75 Godiva, Wednesday

[vdistinctive]

The house was gutted down to studs, many of which had been rearranged to make the new configuration of rooms the team had agreed on. Eliot was working on framing the new upper story now, which meant a hard hat, tool belt, gloves, the works.

Seriously, he had this whole men-at-work carpenter look down up here. He hoped his partners appreciated it. Lord knew he did on the few occasions Hardison got down and dirty with a maker get up. He wondered how much Hardison would fuss about the sawdust if they tried to fool around in (a carefully cleared area of) the construction site. . . .

Work was happening, if a little slow. Since the carpenter kept distracting himself with idle fantasies.

[yeah I dunno. Open! Eliot should be visible from the street while he works. . . .]

Comments

[vdistinctive]

"Oh, so you'd willingly go back to Oklahoma for that, huh?" Eliot said. "Sure. You can learn all about how most cowboys looked a lot more like you than like me."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Nat Turner an' all that, yeah?" Hardison suggested. "But yeah, I'd go back to Oklahoma for that. But you know I'mma tease you about it with every step, right?"

Possibly by being over the top excited about it.

[vdistinctive]

"Like the original Lone Ranger," Eliot said, nodding. "Herdin' cattle was dangerous, backbreakin' work involving long hours and no luxuries, you think the rich white folk were doin' that shit? Museum covers indians, too, the real ones, none of that 'noble savage' bullshit from the movies. I mean, place ain't perfect or nothin', and a whole lot of it is full of old saddles and hats, but . . . hell, when I was growin' up, it was like a slice of heaven."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Wait, the Lone Ranger was real?" Hardison asked. "An' black?!"

[vdistinctive]

Eliot grinned. "He was based on Bass Reeves, far as I know. First black marshall west of the Mississippi."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"You don't say." Hardison looked delighted. "That was one of the shows we watched growin' up on Nick At Nite. Nana loved it. We all thought it was cheesy as hell, but fun anyway."

Yeah. They were definitely gonna have to go to the museum now.

[vdistinctive]

"Never much watched that one," Eliot admitted. "I couldn't deal with that 'Tonto' bullshit."

He'd never had much patience with the way Native Americans were portrayed in a lot of media.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Either the noble savage, the dirty villain, or the cheerful servant?

...Yeah, Hardison could get that.

"Better or worse than the remake from a coupla years ago?" Hardison teased.

[vdistinctive]

"I didn't watch that travesty, either," Eliot pointed out. "But -- I mean, the original didn't have him wearin' a dead bird on his head, at least."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Awww, you peeked at your Christmas gift already."

Hardison, don't antagonize the man with the power tools.

[vdistinctive]

"You think you're cute," Eliot observed. "But if you ain't kidding I will replace all your Orange Squeeze with Fresca."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"That's just rude!" Hardison protested. "Ain't no reason to bring my Orange Squeeze into it! I mean, I will retaliate by goin' after your heirloom tomatoes."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot snorted. "You might try. . . ."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Hey, you're busy a lot of the times! You don't always know what I'm up to!"

He'd have to recruit Parker for this. Obviously.

[vdistinctive]

Parker might have a chance. Hardison by himself, no way. "Tomato season'll be well over by then, anyway."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"An' yet, there will be whole drawers of tomatoes chillin' in the house. All of 'em lookin' exactly alike, forced grown in hothouses."

[vdistinctive]

"I'll just have to relocate 'em to your floor," Eliot said. "Maybe line 'em all up along the server racks."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Man, you even touch those server racks--!" Hardison warned. He didn't even have a good enough threat lined up to finish it.

[vdistinctive]

"Real easy solution to this, man. Don't try to give me racist movies for Christmas."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"I was gonna get you the racist bird hat."

Which made it all better?

[vdistinctive]

"Yeah, don't do that either."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Well, see if you get a racist Christmas now," Hardison scoffed.

[vdistinctive]

"You're gonna make my noble ancestors cry. One single tear. Just like they do over littering."