It's not the birds and the bees here
Nate's frown deepened when Parker poked him in the neck, her aim dead center of the angry purple bruise that had caught her attention. He tried and failed to hide his wince when she did it again.
“Does that hurt?”
If he didn't answer, would she stop? He rustled his newspaper and almost jerked out of his chair when she poked him again. “Yes, Parker, it hurts!”
“Oh.” Parker cocked her head at him, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She raised her hand again, and his warning came out as a growl.
“Parker. Stop.”
She sighed heavily, but left him alone, flopping gracefully down onto the couch. He felt a brief flash of sympathy for Eliot, and resisted the urge to rub at his neck. At least she hadn't been pinching him. He managed to make it to the sports section of the paper before Eliot and Hardison came back with their coffee and Parker spun up again.
“Nate's got something on his neck.”
So much for, 'If you wear a turtleneck, they'll never notice.'
Both Eliot and Hardison turned to look at him, took in the shirt choice, the red mark poking above the collar, and the flush spreading up the back of his neck, and turned away with identical grins.
Hardison bumped Eliot with his elbow, waggled his eyebrows, and said, “Giggidy!”
Eliot rolled his eyes at him, probably to cover his amusement, and sat next to Parker on the couch. She'd perched up on her knees and turned around, staring at Nate, then Hardison over the cushions.
“I don't get it. What is it?”
Eliot gave Hardison a look and said, “It's all you, man.”
Hardison fumbled, and then gave up. “It's a hickey, Parker.”
She frowned at him, and Nate swore he would kill them all if they didn't stop soon. “What's a hickey?”
“It's... well, you know. A hickey. When a man and a woman...”
“Dammit, Hardison, it's not the birds and the bees here! Parker, Sophie bit him.”
Nate put down his newspaper very pointedly, raising an eyebrow at all of them. “I'm right here, you know.”
Parker's confusion was evident in the way she looked to each of them for explanation. “Of course we know you're here, Nate. That's why we're asking. Why did Sophie bite you?”
Suddenly, his turtleneck was confining. What was he supposed to tell her? She'd bitten him because she was as uncontrollable in bed as she was on a con?
Sophie saved them all, again. Nate didn't bother wondering how she'd gotten into the apartment without any of them noticing. “Because sometimes, Parker, when you're with a man, you run out of ways to express passion. I'm lucky enough that Nate has a thick skin when it comes to passion.”
Hardison wrinkled his nose and shuddered, obviously trying to kill the mental image. Parker still looked confused, but seemed willing to accept Sophie's answer. She shrugged, and asked, “So why is Nate wearing such a frumpy sweater?”
Their laughter did absolutely nothing to ease her confusion.
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