Challenge 6: juicy gossip
Leverage, OT3, 970 words.
"Hardison!"
Hardison jumped in his seat and looked around. Parker was nowhere in sight which could only mean one thing - he slowly looked up.
Parker hung upside down from the ceiling, her legs hooked over a ceiling beam. The tip of her blonde ponytail nearly touched his head.
"Parker. Baby. What are you doing up there?"
Parker shrugged. "I was just crawling through the vents in the kitchen and guess what?!" Her eyes sparkled gleefully.
Hardison glanced down at his laptop and then sighed. With Parker that excited, he doubted he'd get to play for much longer. "Somebody turned up to work with green hair?"
Parker scoffed. "No! That's not interesting." She made a face and swung off the beam, landing lightly on her feet on top of the table.
"Hey, feet off the table! You know what Eliot's gonna say if he sees your shoes anywhere near the table."
Parker rolled her eyes and dropped down so she could sit on the table. She raised an eyebrow at him. "So do you wanna hear what I found out, or...?"
Hardison nodded. "Sure. Go ahead."
"Eliot's gonna make his grandma's cookies today!"
Hardison blinked. "His grandma's amazing peanut butter chocolate chip melt-in-your-mouth cookies?"
Parker grinned and nodded.
"That's grea-- wait. Give me the details. I don't wanna get my hopes up only to find no cookies anywhere."
"Okay, so I was in the vent above the kitchen - not the one running to the dining room but the one towards the back - and Amy complained to Joey that this week's order sheet had been full of extra ingredients and now she had to find places to put the stuff. But then Eliot walked in and he told her to leave it because Eliot was going to use all of today. And then I watched him take a lot of stuff and most of it goes into cookies!"
"How do you know? You don't bake!"
"Duh. But I eat , Hardison. There was a ton of butter, sugar, peanut butter, chocolate chips, flour, eggs, vanilla - tell me that's not cookie ingredients!"
"Nah, okay, you're right. He's making cookies. What makes you think it's grandma Spencer's cookies?"
"Because he had peanut butter and chocolate chips."
Hardison nods slowly. "I'm not convinced. He's made those cookies five times since we met and it was always for a special occasion. You really think he's going to make them on a random-ass Thursday?"
Parker shrugged. "Maybe it's his birthday."
"His birthday is in March."
"Maybe it's my birthday."
"Your birthday is in August."
"Maybe it's your--"
"June."
"Hmpf."
Hardison gave the door to the kitchen a considering look. "We could always ask Eliot."
"Pah. I'm gonna go back into the vents to spy on Eliot."
#
The next half hour Hardison got text after text from Parker, narrating ever single step Eliot took in the kitchen. Hardison had to admit it did sound a lot like someone baking cookies. Some of the texts included too dark and somewhat shaky pictures of something that, with a lot of imagination, was probably Eliot mixing some kind of dough.
Eventually Parker dropped back down beside him. "They're in the oven. He put a blanket along the bottom of the doorway so it wouldn't smell like cookies in here, but I could definitely smell it in the vents. Delicious!" She grinned. "Hmmm, cookies!"
Hardison still wasn't quite convinced it was grandma Spencer's special cookies instead of some more generic - but still awesome, since Eliot made them - cookies, but he was up for some tasty baked goods either way. "Okay, let's go talk to Eliot."
Parker nodded and skipped ahead towards the kitchen.
Eliot took one look at their faces and Parker's safety gear, glanced up at the ceiling vents and sighed. "Really?!"
"Sorry, man, but you should have expected this."
Eliot made a face. "Well, there goes my surprise."
Parker bent down to look in the oven. "Is the surprise your peanut butter chocolate chip cookies? Because you put all of those ingredients on the list and Amy got them and I watched you make the dough and -- are they nearly done?"
Eliot made a disgruntled sound. "Five more minutes, and you're not getting any until they've cooled down a little."
"But it's you special cookies, right?"
"Yeah, it's the damn special cookies!"
"Okay," Hardison said. "Great. Lovely."
Parker frowned at him. "Where's the yay, Hardison? We're getting grandma Spencer's cookies!"
"Yeah," he said. "We're getting Eliot's special occasion cookies." He stared at Eliot, trying to read something in his face. But of course Eliot's poker face was excellent. "What's the occasion, Eliot?"
Eliot shot him a half-hearted glare. "Like you don't know."
Hardison suppressed a smile. "Maybe I don't."
They stared at each other for a moment while Parker fidgeted with a tea towel. She leaned towards Hardison. "Hey," she whispered, "why are you being weird? This is like last week when we--" She cut herself off, mouth opening in realization. "Oooooh. Eliot?"
"Yes, okay?!" Eliot said gruffly. He took the tea towel out of Parker's hands and hung it up. "The cookies are for celebrating my saying yes."
Hardison grinned. "You're saying yes?"
Eliot rolled his eyes. "Yes."
Parker bounced on her feet. "Just making sure I got this right: you're saying yes to the whole… relationship thing?"
Hardison and Eliot exchanged a look and then said, as one, "yes!"
Parker squealed and jumped on Eliot who, expecting something like that, caught her. Hardison clapped his hands and joined their hug. He pushed his nose into Eliot's hair and sighed. Eliot turned his head and kissed him, lingering until Parker got impatient and removed herself from their hug.
