Loft above Luke's, Friday evening

[vdistinctive]

"Well, the good news is, the freezer downstairs is still runnin'." Eliot shoved his hair off his face, still soggy from his trek over. He hadn't seen rain like that since -- well at least since they'd left Portland.
"So we don't have to worry about trying to get rid of a literal ton of spoiled turkey. Or angry polar bears. The bad news is it's a damn fusion reactor and it doesn't have any outlets on it that I could find, so we can't use it to power Hardison's toys." He shrugged and looked around the exceedingly dark loft, eerily lit only by the happily crackling fire in the magical fireplace and not by the dozens of monitors and screens that usually bathed the place in soft blue. "We can either camp out here, or truck it over to my place, which at least has more windows."

But would require going back out in the rain. Which was fine with Eliot, since he couldn't actually get any wetter, but probably wasn't going to be on Hardison's agenda any time soon.

[ooc: for the residents of the loft and the slowest of slowplays. Yay blackout!]

Comments

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Hardison snorted. "Let's go runnin' around in the rain up an' down a buncha stairs! We can see who breaks their neck first!"

Hardison. It would be Hardison.

[vdistinctive]

"Why the hell would we run?" The visibility was far too low out there for running. Also: "You can't outrun rain, Hardison."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Oh, so we'd walk all the way there? That sounds even better," Hardison snarked. "And then we can sit in the darkness there instead!"

He didn't like not having access to his toys.

[vdistinctive]

"More windows," Eliot repeated. "More light. Also more fireplaces, since I got more rooms." He shrugged and went over to the kitchen to wring his hair out over the sink. Val, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content to shake her wet fur out on her way over to say 'hi' to Hardison. "But, sure, we can sit around here and stare at all the computer stuff you can't currently use instead."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Hardison made a disgruntled noise in his throat. Everything about this was extremely unsatisfactory, from the lack of electricity to the trail of dog-scented water that Val was leaving behind. "We can only stare into one fireplace at a time," he said. "An' if we're here, we can be close to my systems as soon as the power comes back on."

[vdistinctive]

"Suit yourself. Might be awhile, though. Last time, the power was out for at least a couple days." Eliot's amusement at Hardison's discomfort would turn into empathy any moment now, he swore. He was just so cute when he was grumpy!

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Probably about the same time Hardison realized how uncomfortable Eliot was with storms. Unless he already had and this was an extended complaint solely to distract his boyfriend!

...Or both. It could always be both.

"What? Man, that's outrageous! Why ain't we headin' over to Baltimore to live like civilized folks?"

[vdistinctive]

"You know civilization got by without electronics for literally thousands of years, right?" Bickering was relaxing, wasn't it? "If we're stayin' here, I'm gonna need to borrow a shirt."

Please. Like Eliot hadn't left plenty of clothes here already.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Yeah, an' let's talk about how wonderful civilization was before," Hardison said, pursing his lips. "Tell me aaaaaaaaaall about how open and just society's been for the past thousand years."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Oh, right, I forgot out how electricity ended discrimination."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Hey, I'm just sayin' that usin' 'This is how we did it for a million years' is a terrible excuse," Hardison argued, folding his arms over his chest.

[vdistinctive]

"A few days without internet ain't gonna kill ya. Or bring modern society to its knees." Eliot smirked faintly. "I promise."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Man, who are you even talkin' to?" Hardison said. "I could bring modern society to its knees with the internet, c'mon! Chaos is probably gonna upload a virus to bring down the FBI an' you know who isn't there to stop him?"

Him, Eliot. Him.

"'Sides, you should also remember where we are when you say stuff like that."

[vdistinctive]

"You mean the island full of wizards and super geniuses who could probably rebuild the internet if they need to?" Eliot said. "C'mon, man, just try to relax and enjoy the atmosphere for a minute."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Yaaaay," Hardison said, waving his hands in the air. "Lovely atmosphere we got here, what with the cold rain, no lights, an' all."

