[THD]Once upon a time {Elias}

It had taken him bloody ages to find the gelato that Quinn wanted. It wasn’t that he didn’t know where to get it, it was more that he wasn’t the only one who liked their product and so there was a rather long line that he had to wade through to get the fancy ice cream. Then there was the trick of not wearing the treat as a new accessory after apparating. He walked back into the apartment to find his friend lounging on the couch in a very expectant fashion, almost like he was gloating. Rather than dwelling too much right off, Oliver took his time bringing the gelato into the kitchen, and charming it to stay frozen, setting it on the countertop right next to the equipment that Quinn had obviously used to make a potion earlier while he was gone.

Just as he was making his way out of the kitchen to face Elias and figure out what was going on, he spied a howler hovering just over his left ear out of the corner of his eye. Frowning questioningly at Elias Oliver watched the envelope begin to swell, steaming all the while, trying to puzzle who would have sent him a howler, realizing it was probably another from Quinn. Rolling his eyes gently the brunette keeper snatched the packet out of midair and opened it reluctantly. The stream of angry Irish that began to assault his ears was definitely mad about something.

Thanks to his basic familiarity with Scots Gaelic, Oliver could pick out a few words here and there. The bottom line being that Quinn seemed to be cross with him for a number of reasons. But that was not unreasonable these days, being that she was hormonal, and pregnant, and it was partially his fault. After silence had reigned for a few moments Oliver turned to Elias again “Any idea what that was about?” After another brief pause “I should eat that gelato out of spite”, he maligned as he sank into the chair opposite his friend. This whole baby thing was exhausting and it was not even here yet.

“Why are you sitting here looking like the cat ate the canary, by the way?” He was sure he knew the answer, but wanted to get it all over with while his mood was already low.

@Sophie

Quinn had started getting drowsy an hour ago, and Elias had managed to talk her into a proper nap upstairs. The amazing news she had shared with him had made up for all the earlier nonsense, and certainly explained a lot of the weird things that had been going on in his apartment lately, but he hadn't just been pleased by it all. The idea of a baby coming into their apartment had activated full-on caretaker mode, and Elias was sure that Oliver could use some assistance in making sure Quinn stayed healthy over the coming months. He adored them both, but he felt he was the most organized, clean, and generally safety-oriented of the three of them and that such a role was really best suited for himself.

Elias was lounging on the couch downstairs, having promised Quinn he'd make sure Oliver made it back with the overdue gelato and that Oliver was brought up to speed on the day's events. He was looking forward to it rather too much, both because he enjoyed having a useful job related to the pregnancy and because he was ready to discuss details with his roommate. He was choosing not to be offended that he hadn't known months ago, since it seemed the news was rather late to Oliver as well and he couldn't reasonably claim he should have known before the father.

When Oliver walked through the door, Elias grinned at him knowingly but didn't say anything. The Howler that Quinn had left for him in the kitchen (not a step that Elias personally approved of, but he had to pick his battles) would have to come first. When Oliver reemerged, Elias delivered his message dutifully. "I believe the general message is that Italy really is not that far, and she exploded a potion in the kitchen because you were not there to help." Elias left out some of the finer details and particular words that Quinn had chosen, feeling that the exact translation she had left for him wasn't necessary to get the point across.

"We had a rather exciting day," he told Oliver, obviously implying himself and Quinn. "An enormous mess, a flock of butterflies....and a baby announcement." Elias grinned widely, not the type to try to punish Oliver for keeping the news from him. It was all just too exciting. "You really ought to be glad. You had a day in Italy while we dealt with chaos."

His irritation getting the better of him, Oliver was quick to rebut Elias’ delivered message, his accent thickening in the process “I can’t be in two places at once. Especially because Italy is in another country?!” Pinching the bridge of his nose Oliver forced himself to breathe a moment before he let himself laugh at the idiocy of the whole afternoon. A flock of butterflies? What the hell? He couldn’t leave Quinn alone for thirty seconds these days.

