Page 244 of Untouchable

"I was happy to see you until you started acting like a prick," Harp says, softening a little. It doesn't escape him that if Parker wasn't here, Harp would be over the moon to have Gil here. It wouldn't hurt to be a little happier to see him, he realizes.

Gil stares at him for a long moment, then lets out a slow exhale.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Gil relents. He leans against the barn and takes a long, thoughtful drag from his cigarette. “You seem like you’re doing pretty well, though.”

Gil’s voice is a little more neutral, and Harp can tell it’s a peace offering.

"Yeah, y'know, Parker helps a lot. He's patient with me." Harp ashes into the air.

He has so much more to say about Parker—all the ways that he's kind, all the ways that he's helped Harp mend the pieces of his life—but it feels odd to sing his praises too loud right now. He knows that if Gil will just give Parker a chance, he'll be able to see the same things Harp sees in him.

It's not as if the good things in Parker are buried all that deep under the surface, he thinks.

"That's good," Gil says, absentmindedly.

"And having something to do in my down time makes me less likely to drink myself into an early grave, so," Harp says, laughing self-consciously. He'd almost missed being able to be so grim with Parker, but Gil never chided him for self-deprecating humor.

Instead of laughing, though, Gil’s mouth tightens into a thin line.

“I guess I don’t… get it,” he says. “You could be a total catch if you trimmed your beard a little—that whole flannel mountain man thing is trendy right now. There’s gotta be plenty of gay guys in Denver.”

“Gil—” Harp starts in a warning tone.

“I’m just saying, he’s kind of a… weird match for you, don’t you think?”

Harp shakes his head. "I don't think you get it. I'm not suddenly on the market or something. I met Parker and care about him, specifically. If it doesn't work out, I'm back to doing my own thing. Alone."

Harp hadn't thought it through like that, but as soon as he says it out loud he knows that it's true.

You're it for me.It feels like a lot of time has passed since Parker said the words, even though it was barely half a day ago.

The same is true for Harp, he knows. Parker is it for him.

Gil relaxes back against the barn once more, seemingly satisfied.

“Well, next time you’re single, at least come out to Portland. You’d be up to your eyeballs in vapid twinks, if that’s your type.”

"I'm serious Gil—" Harp says, turning sharply towards him.

Gil already has his hands up and a grin plastered across his face. "As a vapid twink, I say it with love, okay?"

"You horrify me," Harp says. Still, he softens a little. It's nice to fall into the old routine of a conversation with Gil.

Gil puts his hands on his hips, cocking his head, his voice going high and sing-song.

“It’s just that, like, you know, I love, like, going to the gym, you know? And like, hanging with Miiindy who’s totally my BFF for life forever, like?”

Harp snorts, shakes his head, and walks straight towards the house.

"Hey—" Gil calls after him. Harp doesn't turn. He knows that if he tries to keep that conversation going, he's going to say things he'll end up regretting. As he gets closer to the house, he turns the corner just in time to see the back door close.

Parker.

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