75 Godiva Street, Monday morning

[vdistinctive]

Eliot didn't sleep nearly as much as Parker and Hardison did, so he was pretty used to being up before they were, getting coffee ready and sorting through his fridge for what to make for breakfast. He'd've been perfectly happy to stay in bed and just stare at his partners and make sure they were still there, but whatever the aliens had been using to sustain them all over the week hadn't really been much more than minimal, and Eliot was pretty sure he wasn't the only one who'd be waking up today starving.

He may have stuck comms on everyone so he could still hear them the whole time, though.

It was weird being in his kitchen without Val sitting at his feet in her eternally frustrated hope for scraps (eternally frustrated from him, anyway, he was pretty sure she still did it because Hardison and Parker were sneaking her things), but Kathy had texted the night before to let him know that her little sister had been taking care of the puppy, and that Kathy was going to keep her in the dorms for one more night. Considering how much time he and the others had spent yesterday in constant physical contact, Eliot could guess why Kathy wanted to keep a nice, warm, happy puppy around for the night, so he didn't insist. He was used to getting shot at and nearly killed, after all, and what had happened in that sim --

Eliot's hand spasmed around his knife and he dropped in to the cutting board and stepped back, leaning his weight into his hands on the counter and just breathing through it as the image of Kathy silhouetted in the doorway ran through his head. He kept his head down a moment longer once the scene finished playing out in his memory, then straightened up, stretched his fingers, and got back to chopping.

He'd have to watch out for that for a little while.

[ooc: for those in the house and the one stopping by -- and anyone else who might decide to drop in and visit. Note: linked thread contains violence and simulated death.]

Comments

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Like bein' too funny, handsome, an' charmin'?" Hardison asked, giving Eliot another kiss on his shoulder before heading to the fridge to find the peaches. "Yeah, I could see where datin' a fine specimen of perfection like me could have its downsides."

He grabbed the peaches and gently squeezed. They remained firm, no soft spots or weird discolorations. As far as Hardison could tell, that meant they were fine? Look, he didn't hang out in produce all that often. "Yo, I'm pretty sure they're good," he said, piling them up on the counter.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot picked one up, looked it over, and nodded approvingly. "Great. Was thinkin' of maybe doing a cobbler this afternoon." And a roast for dinner. And probably appetizers to go along with it. And that didn't cover lunch. . . .

Basically Eliot was going to be cooking the entire day, unless otherwise distracted by his crew.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Well, Hardison did have some plans for being distracting, but he was also only too happy to let Eliot cook for him. Fair warning, though, he (and most likely Parker) were going to hang about the kitchen and generally be underfoot, sneaking tastes and swiping ingredients and generally just being near one another.

"Homemade peach cobbler?" Hardison was grinning again. "I knew there was a reason I loved you?" He tilted his head. "Are we still doin' that?" he asked. "Or is that a special event kinda thing?"

Either way, he was okay. He'd gone for months without Parker being able to say it back and knew how to look for the actions that spoke more loudly than words. Like the vast amounts of food being cooked for them right now.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot raised an eyebrow at him. "It's out there. Ain't like I'm gonna be taking it back."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Naw, but you might not want me sayin' it every ten minutes," Hardison pointed out, because yes, he could absolutely see himself doing that if given the opportunity. Look, he had a lot of love to share, all right? "You had your reasons for not sayin' so before an' they ain't magically gone away because we were kidnapped by aliens for a long weekend."

And, honestly, Hardison was fine with that. He'd fallen in love with Eliot as he was. He just wanted to know, so he didn't accidentally push too hard.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot had had his reasons. Reasons that seemed pretty stupid after watching suspiciously styled simulated bodies roll into a mass grave.

"You don't have to stop yourself on my account," Eliot decided. "Just so long as you're not expectin' it answered back every single time."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Hardison rolled his eyes at his boooooooooooooyfrieeeeeeeeeend. Yes, every vowel there was necessary. "Man, that sure will be some shock to the system," he said in a deliberate monotone. "I will have no idea how to handle that. Parker's normally so effusive an' all, however will I cope?"