He couldn’t stop himself from grinning somewhat sheepishly at Elias’ mention of the pregnancy announcement. It was weird – he was beyond nervous, but also anxious to meet the little one, he understood now, why new parents seemed to think that their baby was the cutest child to have ever graced the Earth.  Oliver was determined not to be a gushy father, at least not in front of the press – they didn’t need any more cannon fodder than they already had. “Now, what’s this about butterflies?”

At Elias’ comment about Italy, Oliver shot him a glare “Standing in line with loads of tourists is not exactly what I would call a relaxing day.” Italy might have been beautiful, but it wasn’t that charming. “Thank you for helping Quinn while I was away, by the way” He said honestly. It was nice to know they had someone else they could count on, especially when potions[/I] were involved.

It was clear that Oliver was frustrated, and Elias couldn't really blame him. He felt he wasn't the one Oliver ought to be annoyed with at the moment, but Elias let it go, not wanting to pull at that thread any longer. They would have time to talk through everything that was going on -- the good and the bad -- when Oliver had gotten a chance to reset a bit. Elias felt a bit sorry for him, being already this exhausted and strained before the baby had even come. He was sure it was an unexpected life twist for him.

"I think Quinn's a bit emotional," he informed Oliver, though he was sure this wasn't news. "Pregnancy hormones, or something." The last words came out as a half-mutter, Elias choosing not to think about such things if he could help it. He was excited that Quinn was having a child, that was clear, but he didn't need to think about the finer details of how and why that was all happening. "I managed to get rid of them all," he told Oliver, glad he could help. "It was really nothing. I am glad to help."

Elias cocked his head slightly, trying to get a full read on how Oliver was feeling. They weren't the type of roommates to sit for hours and gush about their personal lives, but he wanted to be there for his friend. "Quinn's asleep, you know. Maybe we should go out. You deserve a break."

It was easy for Oliver to jump at Elias’ suggestion that they get out for a while, and he nodded enthusiastically at the suggestion before he caught himself “You think we’re okay leaving her for a while? I’d rather like to avoid another howler if I could.” He laughed as he finished. He was going to have to keep track of all the howlers that she was going to send him over the next few months. When it was decided that Quinn would be all right on her own, they had to figure out where they were going to go for a few hours.

After a bit of discussion it was decided that it would not hurt for both of them to go to the Weird Sisters concert that was playing that afternoon. It was not really Oliver’s favorite kind of music, but it was nice to get out and about to clear his head for half a second. It took them awhile to get themselves to get into the venue, being that their last minute tickets had earned them seats in the nosebleeds, but he was feeling particularly good about their choice once he had a beer in hand, and they had found their seats.

It looked like it was going to be a good crowd tonight, and while he didn’t love the Weird Sisters like some did, he had to admit that he was looking forward to seeing the show, although he supposed that that could have been the beer in his system talking, too. But when the music started to play, he found himself bobbing his head along and even occasionally singing along with the lyrics, the few that he knew anyway. Being careful not to jostle his arm on a nearby post he leaned over to Elias and clapped him on the shoulder with his free hand “I’d say this was a pretty good choice, no?”

"She's fast asleep," Elias assured his roommate. Quinn probably would have liked to be invited, and they definitely might pay for it later, but it was nice to be able to do something with the two of them for once. It felt like Quinn and Oliver had been monopolizing one another's time of late, and while he could understand the need for it, it didn't mean he particularly liked it. Elias grabbed their coats and they were out before they could change their minds. The Weird Sisters concert had been on his radar for a while now, and though he wasn't too familiar with the group, it was his kind of atmosphere. The crowd was pouring into the theater but got thinner as they made their way up and up, climbing nearly to the top of the stands. Nosebleed tickets were find with Elias, since he was there more for the experience than to see the band.

"When is this starting?" Elias asked, looking down at the tickets. The Weird Sisters were late, but Elias supposed that was normal for such an event. It was probably a good thing anyway, given that they had decided so last-second to go. They ordered beers from one of the floating trays going by and Elias settled into his seat, ready to let the music distract them from all the nonsense that had happened over the course of the day. The band appeared on stage among clouds of magically colored smoke and Elias stood to cheer with the rest, grinning at Oliver's comment. They would have several hours, maybe more if they went out for drinks after this, before they'd have to get back and face the realities that were waiting for them back home.

[out]