Page 214 of Untouchable

“Thank you, Harp,” he says. “For… being you. And always knowing what I need.”

Harp smiles and kisses him a little less chastely.

"You're welcome. And don't forget to thank Mindy—your dinner was her idea. Call me when you're home from the gym, will ya? It'd be good to hear your voice again tonight."

“Okay,” Parker says. “I will. And—”

“Oh my god, you two are going to rot my teeth out,” Mindy calls from the kitchen. “Like, seriously, you two are… sickening.”

Parker laughs.

“Fuck you, Mindy. You had your chance with me but you lost it.”

“Come eat your tacos, lover boy,” she yells.

“Drive safe,” Parker says, stealing one last kiss before Harp is out the door. When he walks into the kitchen, he finds Mindy shaking her head and smiling at him.

“What?” he says.

“You two are… ugh. Very in love.”

“Shut up,” Parker says, turning bright red. “We’re not—”

“Um, anyone who wasn’t in love wouldn’t start blushing like that.”

All through dinner, Mindy teases Parker relentlessly until he pelts her with hot sauce packets to make her shut up.

* * *

On the wayhome from the gym, he calls Harp, who picks up on the second ring.

“You were right, you know,” Parker says.

"Whoa, I didn't know we were rushing right into phone sex," Harp says.

“Oh, I didn’t know that was an option too—” Parker says, and laughs when Harp makes a warning noise. “Anyway… I’m driving home from the gym and I do feel… tons better.”

He pauses for a moment.

“I was thinking of maybe… not talking to my parents for a while. I mean, obviously, that wouldn’t stop my mom from coming up to find me like she did today, but I was thinking I could… write them an email or something. Telling them that I needed… space. Is that a dumb idea?”

"That's not a dumb idea at all. It's never a dumb idea to communicate with people in a way that makes you feel safe and set your own boundaries," Harp says quickly, sounding like an after-school special but meaning it, hoping Parker understands that this means Parker can set boundaries with him, too. "You're more mature than they give you credit for. You don't have to run your ideas by me."

“Well, it’s not like I think I have to,” Parker says. “I… value your opinion, y’know? And besides… I mean, I figured you might have some good insight because of… y’know. Your own family stuff.”

"Yeah, you're—thanks," Harp says. "I realized that halfway through me saying it, I guess. Thanks for trusting me. And thanks for calling me."

They hang up after a few minutes of talking about nothing in particular. Harp wants to tell Parker all that he has in store for Christmas—but that would ruin the surprise. Instead, he holds the plans in his heart like a wonderful secret that he’ll soon be able to share.

They say goodnight and there comes an odd moment where Harp’s logical brain tries to tell him that he should say I love you before saying goodbye.

It’s not that Parker has said anything particularly lovey dovey, and not because Harp is full up with his affection for Parker any more than usual. It just feels like there’s a real place to slot the words now.

It scares Harp—but more than fear, he feels hope: hope for a life where Parker will be there forever, hope for a lifetime more Christmases together, hope for the little moments of the day and the big milestones, and for all of other things in between he wants to come to share with Parker.

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