75 Godiva Street, Thursday Afternoon

[geniuswithasmartphone]

After sending out the email to inform his students that class was most definitely canceled for the day, Hardison managed to pull on a pair of boxers and pad into the kitchen to make some sandwiches. They weren't all fancy, with special onions and homemade aoili or whatever (though there were heirloom tomatoes and dill havarti cheese because Hardison had learned some things over the years, whether he'd admitted it or not), but they were thick and filling. He let Val out into the yard while he prepped, 'accidentally' dropping a shred of turkey on the floor for her to grab on the way out, figuring she might appreciate both the snack and the ability to run around a bit after being housebound more than usual these past two weeks.

She came back in when he whistled, though (possibly because she was hoping for more turkey, but Hardison knew better than to chance it twice), and cheerfully padded along behind him as he carried a platter of sandwiches back to his partners. Sometimes spoiling the ones you loved meant hearty sandwiches on tangy sourdough bread and a puppy to cuddle.

[Open for housemates or phone calls]

Comments

[vdistinctive]

Eliot was a man with a lot of endurance. Hell, his whole reputation was built on that fact. But even he had his limits, which would be why he was still sprawled across the king-sized bed when Hardison came back in, looking remarkably blissed out.

He lifted his head when he caught a whiff of food, at least, and blinked up at Hardison wide-eyed.

"Is that . . . did you use the dill harvati on those?"

Hardison, if you hadn't already won him over years ago, Eliot would be falling in love with you right now.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"An' an onion an' one of them special tomatoes you had," Hardison said, climbing back into the bed, carefully balancing the platter.

They weren't Maui onions, the turkey hadn't been seared, and the tomatoes were cut pretty unevenly. But it was a decent approximation of an unforgettable sandwich.

"I'm claimin' the first one, too," he teased.

[vdistinctive]

Yeah, Eliot had to raise an eyebrow at that one. "See, I knew you ate that damn sandwich." He made a grab for one of the sandwiches, determined to end up stealing the "first one" right out from under Hardison. Without sitting up.

What? This was a good bed. Very comfy, and proving to be very sturdy. He wasn't going anywhere for a bit.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"How many times you made that sandwich over the years?" Hardison asked, rolling his eyes. "How many more times I have to listen to you recount how you make it before sputterin' off into yellin' 'Forgettable?!' Doesn't take a genius to remember the basics an', if you remember, I am hella genius."

He was also letting Eliot steal the first sandwich. That was love right there.

[vdistinctive]

"My sandwiches ain't forgettable," Eliot grumbled around a mouthful of sandwich.

It wasn't amazing, but it wasn't a half-bad effort. Certainly better than most of the crap Hardison considered food, so Eliot backed off the old argument and gave Hardison's thigh an approving pat.

"You let Val out while you were up?"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Course, man," Hardison said around the second sandwich. "I wasn't about to let our girl dance around the kitchen and not let her out. Let her out, let her run around, let her back in when I was finishin' up."

Val, that bit of turkey was your secret, okay? Yours and Hardison's. Be cool.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot narrowed his eyes. Hardison was doing that 'give far more information than necessary' thing he did when he was either geeking out or lying.

Still, it wasn't as though Eliot had any intention of getting up and walking anywhere today -- in no small part because of Hardison -- so he couldn't really argue too much.

"Didja feed her?"

That didn't mean he wasn't going to argue at all.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"What you mean dog food?" Hardison asked, looking innocent. "Nah, I was busy gettin' our food ready. An' she seemed way more interested in what was goin' on outside than eatin' any, y'know, dog food."

Which was different than people food.

[vdistinctive]

Oh Hardison. You were so bad at this.

"Yeah," Eliot said, giving Hardison a full on Look, now. "Dog food is the only thing anyone should be feeding her."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Well yeah," Hardison said innocently. "That would be wrong."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot groaned and draped his arm over his face. "Dammit, Hardison."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Okay, so I mighta dropped some turkey on the floor," Hardison began.

[vdistinctive]

"Mighta. Just accidentally."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Well obviously," Hardison said. "Kinda mistake that just happens sometimes. Could happen to anyone!"

[vdistinctive]

"Swear to god, man, you get my dog sick. . . ."

None of his usual threats would hold even a little weight when he was all naked and sprawled and debauched and all.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

And Hardison, excellent boyfriend that he was, was just going to lean down and kiss Eliot to drive that point home. A nice, long, leisurely kiss, the kind that promised more kisses in the future.

"You were sayin'?"

[vdistinctive]

Oh come on! With all this pollen floating around Eliot was barely thinking straight without a lip-lock happening!

"Dirty pool," he grumbled, and tugged Hardison back down for another.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Thief," Hardison returned with a deep chuckle and went down quite happily.

...For a kiss!

...

...For now.

"Lookit you," he breathed, lips just grazing Eliot. "You lookin' debauched. Like we just wore you out."

It was a good look on him.

[vdistinctive]

"An' it only took y'all better part of a week," Eliot agreed.

The fact that he was somewhere secure with people he trusted absolutely helped a lot, too.

"Your endurance has gone up, too."

What they'd been getting up to was rather aerobic, after all.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

It was the trust that made Hardison the happiest. Knowing that Eliot had let his guard down because Eliot was comfortable letting his guard down made everything a million times better. If something happened outside, he knew that Eliot would be out of the bed like a shot, all evidence of a lazy week of seduction gone like it had never been. But for now, Eliot showed no signs of wariness.

Like Hardison said, it was a good look on him.

"That's what happens when we live on a crazy island where I gotta outrun sharks an' aliens an' monsters every other damn day," he said, amused. "I dunno if you noticed, but I'm in better shape, too."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot traced lazy fingers along Hardison’s abs. “Oh yeah. I’ve noticed.” He rolled over, setting his sandwich aside, and replaced his fingers with his lips. “You got them showy, pretty-boy muscles.”

Eliot’s, having been built from the ground up for resilience, tended to be thicker and less well-defined. More weight-lifter than body-builder. It was something he’d even occasionally been self-conscious about.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Hopefully between the two of them, Parker and Hardison had put any remaining vestiges of that self-consciousness to bed. It was no secret just how much they appreciated his strength, his sturdiness, and his endurance.

...Yes, dirty.

"Pretty boy, huh?" Hardison asked. "You know, I think that's the first time anyone's ever called me that."

He had to pause for a second to gasp as Eliot's clever mouth traced over sensitive skin.

"I like it."