Page 337 of Untouchable

Parker snaps a few pictures in quick succession and then stops to look at them.

“Hm, okay, wait, let’s shift this way a little bit,” he says, angling them so the light hits their face differently. Harp is always patient when Parker is in photographer mode, letting Parker push them all around and angle them and bark instructions at Harp until they’ve captured the perfect picture. “These are for posterity, and like, also because I’m gonna get so many Instagram likes.”

* * *

Harp smiles for the cameras—forParker's shots, and for the shots from the two local photographers he'd hired to meet them up here and document everything.

From one side of the platform, a violinist starts playing a bright tune and Parker stops for a moment to listen. Harp is afraid for a half-second that the jig is up, but Parker doesn't scan the crowd yet—just leans into Harp and keeps snapping pictures.

"I can't believe how perfect this moment is," Parker says, laughing. "There's even live music?"

Before Harp can answer him, a woman steps forward with perfectly coiffed blond hair and a powder pink beret.

"Would you like me to take a picture for you two?" she asks, putting out her hand for the phone.

"Yeah!" Parker exclaims and it's clear that for half a beat, Parker doesn't recognize that he's about to hand his phone to Mindy.

* * *

Parker blinks,staring at the sightseer who’d offered to take their picture. She’s a dead ringer for Mindy, even down to a little beauty mark on her right cheek. For a fleeting moment, he wonders if she’ll take a picture with him so Parker can send Mindy a picture of her tourist doppelgänger—

And then he realizes it isMindy.

Except that doesn’t make any sense, because they’re definitely in Paris, as far as he can tell, and Mindy is definitely still in Mink Creek.

He cocks his head, his mouth hanging open.

“Hi, Parker,” she says, batting her eyelashes. “Close your mouth before you end up eating a bug.”

Parker is so surprised he simply hands her his phone and steps back towards Harp, wide-eyed.

* * *

Mindy looks surprisedthat Parker has actually handed her the phone—this wasn't part of the plan—but she recovers quickly and they pose for a moment while Mindy gets a shot.

By the time she's handing the phone back to Parker, Mandy is by her side. Parker's parents aren't far behind, then Gil, the man Gil’s been dating for the past few months, and finally Edith. The photographers are closer now, no longer trying to hide their presence but vying for the best shots of everyone.

Parker's face only registers shock—he's still not smiling—but Harp knows that now is not the time to start doubting himself again.

The violinist walks closer, winking at Harp and playing softer. As their friends and family gather in a semi-circle—and as other unrelated tourists are beginning to take interest in the little scene playing out, Parker turns to him with a questioning, almost panicked look.

"Harp—"

"I promised you I was going to tell you what was on my mind," Harp says as Parker turns to him. He's already thought about this part, too: what he should say, where he should kneel. He takes Parker's hands and spins the two of them so that Parker's back is to the city skyline, so that everyone can see his face.

"And the truth is that there's a lot on my mind today," Harp admits. He doesn't let go of Parker's hands, but kneels gracefully. He's practiced the move a thousand times in the last month to make sure it's fluid, that he doesn't fall on the way down.

* * *

Parker is,like, 99% sure he’s dreaming.

That’s the only explanation that makes sense, because why else would everyone important in his life be here, crowded on top of the Eiffel Tower? And why else would Harp be—oh my god.

Oh my god. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.

Parker’s mouth is still hanging open, but he barely even notices.

This is one hell of a dream, part of his mind remarks calmly.

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