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!]

Comments

[vdistinctive]

"Well. It's a good thing you thought to write it down, then."

[godilovedthis]

"I do what I have to to keep going," she said. She looked up at him. "Don't worry, I won't ask you. I'll ask Dante. When it's time."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

[godilovedthis]

Kathy smiled a little. That kiss felt nice. Like a warm belly in a safe place. Like, well, love.

"Eliot, this is a silly question but..."

It didn't make sense. She was Korean, she knew that. And he had her call him 'Eliot,' not anything else.

And yet.

"Are you my dad?"

[vdistinctive]

Please pardon the small amount of clinging you got for that one, Kathy.

"Not by blood, darlin'. But yeah. By somethin' even better'n that."

[godilovedthis]

Kathy loved hugs!

"What's that?" she asked, snuggling him back.

[vdistinctive]

"Love." Eliot would hold onto her as long as she let him. Maybe a little bit longer. "Strongest thing there is."

[godilovedthis]

"You're right," Kathy said, freeing herself just long enough to make a note on her sheet of paper.

Where it had once said Eliot now it read Eliot (Dad).

[vdistinctive]

Kathy, right now you were Eliot's favorite person in the world. "Would you look at that."

[godilovedthis]

Bet he'd never expected the broken, amnesiac version of Kathy to be the comforting one today.

"Should I call you Dad?" she asked. "Or Eliot?"

Not that she'd remember either in fifteen or so minutes.

[vdistinctive]

Not so much, no. "Which one do you like better?"

[godilovedthis]

Kathy shrugged. "They're the same thing, aren't they? Whichever one I say, I still mean both."

[vdistinctive]

That got her another hug, one Eliot wasn't going to let go of for a good while.