Office hours, Wednesday

[vdistinctive]

Eliot had been planning to do the whole "find music and practice the guitar" thing during his office hours again, today, but his computer seemed to have another idea.

Mostly, it was refusing to play anything other than Macarthur Park.

Spring was never waiting for us, girl
It ran one step ahead
As we followed in the dance
Between the parted pages and were pressed
In love's hot, fevered iron
Like a striped pair of pants

And then when he tried to turn it off, it kept playing. Even when he turned the computer off. And unplugged it. And unplugged the speakers. And threw the whole thing onto the floor and stomped on it a few times.

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Val excitedly howling along wasn't helping.

[ooc: fun fact! This is my mother's all time favorite song. Open!]

Comments

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Well, y'all seemed to just get along super-great," Hardison grumbled, trying not to smile at the declaration there. "Didn't seem all that freaked out."

Eliot liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiked hiiiiiiiiiiim.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot would have liked to think that was obvious, but, you know. He'd met himself, so.

"Man, I was playin' along to keep you from runnin' off and doin' something stupid."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

He knew! But it wasn't like Eliot went out of his way to say or anything.

"Oooh, like what? Preach about charity? Do good works? Father Goody Two Shoes didn't seem like the type to do somethin' stupid."

Unlike, say, Hardison.

[vdistinctive]

"Not believe in the alot bearin' down on him and get trampled?" Eliot offered. "Get his ass bit by another gremlin?"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Don't the alots live out in the woods? Man, why would he go visit there? Proselytize to the trees?"

...The gremlins thing he had no defense for.

[vdistinctive]

"We live in Fandom. I ain't discounting a damn thing."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"If anything, he'd run into the alot of stairs," Hardison grumbled. "Or the alot of sanctimoniousness."

Hardison didn't like his alter-ego. FYI.

"Says something when I'm actually gonna be glad to head to the CMAs tomorrow."

[vdistinctive]

"'Course you're glad. It's gonna be a damn good time," Eliot said. "You can go the whole nine yards, and I'll beat up all the guys who want to punch you for bein' obnoxious."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

That earned him a giant grin. "You just like punchin' people," Hardison accused half-heartedly.

[vdistinctive]

"Well yeah. If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it so well."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"So, you're just gonna let me be an asshole so you can get into all those fights you ain't gettin' on the island," Hardison drawled. "I'm onto you."

[vdistinctive]

"I know you're not tryin' to tell me you're not gonna be an asshole about it," Eliot said. "I'm just makin' the best of the situation."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Maybe I was plannin' on bein' good, givin' this a try, tryna see if I can discover what it is about this event that makes you happy?"

Hint: He had not been planning this, no.

[vdistinctive]

"You remember the part where I've known you for more'n half a decade, right?"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Maybe being a priest gave me a new outlook on life. I'm tryna be a holier, better person."

Not laughing hurt.

[vdistinctive]

"I will beat you up myself if that's true."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Violence, my son, is never the answer," Hardison intoned.

[vdistinctive]

"You almost got it right," Eliot said. "Hang on, let me find you a napkin."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"My collar is fine, thanks," Hardison said, rolling his eyes. "So...wanted to check on a thing. From yesterday. I'm figurin' it was just a thing to try to minimize confusion an' whatever. An', if so, that's like, cool, just sayin'."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to go on.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"You were throwin' out some terms there. Mighta even been considered labels."

[vdistinctive]

"What, that church stuff?"

Yeah, Eliot knew that wasn't what Hardison meant.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

And Hardison knew he knew, which was why he was just giving him a look. "Is that your way of sayin' drop it?"

[vdistinctive]

Eliot shrugged, a little more aggressively than necessary. He didn't want to reject the labels, but -- "I dunno, man, I was tryin' to shock you outta it or somethin'."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"That's what I was checkin'," Hardison said, leaning back in his chair. "Done for effect then. Like I said, s'cool."

He could slowplay it far longer than Eliot could, after all.

[vdistinctive]

"Yeah," Eliot said. Then: "I dunno. I guess -- maybe I'm sorta -- tryin' it out. It still sounds weird, but."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"No pressure here," Hardison said mildly. "I was just checkin' in. You know you ain't gotta do anythin' you ain't comfortable with."

EXCEPT TO ACCEPT YOU WILL BE LOVED FOREVER.

DEAL WITH IT.