(no subject)

[heatherandsteel]

"Raj, move," Quentin is stretched out on the couch with Raj on his shoulder, kneading his scar from ALH as Cagney and Lacey watch from his legs and Spike sleeps on his stomach.

Raj's answer is to barely move and purr as Quentin sighs and leans back as the Iron Chef announces, "Coffee!"

Comments

[balance_of_blood]

The word 'coffee' is a siren's call inside this particular house.

Above, a door opens with a muffled squeak.

Someone slumps down the stairs.

That someone grunts "Coffee?" and blinks wearily at the pile of teenager and cats and rose goblin.

[heatherandsteel]

"In the kitchen and from the Chairman,"

He attempts to wave and Spike bats at his hand as Raj resettles himself.

[balance_of_blood]

Toby stares at Quentin. Eventually, she blinks.

"I got the kitchen part."

She hasn't had much time for TV since... ever.

"May found the pot?"

Thank Oberon.

[heatherandsteel]

"Yes, it was packed with the cat toys and beds so there might be a little catnip taste to the coffee,"

There was one old catnip toy that got loose and that's partly why everyone is sleeping on Quentin. Quentin likes tv, its a reminder that humans can think up weirder stuff than actually happens to them.

[balance_of_blood]

Changelings have no such luck.

Particularly changelings named Toby.

"Did Tybalt help you pack up the kitchen?"

Not that Tybalt has been around much, if at all. Certainly not where Toby has been able to see him. It doesn't reek of abandonment, though. He's letting Toby come to terms with... things... in her own way and time.

(And Connor is still dead.)

She appreciates that.

But what she'd appreciate most right now is coffee. Cat crack or no cat crack.

She blinks at Quentin again, mouth pressing into a thin line, and vanishes into the chaotic kitchen; boxes are everywhere, spewing contents out on countertops, table, floor.

"Good thing I can find it with my nose," she says, assuming Quentin will have followed like a dutiful squire.

[heatherandsteel]

Getting up requires lifting cats and rose goblin off and they all settle down happily while Quentin follows Toby. He doesn't like that line he mouth gets into, she always does it when she's missing Connor and Tybalt.

She and Tybalt were confusing and he really thought the whole space idea between them wasn't working. If she could argue with him then she wouldn't get that far away look, "Yes, so did Raj. May did the living room. Its on the counter, where you can find it easily."

He's not going to hide the coffee, that would be stupid.

[balance_of_blood]

Ah, but where are the cups? Having located the coffee pot, Toby begins the search for a mug.

"How is he?"

May, being May and thus very well aware of Toby's caffeine needs, left a clean mug just behind and to the left of the pot. Toby sees it and exhales a relieved huff.

The tension in her shoulders doesn't go anywhere, however.

[heatherandsteel]

"Good, busy, Raj complains about the work and falls asleep on me,"

As Quentin also knows her needs, there's a plate with donuts on it next to the coffee. He's not going to tell her how Tybalt keeps an eye on her through the cats, Raj and him, she can probably guess that. She should be able to but Toby's not good at seeing care, it worries him.

[balance_of_blood]

Toby nods and takes a sip of coffee, looking like she's considering chugging the first cup.

Which she is.

Leaning against the counter, she drinks half of her cup in a long moment of blissful silence and immediately pours herself more.

"You should know better than to let the Cait Sidhe pack up the kitchen before anyone has boxed the cat supplies and wrapped them in a thick layer of sticky packing tape. And covered everything in tin foil."

There. She showed a glimmer of humor. Surely that was enough until next week.

[heatherandsteel]

"But it worked, we found the coffee pot because they wanted their beds and toys,"

He smiles at her joke as Spike comes in and starts twining around Toby. Jokes are progress though he'd be happier if it didn't feel so brief.

[balance_of_blood]

"Hey, Spike."

The rose goblin rattles its pink and gray thorns in what sounds like a fond greeting. One gets stuck on Toby's jeans, and it's not the first time she has been grateful for the thick material over her legs.

Toby drinks more coffee, trying to imagine Tybalt digging through boxes for cat toys.

"So Raj is keeping busy." Or being kept busy. Same difference. "What about you?"

Dimly, Toby wonders if she should be giving him more to do.

[heatherandsteel]

"Etienne gave me the night off because he said unpacking was clearly a job that needed priority,"

He'd misplaced one of his books and also the Duke had noticed how he looked concerned. This was a way for him to keep an eye on Toby and make the house more livable.

[balance_of_blood]

"Etienne said that."

Toby gives Quentin a flat look.

"Has Sylvester been asking for reports?"

There's no heat in her tone. It is his right, as her liege. And landlord.

[heatherandsteel]

"Not exactly, he only commented that I could look neater. Yes,"

His voice is quiet as that flat look always makes him tense.

[balance_of_blood]

Toby starts to say she meant about her, but decides it doesn't really matter.

(Connor is still dead.)

"You hungry?" she asks, sticking her head in the fridge. It smells new. "We've got... milk and cheese."

[heatherandsteel]

That's what he meant, the Duke asks about Toby all the time, but she knows that. He opens up a box and peers in, "I thought the cereal was going to be in this one."

Quentin pulls out a screwdriver, "I didn't know we had one of these."

[balance_of_blood]

Head tilted, Toby takes the screwdriver and spins it so she's holding it like a knife.

Almost like she's remembering using it as a weapon.

"May must've cleaned out the car."

Or a hardware shop.

"Let's go get a pizza," she suggests, tossing the screwdriver back in the box. Finding anything edible in the kitchen seems like more work than it's worth, and she needs to stretch her legs.

[heatherandsteel]

When she changes grip, he stays still, she's so ready to fight,

"There's a good place on the corner though they have a stupid name."

[balance_of_blood]

There is.

They do.

Toby went there with Connor once.

Looking up at the ceiling, she nods and says, "I'll get my jacket and meet you outside."

She downs the rest of her coffee and walks fast to the front door, grabbing her keys and Tybalt's leather jacket from its hook. One more moment to secure her human disguise and take a deep breath, and she walks outside.

The view still comes as a shock.

[heatherandsteel]

That wasn't a good reaction. Quentin follows her, pulling up his disguise and saying to the cat pile, "Back soon."

Then he stops behind her, wondering how good an idea this was.