Page 156 of Untouchable

Harp raises an eyebrow and nods.

“But, like—the dogs? And like—you hate being in town? And like, my tiny bed?”

"The dogs are fine. They've got a dog door and enough food and water for a week—my anxiety talking. And I do hate being in town, but I'm not in town, right now. I'm in your disgustingly tiny bed which... I guess I'm willing to put up with if it means more time with you before I go home," Harp says. "But if it's going to be a pain, I mean, I know you have work tomorrow—"

“No,” Parker says, throwing himself back down on Harp dramatically. “Sorry, you said yes, you can’t back down now. You’re staying the night.”

Harp laughs but pulls Parker into his chest, kissing him on the top of his head.

“I apologize in advance, though—I do get up, like, early—” Parker starts. “Wait a minute, nevermind. You get up early too. I un-apologize.”

Parker sits up again, vaulting over Harp and off the bed.

“Sorry,” he calls over his shoulder as he runs into the living room to grab his clothing. “I’ll calm down in a moment. I just am really happy you’re staying.”

* * *

Harp wakesup a hundred times during the night but he never regrets his decision to stay.

In the middle of an apartment building, Harp feels like he's too surrounded by life to sleep, and every car door slamming seems to be a threat, and every siren far down the road could be headed their way. Still, as anxiety ricochets around his brain during his restless sleep, Harp only has to pull Parker closer in the dark to remember why it's been worth it to stay. When Parker's phone goes off at 5:45, Harp is already half awake, drowsing softly.

Parker reaches out, scrambling to shut off his alarm and then seeming to startle when he realizes he isn’t alone. After a moment though, he hums and tangles his hand in the fabric of Harp’s shirt.

“Morning,” Parker says sleepily, rolling over and propping himself up on his elbow. “You sleep okay?”

Harp leans in and kisses Parker's neck. "Mhm. Perfect. Do you want me to make some breakfast while you get ready?"

Parker laughs softly.

“Don’t lie,” he says, poking Harp gently in the side. “You slept like crap, didn’t you?”

Harp gives him a sheepish look and Parker snorts.

“Thank you,” he says seriously, kissing Harp on the cheek. “Thank you for staying anyway, and thank you for pretending like it was a good night’s sleep. Thank you for everything. And—yeah—breakfast would be fucking amazing. Unless, like, you want one of the protein bars I normally have for breakfast when I’m running out the door?”

Harp putters around the kitchen while Parker gets ready, helping himself to what he finds in the fridge to put together a halfway decent breakfast scramble with their leftovers from the night before and the eggs he finds. He has to dodge a huge number of weird vegan butters and spreads and non-cheeses, but in the end, as he serves up the two plates, Harp feels proud of himself for improvising.

He sets the little kitchen table, pours and preps the coffee he's brewed for them, and waits for Parker.

* * *

Parker,in a fresh set of scrubs and his usual Rocky Mountain hoodie, comes out to find a frankly astonishing spread of food laid out for him at the kitchen table.

“Holy shit,” he says. “Where did you even—You really are magic, aren’t you?” He comes around to the chair where Harp is seated and bends down, kissing him deeply.

However, at that exact moment, the lock scrapes and the door flies open. Mindy sweeps in, bringing in a gust of cold air with her.

She stops in her tracks, staring Harp down.

"Morning, Parker. Morning... Harp."

"Morning Mindy. There's fresh coffee on the counter," Harp says, nodding at it and trying to keep his cool. "Roads okay out there?"

“Morrison Bridge is a little icy, but other than that they’re clear,” Mindy says as she pours herself a cup of coffee.

“So how did your date go?” Parker asks, and Mindy wriggles her eyebrows lasciviously.

“How do you think it went?” she asks, looking meaningfully between them. “Probably about the same as yours.”

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