Page 263 of Untouchable

“You’re perfect, you know that?” he says, and Parker laughs.

“Magic hands,” he says, wiggling his fingers dramatically.

"We ready?" Gil says when he reappears, chewing a piece of gum now and tossing Harp's truck keys in the air.

“Don’t worry,” Parker says, planting a kiss on Harp’s cheek. “I’ll be back on Thursday, remember?”

* * *

Parker smilesas he follows them to the car. It’s not quite as cold as it had been yesterday, and the air is brisk and refreshing. He climbs in the back, looking out at the snow in the moonlight as they drive. Harp and Gil are immediately immersed in a discussion about the music—Gil is playing a song for Harp, and they’re discussing bands Parker has never heard of. It doesn’t seem to matter, though. He doesn’t feel left out—far from it. He feels as though he’s been blessed with seeing this private moment, Harp, the person he cares about most, interacting with someone he cares about.

And as soon as he reframes Gil as just a mini-Harp in his mind, it’s much easier to understand him. Harp had seemed just as incomprehensible in the early days, and Parker had never been able to interpret his humor. It’s different, now, though—Harp has shown him a softer side, and now that he’s seen it, he can barely remember what it was like to be on the other side of that wall.

He smiles all the way down the mountain.

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