Page 321 of Untouchable

"Really, I already thought about this, Parker, and I think I should go ahead and set the tone for the trip."

Gil pounds on the door again and issues a muffled "Hello?"

"Okay," Parker says, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll... follow your lead, I guess."

Harp is only halfway there when Gil strides through the front door and into the living room.

"Oh!" Gil says, as if it's shocking to find them inside. "Hey!"

"Hey," Harp says in a measured, neutral tone. "I thought we said six?"

"Oh, well, I mean I saw the rental car out front and—"

"It's just that we've had a long day and we're just now unpacking so—"

"Hey Parker," Gil says brightly over Harp's shoulder, giving him a little salute.

"Um. Hey?"

The look Parker gives Harp is a total cry for help.

"Gil, we were hoping to settle in a little before we hang out," Harp says, trying his best to strike a balance between being gentle and firm.

"That's cool, I can just chill in here," Gil says. He strides around Harp and flops down onto the couch.

"It's just that I'd really prefer it if you just stuck to the plan that I—"

"Oh my God, I got you so hard," Gil says, shaking his head and snickering. "You should see the looks on your faces— yikes."

Parker frowns. Harp struggles to come up with a reply. Gil stands up from the couch and brushes himself off.

"Yeah, yeah, anyway," Gil says, waving his hand in the air, "I'll be back at six, don't worry, I'll go away so you can bang or build a campfire or whatever."

"You're a jackass," Harp says, opening the door for Gil.

"Hm. It might be genetic." He looks over Harp's shoulder. "Hi Parker! Bye Parker!"

He disappears before Parker can even respond.

“Now,” Harp says, turning towards Parker with a sly grin on his face. “Where were we?”

* * *

When Gil comes backthe second time, it's a much better reunion. Harp gives him a proper hug and Gil asks them all the right sort of small-talk questions about how their flight was and what do they think of Portland?

At first, Harp can tell Parker is measuring his sentences before he says them out loud, and Harp can't help but feel guilty about the stupid things he'd said the last time they were with Gil. But by the time they make their way to the gastropub down the street, Parker seems to have settled into the conversation. If Harp didn't know any better, he'd think Parker wasn't nervous at all.

The place Gil has chosen is absolutely deserted, and Harp wonders if Gil picked it out just because he knew it'd be a ghost town. Harp refuses to let himself feel humiliated by the fact that his Christmas meltdown is so obviously on Gil's mind. Instead he circles around, thinking about how thoughtful the choice was, how nice it is to be considered.

They grab a table and Gil excuses himself to the bathroom.

"Hey—you okay?" Parker asks.

"Yeah. Hard to get social anxiety when there's no one here to socialize," he says gesturing at the room.

"No, I just mean... You seemed quiet."

Harp smiles. It's little things like this, lately, that have unexpectedly come to mean so much. It amazes him, now, that someone knows him well enough to make inferences that are... well, correct. Harp knows he's not an easy book to read, but the fact that Parker is learning the language means the world to him.

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