Outside Oklahoma City, Wednesday evening

[vdistinctive]

Trudy had said Eliot and his family were going to be her guests, so he wasn't allowed to cook dinner. He'd said she shouldn't have to cook it either, and they'd both refused to make everyone eat leftover funeral casserole.

So Eliot pulled the rental car — rental van, because four adults was a lot to fit into a sedan and renting a van was almost tradition — into the lot of a little mom&pop Italian restaurant.

"There's Tru's car," he said as he set the parking break and turned the car off. He looked back towards Kathy and Parker. "Y'all ready for this?"

[ooc: FAMILY DINNER TIME! For those who know, and epic slow play.]

Comments

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"Soooo, initial surveillance," Parker said, putting this in her own kind of terms. "To get the layout. And the basic specs. And see if there are any places to avoid."

Parker, you can't steal Eliot's family.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Sure she could!

"Exactly," Hardison said. "We meet 'em on their terms to get to know them when they're most comfortable. Remember, mama, they're just as nervous to meet y'all as y'all are to meet them, an' just as eager to make a good impression."

Well. Maybe not Cassie.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"That will never stop being weird," Parker confided in a lower voice. "People wanting to make an impression on me. Not grifting-me, or Leverage-me, but me, me. So weird."

Okay, so, four people, dynamics to watch, food to eat, and making sure Kathy was okay too. Good! She would do this.

Thank everything that Hardison had done the prep work on this one.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Hey, I was tryna make an impression on you from day one," Hardison teased, leaning in to steal a kiss. "You had almost a decade to get used to the idea, mama."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

You can't steal what someone gives away, Hardison. Mwah!

"I got an impression." Parker grinned at him. "You run well when things go explodey. Also so smart I didn't understand what you were saying sometimes, so that was interesting." She squeezed his hand. "And you looked away when I stripped. So, good impression."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"I mighta thought you were the prettiest girl I'd seen in my whole life basically, but that didn't gimme the right to look at you when you might not want me to," Hardison said. He still reflexively turned his back when Parker stripped and it wasn't for effect. Just because he got to see her naked now (and see her naked a LOT) didn't mean that her nakedness was FOR him.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"You both didn't look at me," Parker said, meditatively. "I thought you guys were interested in each other for a while."

Well, she'd sort of been right?

"But you kept impressing me. 'Cause you didn't change into anyone else, anyone worse later on." She took a breath. "You like them? Eliot's family?"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

As much as Hardison would have been okay continuing to talk about how great he'd been, Parker's question took precedence. "I like 'em," he promised. "The guys are kinda quiet an' it's hard to get a bead on 'em, but Trudy's great an' you'll love Cassie. Ellie's pretty nice, but a civilian."

Well, they were all civilians, but Ellie very much so.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

So the nephew and brother-in-law could use some smiles, but Parker could relax with Trudy and Cassie. "Ellie's not here tonight though, so. Okay. Got it." Another small smile, and she squeezed his arm. "I'll bring them presents next time."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"No diamonds," Hardison reminded. It was automatic at this point.