through and through – broke her heart )

Needless to say, the boy threw himself into his father's arms the moment he saw him and there were tears on both sides and Teddy has been glued to his Dada's side ever since, which, coupled with the fact that Q has been glued to Eliot's bedside and refused to leave until he woke up, meant that when Eliot finally did blink his eyes open, it was to the sight of Q dozing in the chair pulled close to his infirmary bed, one arm wrapped around the boy fast asleep in his lap and the other hand holding Eliot's own.

[runcnlove]

Margo's opens

for anyone

#1 (any season, any setting; open for her friends aka Eliot, Quentin, Alice, Fen, Julia, Kady; will be selective with anyone else)

for Eliot

#1 (season 1 or pre-canon; Brakebills)

#2 (season 2; Whitespire castle)

[runcnlove-sb]

Margo's opens

for anyone

#1 (any season, any setting; open for her friends aka Eliot, Quentin, Alice, Fen, Julia, Kady; will be selective with anyone else)

for Eliot

#1 (season 1 or pre-canon; Brakebills)

#2 (season 2; Whitespire castle)

[runcnlove-sb]

[ O P E N for Eliot; season 1 or pre-canon ]

❛ Someone's feeling cuddly today, ❜ Margo teases the magician currently settling his head in her lap like he belongs there ( he does, of course he does ), more than happy to switch her attention to him, voice echoing her smile – one of those genuinely adoring ones that are reserved for the love of her life and him only – as she drapes her arm across his chest, gesture unconscious and natural as breathing ( she's always gravitating towards him, they are soulmates for a reason, after all ), and runs her other hand through his hair, brushing loose curls back from his forehead and applying just enough pressure with her fingertips to make it feel good.

Her teasing is lighthearted, of course – it's not like they haven't gone a day in a... very long while without cuddling one way or another, and honestly? That's one of her favorite things to do. No party or sex or cocktail ( and Eliot is the magister of mixology, he'd spoiled her with numerous pieces of art in a glass that would've given most experienced bartenders a run for their money ) could make her feel as content and relaxed as a good long cuddle session with her best friend.

❛ Is something the matter, or did you just miss me and my magical touch? ❜ another teasing ( as if they ever were away from each other long enough to miss the other ), her tone remaining as lighthearted, her smile as soft, and no one but Eliot would recognize the notes of concern creeping in, the underlying steel, protective.

If someone screws with one half of the pair, they are sure to get their ass kicked, to put it mildly, by the other.

That's just how they work, a package deal, in both good and bad senses.

[runcnlove-sb]

[ O P E N for Eliot; season 2 ]

Margo was more than a little annoyed as she searched the castle for Eliot, who disappeared in the middle of the day and no one seemed to know where he was.

Granted, her annoyance stemmed more from Fillorian dumb patriarchal system that wouldn't let her make any decisions worth their salt on her own ( she was working on introducing Fillory to the concept of women's rights being actually equal to men's, but it was taking too fucking long and at this rate, she was going to kill the next person who would dare tell her her opinion doesn't matter ) and Fillory's damn stubborn insistence on staying broken and Tick fucking Pickwick's dizzying array of negative qualities and snobbish views... but Eliot's behavior since they became the High King and Queen was getting on her nerves, too.

Mostly, because they didn't seem to see eye to eye on practically any matter these days. And Margo for the life of her couldn't understand why.

They had been so in sync since they met their first year at Brakebills, they has been so close, their tastes and opinions on things so similar... and now it was like there was a chasm between them that was growing every. single. fucking. day.

And it scares Margo, more than she'd ever like to admit, the idea that she might lose her best friend, her other half, that they will never be as close as they used to be... scariest of them all is the thought that maybe they have never been as close as they imagined, that them being joined at the hip at Brakebills was a solely circumstantial thing, because things have been simple there and they didn't need to make any important decisions, and that circumstantial thing is not going to survive the test of growing up, of them being outside their little Brakebills kingdom.

Margo is scared, so she turns that fear into annoyance, because it's easier that way.

Her annoyance melts away, however, when she finally finds him, fast asleep in some distant nook of the castle, away from the prying eyes.

He looks so exhausted and so young, Margo can't help but soften at the sight, fondness curling the corners of her mouth into a little smile even as her heart feels heavy.

With the Beast and becoming Fillory's royalty and having to deal with crisis after crisis that seem to pour onto them as if from a horn of plenty ( honestly, how did this land manage to hold itself together before they came along? ), it has been kind of easy for Margo to forget that this has been harder for El than for the rest of them.

He didn't have a choice in the matter of becoming the king as her, Q or Alice did ( technically, perhaps, he could renounce his title, but she understood why he decided not to... not to mention that his hand was kinda forced by the impending fight with the Beast and the need for a weapon to kill him with ).

He couldn’t leave Fillory, catch a break like they could.

He couldn’t even have a relationship with anyone other than his wife, thanks to Fillory's stupid rules.

He took seriously the titles that were mostly thrust upon him by fate and circumstances – of the High King and the husband – and he was doing his best to do them justice while also being scared that any step he took, any decision he made would lead to failure.

❛ Oh, El, ❜ the nickname falls from her lips as a sigh, Margo suddenly acutely aware that maybe there are ways to cross that chasm between them she is so afraid of... maybe it's in her power as much as it's in his, as she perches beside his hip, reaching out to carefully lift the crown that seems too heavy from his head and set it down on the nearby surface.

They have royal affairs to take care of, meetings to participate in, decisions to make... but Margo can't bear to wake him just yet – they are the High King and Queen, after all, they deserve to have a break once in a while, and if Tick has any problems with that, he can go fuck himself – so she settles in instead, letting the ever-present tension bleed out of her shoulders and spine as she reaches out again to brush the loose curls back from Eliot's forehead, to run her fingers gently through his hair, relishing this moment of softness and familiarity that temporarily transports her back to much simpler times, when they had far less responsibilities and much more freedom, when it was just them against the world.

Maybe, not everything has to change, though.