Eliot flopped on the couch next to Quentin and put his head in Quentin's lap as he exhaled. Quentin moved a hand to Eliot's head and started running his fingers through his hair as he continued reading the latest magical text assigned by Alice. It wasn't uncommon for Eliot to enter a room and flop onto whoever in their group was closest and looked the most comfortable for resting; he was a more sensitive Sentinel than most and often needed the grounding touch of a Guide, which possibly explained why he had matched with two Guides instead of the usual one (plus another Sentinel).
Alice, the second Sentinel in their group, followed him in a few moments later and scowled when she saw Eliot's position. "You stole the good spot," she accused.
Eliot didn't respond beyond raising a hand briefly to give her the finger, quite content to be in the 'good spot' that was Quentin's lap with Quentin lightly massaging his head. Alice ignored Eliot's silent response and curled up on Quentin's other side, resting her head on his shoulder. Quentin tilted his head slightly to rest over hers and continued reading, well used to the piles that formed around him when everyone made their way home.
When Margo arrived and either claimed Alice's lap or shoved Eliot's legs out of the way (before placing them on her own lap after sitting down), the ritual would be complete. It hadn't been intentional, this little gathering of the four of them at the end of each day, but Quentin always finished earlier than the rest and generally curled up to read when he got home. When everyone else trickled in, they all wanted some closeness to the people they loved and hadn't seen since leaving whatever bed they'd chosen to sleep in that night.
Margo finally appeared in the doorway fifteen minutes after Alice had arrived and declared, "I bring snacks."
Eliot hummed and opened his eyes to peer at her. "What kind?" he asked.
He got a bag of jelly snakes thrown at his stomach in response. "That kind," Margo said as she handed Alice her preferred chocolate-covered blackberry jammy dodgers.
Alice thanked her quietly and opened the package, taking one out and holding it to Quentin's mouth so he could eat without putting down his book or stopping patting Eliot's hair, before taking one for herself. Margo placed a kiss on each of their foreheads before tapping Eliot's legs to get him to lift them. He did so and she slipped under to sit on the couch and opened the bag of snakes before putting it back on Eliot. She handed a snake to Eliot's questing hand—he'd closed his eyes again—and shoved another in her mouth before resting a hand on Eliot's ankle, grounding him.
Their quiet ritual had started as an accident, but it had quickly become the part of the day they all looked forward to the most.