Okay, so. This is weird, being studied without anyone saying anything and after a few seconds, Quentin's shoulder haunch forward and he shifts on his feet a little.

You're really weird like that's not something Vanitas already knew, since well-- everything. The arguments on the tablets, the fight at the church, Quentin's hands wrist-deep inside Vanitas' leg, the memory of alice...

But this is what makes him weird?

Quentin smiles with a shrug. "You have no idea."

There's a beat of silence, of just Quentin watching Vanitas back before he opens and closes his mouth a few times. What had helped, when everyone had expected him to just get over it? Well... Fillory. And Deep Space 9. Middle Earth. Books about other worlds, and other people's lives.

"But I can show you. I mean, the books aren't... completely accurate? But I have the books about me. My world and my life, or. One of the them, because I think maybe it's from one of the other timelines."

Can Vanitas even read? And the thought doesn't hit him until he's stopped talking.

"Anyway, you don't have to. It's just... reading helped me. When I was younger."