[vdistinctive]

"Poor Hardison," Eliot said. "Fallen in love with two emotionally stunted assholes. You'll have to call Sophie up to commiserate."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"It's my cross to bear," Hardison sighed, coming to embrace Eliot again. "To make up for all the perfection, y'know? Probably why the good Lord made me good with emotions--to make up for the two of you." Because god knew that he needed to be extra in-touch with his emotions to not be driven round the bend dealing with either of them. "Still gettin' off easier than Sophie did, even with the both you."

Though he was pretty sure Nate had never called Sophie a cocksucker, so she did have one up on him.

[vdistinctive]

"You're damn right you did," Eliot said, offering him another piece of bacon. "That woman has the patience of a saint."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"An' Nate can't cook worth a damn," Hardison said, only too happy to keep eating more bacon, especially directly from Eliot's hands. "We should call 'em sometime. See how they are. I miss 'em, you know?"

Hardison wasn't so casual about family that he could easily let go of any of his.

"An' it might be cool to let 'em know about us. Bein'...us."

[vdistinctive]

"Should at least be sure to do that before the wedding," Eliot agreed. "Assumin' they ever get around to planning it."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Nate's probably tryna keep Sophie from blowin' the wedding budget on shoes," Hardison said with a laugh. "Or we could just show up to the ceremony an' surprise 'em."

[vdistinctive]

"Nate's probably trying to convince Sophie the wedding needs a budget." It wasn't like any of them were hurting for cash. "They may notice when we all RSVP as each others' plus ones."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"...We're gonna RSVP?" Hardison asked. "I figured we'd show up. Aren't we gonna be...in it? Or somethin'?"

He'd never actually been to a wedding before interestingly enough. Except as part of a con. Which was probably not what Nate and Sophie's wedding would be like.

Unless it exactly what it was like. He had no idea.

[vdistinctive]

"You know, I ain't actually been a guest to an American wedding." Eliot shrugged. "I'm sure Sophie'll let us know eventually. You're not nervous about tellin' them about us, are you?"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Nate an' Sophie?" Hardison laughed. "Sophie's probably figured it out before any of us did. An' Nate--he's s'posed to be the smart one. You cool with it?"

[vdistinctive]

Eliot shrugged. "'Course. They're family." He winced. "Not -- I ain't sayin' you have to tell family or anything. Just -- Yeah, it's fine if Nate and Sophie know."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"I'mma--" Hardison scrubbed his face. "It's not like I ain't gonna tell her. I dunno...is this really somethin' to say over the phone though? 'Hey, Nana, just so you know, I'm head over heels for not one but two people an' one's a dude. How's your church group?' I ain't even ever told her I liked dudes at all, never mind that I'm plannin' on spendin' the rest of my life with one."

[vdistinctive]

That last bit probably should have been somewhat less of a surprise, since Eliot had already basically declared he'd be spending the rest of his with Hardison and Parker before they'd all even hooked up romantically. Eliot still startled at it, though.

"Fair enough," he said, skipping easily past the startle; he'd had lots of practice at that lately, after all. "You know I'm alright either way, right?"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Why?" Hardison asked. "I wouldn't be."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot shrugged. "'Cause sometimes you gotta keep secrets. Just part of life."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Yeah, but not about the people you love," Hardison said. "Nana ain't gotta know about Leverage or how we do what we do, don't gotta know about the number of warrants out for our arrest or countries we can't visit or fatwas we might have declared on us, but that ain't the same. Not at all."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot nodded. He pulled the most recent french toast off the skillet, then turned the heat down and set everything aside so he could turn and face Hardison straight on.

"It is the same. You're keepin' a secret to protect somethin'. You're worried how she'll react. There's nothin' wrong with that."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"I'm not ashamed of y'all, though," Hardison said. "I mean, I ain't ashamed of what we do for Leverage, either, but that's, like, legally different." In that she could be charged and held as an accessory if what they did ever got out. "That's like sayin'...I dunno, I wouldn't introduce her to y'all in case you'd react weird to foster moms."

Okay, maybe not really.

"Just...it feels like lyin' about who I really am. An' I don't wanna lie."