That wasn't stopping him from putting his feet in Eliot's lap or anything.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot idly started rubbing Hardison's foot. "Dim lighting, cozy fire, blackout keeping other responsibilities at bay. . . ."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"A'ight, you're puttin' a decent spin on it," Hardison said, grinning at Eliot. "I might be seein' a few benefits."

[vdistinctive]

"Yeah. Thought I might be able to talk you around."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"This is really convenient," Parker marveled, already starting to shed wet clothing and get closer to the fire. "Sometimes the Island really gets stuff right. Can we toast marshmallows here?"

[vdistinctive]

"So long as you don't end up settin' anything but the marshmallow on fire," Eliot said. "'Snice of the place to set up heating when the power goes down."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"I've got more skills than that," Parker scoffed, retrieving a blanket from the couch and draping it around herself like a toga-burrito. "Does Megabyte get scared during storms?" Was she going to tear apart Eliot's house while they were gone?

[vdistinctive]

No, but that was at least partially because Eliot brought her with him ,belatedly in the thread above. "She does alright. Little bit of extra barking, but storms set lots of folks on edge."

Eliot himself, for example. Though he had a lot more experience playing it cool.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"Good. Although I will hug her more if she needs it," Parker said soberly. "Also if any ghosts show up. Nobody died in this diner, did they?"

See, that would set Parker on edge. And in need of hugs.

[vdistinctive]

"Dunno," Eliot admitted. "But someone's usually died most places you go. Doesn't mean they're haunted."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"But we're sitting next to a magic fireplace," Parker pointed out, kind of feeling like this increased the odds. "With the power out. If I were a ghost, this is when I'd show up.... do you guys want me to haunt you when I'm dead, if I die first?"

[vdistinctive]

"Ain't no way you're dyin' before me, darlin'," Eliot said, a little more forcefully than necessary. "And the last time we had ghosts here, the weather was perfectly normal."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"Well, you are the oldest. And you're going to get creaky." Parker was now frowning at her own train of thought. "...okay, no one dies. Good plan. And if ghosts show up, you can deal with them. Somehow. Right?"

[vdistinctive]

Last time Eliot had gone up against a ghost, he'd thoroughly list, ended up with his hand in a cast, and had to go on 'might turn into a werewolf' watch for a month.

"Sure thing, darlin'."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Parker gave him a suspicious look, because that agreement was waaay too easy.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot sighed. "What?"

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Parker peered at him closely. "You'd tell me if it was more complicated than that, right?"

[vdistinctive]

Well, he wouldn't have. . . . "They're ghosts, darlin'. There's nothin' simple about 'em, near as I can tell."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Parker scowled. "Okay. That's not reassuring. We should get something to hold them off. And werewolves. And vampires. And magic. Ugh."

[vdistinctive]

"Salt, silver, and I hear fire works well," Eliot said. "Parker, hon, you know I've been lookin' into this stuff."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"You said, yeah." Parker shuffled over in her blanket toga to lean against him like a cat. "But still. I mean. I love the fireplace. And sometimes the magic is fun. But."

But, sometimes, very much not, and she wasn't really clear on how to make it stop. "Do I just set fire to everything?"

[vdistinctive]

"No." Oh like she was expecting anything but a growl for that. "We're never gonna be able to control for all the details in a place like this, darlin'."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Grumbling, Parker rested her chin on his shoulder. "I still think smashing things works pretty well." She sighed. "Okay, so. Next time things look squirrely-- and not like the Radio squirrels-- you need to tell me what to do so we all live and you don't get hurt, okay?"

[vdistinctive]

"Seems to have been pretty damn effective so far," Eliot agreed. "And I'll do my best."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"...Well, I'm startin' to see a few benefits," Hardison allowed, watching Parker.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Parker first gave him a questioning look, then a grin when she realized how he was looking at her. "You're all drenched too, you know." Suggestion! Join Parker by the fire!

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"You know, mama, I think you're right," Hardison said, reaching up to pull off his shirt. "I don't wanna get sick, after all."

Uhh, about that...