geniuswithasmartphone | 75 Godiva Street, Thanksgiving Day, Thursday Afternoon

It was Thanksgiving! The house smelled amazing too, like roasting turkey and sage and simmering apple cider and baking pies. Eliot had outdone himself in the kitchen this year, whipping up the creamiest mashed potatoes, the fluffiest stuffing, and even the crispiest egg rolls Hardison had ever seen. His own contribution was a platter of the croissant-variety Hot Pockets in various flavors.

Look, his TA had requested them and he was gonna provide, dammit.

Now they were finishing up the last few dishes, setting the table, and preparing for a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Not every member of their assorted families could be here today, but every person who was here was family in their own way. For Hardison, found family was infinitely more precious than people just related by blood. Each person had chosen to be here, to be part of this, and--

Shut up, he wasn't getting all misty-eyed. It was the dust. It got all up in his allergies.

[Up super-early I know, but holiday-related SP expected in a big way and also timezones! Sorry to anyone confused, but this post is definitely set for Thursday, Thanksgiving.]

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It was a good thing that Eliot had gone for an open plan kitchen, because otherwise he wouldn't be able to do much mingling at all. It was quite a trick keeping all this food warm and ready to eat all at the same time.

"I catch any one of y'all trying to sneak a bite ahead of time, I'm gonna whallop you one upside the head."

"Yo, we wouldn't do nothin' like that!" Hardison protested innocently. "That would be...wrong."

Eliot flicked a dishtowel at him. "You think I don't know what that phrase means? Whallop. Upside. The head."

Hardison ducked out of the way, looking hurt. "Whoa man, whoa whoa! Ain't nobody tryna eat your damn food too early! We're--we're--we're adults an' we know how to behave ourselves!"

There was an egg roll clutched in his hands that were hidden below the counter already, yes.

"Put it back."

"You don't even--I ain't--This is just rudeness--Who says I got somethin'?"

One day, Hardison would realize that sputtering was a tell.

"Insulted, that's what I am. Damn insulted."

"What's insultin' is you thinking that's gonna work. Put. It. Back."

"This is just like the sandwich thing all over again with you makin' baseless accusations against me."

"You mean the thing where you lied to me for a whole job about eating my sandwich only to admit it on camera?"

They'd all seen that weirdo German director's film, Hardison.

"I thought it was goin' on the outtakes!"

"You think you're distractin' me now, but you ain't."

"Hurtful," Hardison declared. "This is just hurtful."

Well, it was probably about to be.

"How you just gonna accuse your boy like that?"

"No, what's hurtful is the whallopin' you're gonna get if you don't put it back."

Honestly, Eliot was going to take whatever it was back out, considering how long Hardison had been putting his hands all over it. But it was the principle of the thing.

See?! He didn't even want it back!

"Man, why you always gotta resort to violence?" Hardison asked. "It's Thanksgivin'! A time for togetherness an' an' an' generosity! An' forgiveness!"

So that was definitely a challenge. Either to not get caught, or to not get walloped.

"Is a whallop harder than a smack, or less than a choke-hold?"

Of course it was. Eliot had met Parker, after all. "You're on two completely different scales there, darlin'. Whallop's kinda in its own category."

"Is this about the presentation, or are we waiting to meld ingredients again?"

'Cause if this was about presentation, Parker was hungry enough to skip it.

"So really, the whalloping is worse, is what I'm getting here."

"It's about not bein' rude," Eliot said. "And not challengin' the authority of the cook."

"I'm not being rude, I'm enthusiastic," Parker said, looking hopeful. "And how is me wanting to eat food a challenge to your authority?... unless that means I have to cook, in which case, you are super-unchallenged."

75 Godiva Street, Thanksgiving Day, Thursday Afternoon

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