75 Godiva Street, Saturday Afternoon

[geniuswithasmartphone]

So, everything was terrible again. Hardison was pretty sure that Tony and his TA were evil, Eliot had brought home a version of Kathy that needed babysitting a lot more than she needed to be out heroing, there were slugs pretty much everywhere, and last night Eliot had insisted they all sleep down in the panic room in the basement. Which was actually more like a 'panic suite' because Eliot had built it and he was kind of extra about things, but even so, it was a little more claustrophobic than Hardison was comfortable with. He'd found himself calculating how much air was available in their hidey hole, which wasn't something he'd done since they'd moved from Portland.

That itchy restlessness hadn't left him, even when they'd all come back upstairs for brunch. He needed to get out for a little while. Do something. Spend some time in the open air while feeling useful. So once the meal was over, Hardison grabbed for his jacket and his laptop bag. A walk across the island to the school for some quality research time would hopefully settle him.

[Open for housemates and visitors!]

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[vdistinctive]

"You want to stop along the way?" Yeah, there really wasn't much avoiding that anxiety spiral. "So you can get caught by some kind of giant sphinx thing again?!"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Radio ain't said nothin' about monsters this time," Hardison reminded. "Just slugs an' weird people."

One of which was probably his TA, which had him extra-worried.

[vdistinctive]

"Radio barely said anything," Eliot said. "And there's an evil version of a shapeshifter walking around wanting to burn things. That's not better."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"But that also means there's a good version of a shapeshifter wanderin' around, one that's still pretty messed up from the last time she had to trek through hostile territory," Hardison snapped back. Unless his Raven was just crazy, which was apparently a thing, but he was hoping for the best, here. "Your girl's here." One version of her anyway. "Mine ain't. You think I can just go to ground without knowin' she's safe?"

[vdistinctive]

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. . . .

"I don't want you goin' out there alone."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"You gonna escort me then?" Hardison asked. He was willing to take an escort if that would help Eliot feel better. "Then you'll be walkin' home alone. An' folks will be here without you."

There were just a few details to iron out about that idea, was all.

[vdistinctive]

And god only knew what he'd come home to. "Then figure out some other way. I screwed up last time, and I'm not doing it again."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"You didn't screw up, man!" Hardison said. "You kept us safe! Me'n Parker! We're right here!" He reached for Eliot's hand, bringing it over to splay across his chest, where his heart beat, steady and reassuring. "Them other ones? They weren't us. Not anymore. They were twisted an' mindless an' hollow an' what happened to them ain't on you."

[vdistinctive]

"Then whose fault was it? You can't tell me the other Eliot didn't promise his Sophie the same thing I did."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"First of all, that Eliot ain't you anymore'n that Kathy's the other one," he said, pointing at Kathy who was painstakingly writing Val's name on the back of her hand. "An' I know from the way you kept blowin' up her phone last night you ain't confusin' the two of them. If they're different people, so are you an' your double."

He felt Kathy was a much better example than the duplicate of him from the other Fandom.

"An', man, it wasn't anyone's fault. Or it was magic's fault. Fandom's. Whatever weird thing started alla that. But it wasn't anythin' anyone could fight. What was he supposed to do, kill 'em when their memories started to go? Ain't no Eliot in the world able to do that."

[vdistinctive]

"He should have gone first!"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"That's just crazy talk," Hardison said quietly. Calmly. He reached out, trying to pull Eliot in for a hug. "He couldn't control that. That's like bein' mad at somebody for not gettin' sick first."

God, Eliot was so stiff, so tense. "You ain't bein' rational right now. Probably cause you ain't slept. It's harder to protect us when you're overtired an' not thinkin' straight."

[vdistinctive]

"I can't," Eliot said, voice breaking faintly. "I tried, I just keep . . . thinking."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"I'll make you a deal," Hardison said quietly. "You take a nap an' I won't leave till you're awake again. We can pull out a mattress an' put it right here, so you're surrounded by everyone an', hell, I'll even lay down with you."

He took a deep breath, because he was pretty sure the next thing he was going to say would go over like a lead balloon.

"An' if you can't sleep for thinkin', well...we got some things that'll help with that."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot stared at him. "You want to drug me?"

Honestly it was probably the best plan.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Yep," Hardison said, because there was no candy-coating this. "I want you to sleep an' if that's the only way to do it, then that's what needs to be done."

[vdistinctive]

"If I'm drugged," Eliot said. "Then I really won't be able to protect you."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Which is why I won't go anywhere till you're awake again," Hardison said. "Otherwise I'mma go."

He left the part where Eliot would have to hurt him to stop him unsaid.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot's expression was agonized. "Hardison. Please."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"I love you," Hardison said and he'd never meant it more. "But we can't do this. It ain't healthy. It ain't right. You gotta let me do the stuff I gotta do, even when it means there's danger."

He cupped the back of Eliot's head, pulling his forehead in to bump against his own. "I can't stop you from takin' punches, remember? Same thing."

[vdistinctive]

It wasn't, though. Not in Eliot's head. Not right now.

"You promise you won't leave while I'm out?"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

That was one of the reasons Hardison was trying to get him to sleep.

"Thieves' honor man," he said. "I'll be right there next to you when you fall asleep an' in the same damn spot when you wake up."

[vdistinctive]

"Alright," Eliot said, letting out a shaky breath. "I'll take the pills."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Hardison nodded. "Good," he said, and hugged Eliot hard. "You're doin' the right thing. You wanna crash out here? Or in the bedroom?"

He nodded Parker towards the bathroom, silently asking her to grab the sedatives.

[vdistinctive]

"Fuck. I don't know." Eliot didn't want to 'crash out' anywhere. He wouldn't say it out loud, and he kind of hated himself for it, but his main reason for agreeing was that him sleeping would keep Hardison in the house that much longer. "The couch. If somethin' attacks --"

He'd be too groggy to do anything about it. Please pardon Eliot while he tried not to hyperventilate.