The park, Saturday

[existencemisspent]

The town had been beautifully quiet all week. The students had apparently all headed off on some trip or other, and maybe half the adult population of the town as well, leaving the whole place nearly as empty as Brakebills was in the summers.

It’d been a week full of beautiful nothing.

Eliot lounged on a bench in the park, his long legs stretched out, and watched the flamingos and their long legs lounging in the pond. He took a drag off his cigarette and used a simple enchantment to create fanciful shapes in the smoke when he exhaled.

There was seldom enough nothing in the world — any world, really. But this one at least at times came close.

[open!]

Comments

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

It was easy going all gaga over beautiful nothing when you weren’t putting any effort in to get home, Eliot.

“Another dead end,” Margo said irritably, her hands in the pockets of her bright pink coat as she walked down the path towards him. “I can’t even find this fucking library in New Jersey. And the belugas? Full of shit.”

[existencemisspent]

Look, sometimes you had to take a minute to just relax. Even if you sometimes had to force it. You were living here now, Margo, make the best of it.

"Well shit," Eliot said. He took another drag and patted the bench beside him. "Tried talking to an angora this morning at a pet shop on the mainland. . . . Nothing."

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

A minute meant ‘screw someone, have a drink, get back to work’. Not whatever Eliot had been doing this whole week.

“Maybe we should try the local pet shop again,” Margo said. She stopped in front of him, but didn’t sit down. “The island seems more magical than everywhere else on this planet.”

[existencemisspent]

Pardon Eliot for not being aggressively Type A, please. He'd done work this week, too. He'd just found time to stop and smell the handful of "proper functioning indoor plumbing" roses along the way.

"I suppose they could have gotten more bunnies in since last time," he said. "I'm not giving them my entire pack of cigarettes this time, though. Little furry bastards can buy their own smokes."

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“Fuck,” Margo said. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I hope Q’s having more luck, because this is seriously starting to get on my nerves in a bad way.”

[existencemisspent]

“And if he is, hopefully he’ll find a way to tell us,” Eliot agreed. “I really thought those bunnies were going to fix everything, back in Fillory. You have no idea how frustrating it was, not being able to talk to either of you.”

Frustrating, soul-devouringly terrifying, po-tat-to, po-tah-to.

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“It wasn’t exactly a cakewalk being stuck here without knowing if you’d gotten murdered by that half-brained satyr asshole, either,” Margo said. Because the odds of Eliot getting himself killed. . .

“At least we have each other again.”

She made a decision, and sat down on the bench.

[existencemisspent]

“I’ve been murdered before,” Eliot said. “And by better.”

Margo herself in fact, thanks to the cursed thrones. . . .

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“Yeah, well, I’m sorry I’m still recuperating from the last time I saw you die,” Margo said. The sharpness was hidden somewhere within the lazy rasp. She trusted him to find it.

[existencemisspent]

Of course he did.

“You’re forgiven,” he said, tugging her in for a sideways hug. “I’m reasonably certain I did the killing on our last one.”

He still had nightmares about ghost!Margo and what he’d done to turn her into one.

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“Both of us,” Margo said. There was the tiniest hairline fracture in her voice.

She leaned readily into Eliot.

[existencemisspent]

Eliot pressed his face to her hair, then rested his chin on her head. She fit effortlessly into his arms as always.

“This world can’t keep us down any more than Fillory can.”

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“Obviously,” Margo said. She relaxed a touch. As always, the part of her that felt too proud to let anyone else make her feel safe rebelled, but she ignored it. “We’re still fabulous bitches, right?”

[existencemisspent]

“The most fabulous and bitchiest,” Eliot agreed. “No matter what.”

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

Margo sighed. “A party should cheer us up,” she muttered, pouting.

[existencemisspent]

“God, yes,” Eliot said with feeling. “Remind of us of our younger, amazing selves.”

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“Next Friday?” Margo said. “There’s going to be a week of boredom after everyone’s vacation.”

[existencemisspent]

“Perfection. Should we make it a masquerade? In honor of Halloween?”

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“Ooooh, maybe we can enchant the masks?” Margo said. “Or tell everyone to bring their best weirdo magic or tech mask or whatever.”

[existencemisspent]

“Do we trust people to have appropriately fabulous masks of their own?”

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“We could have back-up masks,” Margo mused. “For the losers.”

