The Perk, Sunday afternoon

[vdistinctive]

Eliot had never been quite so happy to be hungover. Well, okay. Not so much happy about the hangover part. But the stuff that had led to this hangover? Parker had very enthusiastically shown Eliot and Hardison that being women could be pretty awesome, yesterday. And last night. And into the early morning. The process had involved not a little bit

Comments

[age_of_the_geek]

Sharing Eliot's table (and the occasional sex-stupid smile), Hardison was still blinking sleepily into his coffee. Look, he hadn't had Eliot's alcohol tolerance even before he'd lost a foot of height and a corresponding amount of muscle mass. Also, the next time Eliot complained about Hardison not getting enough exercise, he was just going to remind him of this past weekend and grin. Some more.

Yes, he was ridiculous and he didn't even care. There had been a day of great sex, a lot of booze, and now he was drinking good coffee. And looking cute, because unlike some people he couldn't wear his usual clothing this weekend. So he was wearing the tank top and a cute floral skirt that Parker had grabbed for him and finding himself not particularly fussed about wearing either. Maybe he just wasn't as hung up on gender conformity as he'd always assumed. Maybe he was just too tired and happy to care. Whatever. He was goddamn adorable this weekend, all short and brightly colored

[vdistinctive]

"Yeah?" Eliot asked, looking at the baristas again. "Is he cute as a guy, too?"

Not everyone could have turned out to be just as adorable male or female as Hardison was, right?

[age_of_the_geek]

No. No they could not. Hardison's adorableness was a special blessing from the lord and all his little angels, dammit.

"Nah," Hardison said, though quietly so as to not hurt Brent's feelings. "He's workin' it way better as a girl. His haircut's better an' he ain't poppin' his collar like a punk today."

[vdistinctive]

"Ah, that Brent," Eliot said. "Wonder how many folks tried to call out this weekend 'cause they were missin' important bits."

Eliot didn't normally go in to the diner on the weekend anyway, but he was definitely planning to avoid showing up as a woman, if at all possible.

[age_of_the_geek]

"Only on this island, man," Hardison sighed. "Could you imagine tryna pull off a con like this? I mean, talk about unbreakable covers. An' it wouldn't really affect me much, but..."

It still seemed like a terrible idea.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot shook his head. "But I'd be next to useless without a hell of a lot of time practicin' with -- these things." Eliot gestured to his chest, then grinned suddenly. "Can you imagine Nate suddenly bein' a woman for a weekend?"

[age_of_the_geek]

"How many bottles of whisky you think are the Nate-recommended doses for dealin' with a sudden genitalia-swap?" Hardsion asked, returning that grin. "He'd pretend like it ain't no thang for him an' then freak out when he thought we weren't lookin'."

[vdistinctive]

"At which point he'd get completely trashed and come up with a completely insane idea of how to use the three of us as women in a con -- that would somehow still end up working."

[age_of_the_geek]

"But end up riskin' us all more'n we really needed to be an' Sophie would end up pissed at him for the whole thing," Hardison said with more fondness than was probably merited. "She'd be mad, but worse, she'd be disappointed."

[vdistinctive]

"Which would only make Nate want to drink more," Eliot agreed. "You know, he's one of my best friends, but I do not miss his masterminding."

[age_of_the_geek]

"I like Parker's method of copin' with stress a helluva lot more," Hardison admitted with an easy grin, though it faded into sincerity a moment later. "An' the fact that she keeps her eye on us, an' not overcomin' the next challenge she's thrown herself up against."

[vdistinctive]

"She's good at that," Eliot agreed, smiling. "We should probably let her know, she's worked hard to get there."

[age_of_the_geek]

"Got any ideas?" Hardison asked. "I mean, other than sendin' her to a chocolate convention like we're headin' to your concert next weekend."

[vdistinctive]

"Bouquet of origami flowers made of money?" Eliot said. "Or, you know, just sayin' 'hey Parker, we've noticed this and we appreciate it.'"

Because Eliot was so good at just outright saying things.

[age_of_the_geek]

"I--I actually have been tryna learn somethin'," Hardison said, reaching for the bag that he was stashing his wallet. "Look," he said, pulling out a dollar and folding it before setting it down on the table.

"I was thinkin' of makin' a bunch from different bills an' leavin' 'em around the apartment for her," he said proudly. "But. you know I'm always in favor of you usin' your damn words."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot whistled through his teeth and gently picked it up. "Damn, man, when'd you start learnin' to do this?"

Why yes, he was impressed. Origami was not one of Eliot's skills.