"Come on, guys! it's been five minutes - I want my relationship cookies!"
"Hardison!"
Hardison jumped in his seat and looked around. Parker was nowhere in sight which could only mean one thing - he slowly looked up.
Parker hung upside down from the ceiling, her legs hooked over a ceiling beam. The tip of her blonde ponytail nearly touched his head.
"Parker. Baby. What are you doing up there?"
Parker shrugged. "I was just crawling through the vents in the kitchen and guess what?!" Her eyes sparkled gleefully.
Hardison glanced down at his laptop and then sighed. With Parker that excited, he doubted he'd get to play for much longer. "Somebody turned up to work with green hair?"
Parker scoffed. "No! That's not interesting." She made a face and swung off the beam, landing lightly on her feet on top of the table.
"Hey, feet off the table! You know what Eliot's gonna say if he sees your shoes anywhere near the table."
Parker rolled her eyes and dropped down so she could sit on the table. She raised an eyebrow at him. "So do you wanna hear what I found out, or...?"
Hardison nodded. "Sure. Go ahead."
"Eliot's gonna make his grandma's cookies today!"
Hardison blinked. "His grandma's amazing peanut butter chocolate chip melt-in-your-mouth cookies?"
Parker grinned and nodded.
"That's grea-- wait. Give me the details. I don't wanna get my hopes up only to find no cookies anywhere."
"Okay, so I was in the vent above the kitchen - not the one running to the dining room but the one towards the back - and Amy complained to Joey that this week's order sheet had been full of extra ingredients and now she had to find places to put the stuff. But then Eliot walked in and he told her to leave it because Eliot was going to use all of today. And then I watched him take a lot of stuff and most of it goes into cookies!"
"How do you know? You don't bake!"
"Duh. But I eat , Hardison. There was a ton of butter, sugar, peanut butter, chocolate chips, flour, eggs, vanilla - tell me that's not cookie ingredients!"
"Nah, okay, you're right. He's making cookies. What makes you think it's grandma Spencer's cookies?"
"Because he had peanut butter and chocolate chips."
Hardison nods slowly. "I'm not convinced. He's made those cookies five times since we met and it was always for a special occasion. You really think he's going to make them on a random-ass Thursday?"
Parker shrugged. "Maybe it's his birthday."
"His birthday is in March."
"Maybe it's my birthday."
"Your birthday is in August."
"Maybe it's your--"
"June."
"Hmpf."
Hardison gave the door to the kitchen a considering look. "We could always ask Eliot."
"Pah. I'm gonna go back into the vents to spy on Eliot."
#
The next half hour Hardison got text after text from Parker, narrating ever single step Eliot took in the kitchen. Hardison had to admit it did sound a lot like someone baking cookies. Some of the texts included too dark and somewhat shaky pictures of something that, with a lot of imagination, was probably Eliot mixing some kind of dough.
Eventually Parker dropped back down beside him. "They're in the oven. He put a blanket along the bottom of the doorway so it wouldn't smell like cookies in here, but I could definitely smell it in the vents. Delicious!" She grinned. "Hmmm, cookies!"
Hardison still wasn't quite convinced it was grandma Spencer's special cookies instead of some more generic - but still awesome, since Eliot made them - cookies, but he was up for some tasty baked goods either way. "Okay, let's go talk to Eliot."
Parker nodded and skipped ahead towards the kitchen.
Eliot took one look at their faces and Parker's safety gear, glanced up at the ceiling vents and sighed. "Really?!"
"Sorry, man, but you should have expected this."
Eliot made a face. "Well, there goes my surprise."
Parker bent down to look in the oven. "Is the surprise your peanut butter chocolate chip cookies? Because you put all of those ingredients on the list and Amy got them and I watched you make the dough and -- are they nearly done?"
Eliot made a disgruntled sound. "Five more minutes, and you're not getting any until they've cooled down a little."
"But it's you special cookies, right?"
"Yeah, it's the damn special cookies!"
"Okay," Hardison said. "Great. Lovely."
Parker frowned at him. "Where's the yay, Hardison? We're getting grandma Spencer's cookies!"
"Yeah," he said. "We're getting Eliot's special occasion cookies." He stared at Eliot, trying to read something in his face. But of course Eliot's poker face was excellent. "What's the occasion, Eliot?"
Eliot shot him a half-hearted glare. "Like you don't know."
Hardison suppressed a smile. "Maybe I don't."
They stared at each other for a moment while Parker fidgeted with a tea towel. She leaned towards Hardison. "Hey," she whispered, "why are you being weird? This is like last week when we--" She cut herself off, mouth opening in realization. "Oooooh. Eliot?"
"Yes, okay?!" Eliot said gruffly. He took the tea towel out of Parker's hands and hung it up. "The cookies are for celebrating my saying yes."
Hardison grinned. "You're saying yes?"
Eliot rolled his eyes. "Yes."
Parker bounced on her feet. "Just making sure I got this right: you're saying yes to the whole… relationship thing?"
Hardison and Eliot exchanged a look and then said, as one, "yes!"
Parker squealed and jumped on Eliot who, expecting something like that, caught her. Hardison clapped his hands and joined their hug. He pushed his nose into Eliot's hair and sighed. Eliot turned his head and kissed him, lingering until Parker got impatient and removed herself from their hug.
"Come on, guys! it's been five minutes - I want my relationship cookies!"