[existencemisspent]

Eliot heaved a deep, melodramatic sigh.

"We're going to have to let losers into this party."

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“It’s a small island,” Margo said, shrugging. “The losers-to-badasses ratio is probably totally fucked.”

[existencemisspent]

"We'll probably have to advertise, too."

He said 'advertise' like he was saying 'get a root canal'.

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“I wanted to see if this place has a social media page worth looking at, like an Insta or something,” Margo said. “But then I realized: half these people might not even have phones. We might have to go uber-Fillory-retro and magic up some posters.”

[existencemisspent]

"Well, now, that just makes me want to do a 90s theme sometime. Go full 'zine." Eliot shook his head. "Never mind, that'd be grotesque. All that grunge."

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“The only plaid I want to see at this party is your tailored vests,” Margo said. “If I see anyone dressed like a lumberjack, I’m out.”

[existencemisspent]

"We'll have to note the dress code. There's at least one viking sort around who probably lives in damned flannel."

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“I promised Hot and British it’d be chic.”

[existencemisspent]

"As though our parties could be anything but. We'd be chic in burlap sacks."

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“I know that, and you know that,” Margo said. “But think of these poor schmucks. What if they get it into their heads they could pull off burlap? It’d be a disaster. They need instruction.”

[existencemisspent]

"But just think of the potential for mockery, Bambi," Eliot said, smiling softly. "Hmm. We'll instruct them to don their finest frocks and most impressive masks, for a night of debauchery and delight."

Ooo, that was good. Lots of alliteration and rhyme. He hardly knew he had it in him.

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“This shit also needs to go on Insta, El,” Margo said, fond and warm. “And I’m not sure this is a ‘debauchery and delight’ kind of joint. Think. . . two steps up from that farm hellhole you clawed your fabulous way out of.”

Beat. “Though you should totally greet them at the door like that. Make ’em jump a little.”

[existencemisspent]

"Ugh," Eliot said with feeling. "I thought we agreed never to mention that place." He heaved a long sigh. "'Welcome, miscreants, to a night of debauchery and delight.' I like it. I should have a cigarette between my lips and a tray of glowing cocktails."

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“In the same shade as the enchanted fireflies-slash-stars,” Margo agreed. “We’ll coordinate.”

[existencemisspent]

"Obviously," Eliot said. "What are we, heathens?"

He sighed and draped his arm over her shoulders.

"Not that I'm saying we won't find a way back, but -- Bambi, what are we going to do if we can't find a way back?"

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

Margo stared at the duck pond as she leaned into him. “We’ll figure something out,” she said slowly. “We’re not the first people to get stuck here, El, and we won’t be the last to bust outta here. And until then. . . we have a roof over our heads, we have money, we have magic.”

[existencemisspent]

"It could be worse," Eliot agreed, then took a long breath and admitted: "I just . . . worry."

Nope, too emotionally vulnerable. Time to cover.

"Fen wasn't in the best mental state even before I went missing. What if she's stuck a cloak on a big pole and told everyone it's me? Aside from the potential for innuendo, I don't see that going well."

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“It’s Fen,” Margo said dryly. “She’s got those big doe eyes, her chances are better than ours. Or Josh’s.”

She looked up, and tried to catch his eyes. “I know it’s hard and we don’t know how we’re going to get out of this,” she said, “But when do we ever? It’s not like the Beast or Ember or anybody with God-level powers is out there hunting us right now. It’s. . . manageable.”

[existencemisspent]

"And at least the eldritch fear thing was an accident," Eliot said on another sigh. And then actually met her eye.

"It feels a bit like we're playing hooky. Only I feel weirdly guilty about it. When did I develop a work ethic?"

When you threw yourself into running an actual kingdom to get over your guilt for killing your boyfriend, El. Life was funny that way.

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“I know,” Margo sighed. She pouted. “Sometimes I lie awake at night and think to myself: you and me, we used to be glamorous amazing mega-bitches. What happened?”

[existencemisspent]

"We grew up," Eliot said. "It's tragic."

[not_a_goddamn_princess]

“Well, Friday we’re partying like it’s freshman year,” Margo said, settling her head against his shoulder. “And we’ll pretend we’ve done absolutely none of that disgusting shit you just said.”

[existencemisspent]

"Friday cannot come soon enough."