Page 254 of Untouchable

Why did I tell him that? He doesn’t care.

Gil bites what could either be a smile or a frown and Parker waits for him to snicker again.

"That's very Little House on the Prairie of y'all," he says, finally, before taking a gulp of coffee. "I sort of figured you'd be bored up here."

Parker’s fairly certain Gil doesn’t want to hear about all the ways they’ve found to occupy their time up here.

“It’s, um… different,” he says. “It was hard to get used to at first. Everything being so quiet and still, y’know? But I guess... I guess Harp sort of showed me how to see what he sees about it. And now it feels like…”

He looks out the window and trails off. It feels like home.

"Shit, hey," Harp says, rounding the corner with his shirt only half-buttoned. "How long have y'all been up?" He cracks his neck audibly in the doorway and Parker flinches.

* * *

Parker and Gilspeak at the same time.

“Just a few minutes—”

“A couple of hours—”

Parker goes quiet, letting Gil continue.

"Aw, Christ, Parker you should've gotten me up," Harp says, laughing and crossing the kitchen to kiss his forehead. He notices their plates as he gets closer. "Oh my God. Gil made breakfast?"

"Not me," Gil says, raising his hands as if he's been accused of some crime. "It was all Parker. The whole spread was done by the time I dragged myself up here."

"Sweetheart," Harp says, astonished. "It looks good, too."

Harp chuckles fondly. He can't believe Parker cooked—and not only just for the two of them, but while his brother is here, too. Parker is the most charming goddamned being on the face of the planet, Harp decides, and it's impossible that Gil hasn't noticed by now. He finds himself suddenly hopeful that they’ll start on better footing together today.

“Sit down,” Parker says as he slides off the bench. “I’ll make you a plate.”

Harp does so, loving the novelty of being served in his own home.

“If the dogs say anything about me feeding them all the reject pancakes to hide the evidence, they’re lying,” Parker says as he comes back over, putting the plate down in front of Harp.

The plate of breakfast looks absolutely perfect, right down to a little ketchup heart that Parker has drawn on top of his eggs and filled in with hot sauce.

"Oh my God," Harp says, fumbling his phone out of his pocket with a gigantic grin on his face. "Sorry, baby, I need to preserve this forever." He snaps pictures of the plate from several angles.

Parker beams at him and then looks to Gil and something passes between them, like Parker has an inside joke. He sits down with them after a moment to watch Harp eat.

Despite his odd cheerfulness, Harp is still half asleep and feels jumbled. The night before with Gil had been so nice, exactly what he looked forward to about a visit with his brother. So why can’t that version of Gil come out with Parker?

And for all that he feels for Parker, he knows that he's much funnier and much more himself when he's not so nervous. So why can't that version of Parker come out with Gil?

But he knows that it's not the same for either of them—that the place where Gil and Parker will meet in the middle won't necessarily be because of the things that Harp admires about both of them.

In any case, it still feels far too early to think so deeply about it as he's stuffing breakfast into his mouth. The eggs are rubbery and the bacon is undercooked and it is absolutely the best and most thoughtful, perfect breakfast that anyone has ever made for him.

* * *

Harp seemshappy enough with his breakfast, and too busy eating to talk, so Parker busies himself once more to avoid struggling to come up with something witty and thoughtful to say to Gil. He pours Harp a mug of coffee, splashing in heavy cream before setting it in front of him. Gil is staring down at his phone, so Parker sneaks a quick kiss to Harp’s temple, squeezing him on the shoulder before he goes back to cleaning up the mess he’s made in the kitchen—it looks a little like a homemade bomb built entirely of eggs and flour has been detonated.

"So, you two want to get out of the house today or what?" Gil asks, finally looking up from his phone.

"What do you have in mind?" Harp asks.

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