fandomtownies | Luke's, Friday

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Luke's, Friday

It was impossible to miss the fact that there was an event going on at the school this weekend. Which meant a whole heap of potential customers showing up. So while normally Eliot didn't bother keeping a close eye on the diner more than once a week or so, he was behind the counter today, making sure the staff didn't fuck anything up too much.

"Your confidence in us is overwhelming," the cook said. The woman who looked exactly like him only with long hair who was introduced as "Cookie's step-sister" nodded.

"My bro's, like, got it covered, okay?"

Eliot groaned. "Just try not to injure yourselves, okay? And put on a goddamn hairnet."

Today's specials
Chinese-fried chicken wings
Rosemary curly fries with bloody mary ketchup
Peanut butter and banana sundaes
Now hiring!

Luke's was open.

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For those who want to eat with their families in private.

For those who want their every food choice questioned.

"Well, it's certainly better than Parker wanted me to believe." The older woman standing inside the doorway surveyed the diner with critical eyes, but a hint of a smile when she saw Eliot. "'Bloody Mary Ketchup'?"

There were very few people who could sneak up on Eliot. This was one of them. He totally hadn't even noticed she was there until she spoke up.

She was one of the extremely rare people who didn't get punched for sneaking up on him. He smiled broadly at her. "Sophie. The hell are you doing here?"

"Darling. It's Parents' Weekend. Surely you didn't want Nate to attend?" Sophie strode forward with a smile much realer than 99.999% of the population would ever see, and leaned in to give Eliot a kiss on the cheek.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a blonde woman sitting on the counter, frowning at the cooks, who were staring at the show. And then nearly jumping out of their skins. "People are rude."

"That's for students," Eliot pointed out. "You tryin' to say you're my mother or something?"

The only sign that Parker had managed to startle him with her entrance was a slight jerk of the shoulders. Of course Sophie had brought Parker with her. Or the other way around. "Just tell me Hardison's not stuck in the air vents."

"He didn't like their website. But he's monitoring us," Parker explained, unfolding off the counter to give Eliot her equivalent of a hug. Awkward and one-armed but affectionate.

"Hardly. I would have had to have given birth to you when I was... ahem." Sophie gave him an amused look and said, "Parker was determined." And you could figure out the rest.

"But I didn't expect the place to be so charming. If I'd listened to Hardison, your little island would be in the Bermuda Triangle."

"Ain't that far off," Eliot said. "Stuff I seen around here, like something out of one his crazy tv shows. Or several of them." He shook his head. "Which is why I've been tryin' two keep these two away from here."

You know, his whole 'keep them safe' promise, Sophie?

Sophie deployed The Mona Lisa Smile again, as Parker peeled off to enter a staring contest with the staff. They collectively backed up a few steps.

"You had to know that their curiosity would get the best of them at some point. Especially since you didn't want them to visit. They were concerned, Eliot."

"Also we haven't seen you in person since the Robert Louis Stevenson Job, and Hardison was starting to think your phone calls were from a ghost," Parker supplied. Still staring. Staring. STARING.

Oh for --

"I'm not a ghost, Parker." She'd just touched him, for chrissake. "Anyway, I figured it'd take more'n curiosity to get Hardison up the steps around here. 'Specially without Lucille." And so far, it'd even worked. Dammit, Sophie.

"A data ghost! Like a recording." Parker leaned around to poke him in the side, concentration clear. "Or a time artifact. He was really clear on things I should do to make sure you're still you." Like reach for his hair.

Trying to head that off, Sophie stepped forward to soothe Eliot with, "We're staying in Baltimore, since I knew you might be distracted if we were on the Island for too long." See, she does love you. "It's only for the weekend, I promise. Although I won't speak for Nate if anything untoward happens."

Yeah, you're on your own then, Eliot.

The idea of Nate in Fandom was slightly terrifying.

Eliot jerked his head away from any hair touching with an exasperated sigh. "What the hell even is a 'time artifact'?" He shook his head. "You two were gone longer on your 'world's tallest bridges' tour this summer," he pointed out, then looked back at Sophie. "Baltimore's good. Just make sure you manage to get back to the right one." No, don't ask him how. "Apparently that damn causeway connects to all sorts of weird worlds."

The cook assured him when he figured out that the road went to multiple worlds that the causeway usually landed you just where you were supposed to be, but like Eliot was going to trust that as far as he could throw it.

"We'll be very careful to contact Hardison as soon as we're across," Sophie assured him. Hardison might have insisted on that, as a kind of safety-rope against 'Weirdness Isle.' "In the meantime, I would love a tour... if it doesn't involve too many staircases."

Parker was now sniffing Eliot, then sniffing Sophie for comparison.

"You should have come with us for the bridges," Parker answered him. "Then you'd already know what a time artifact is. Also a vortex. Also why you might be your own evil twin."

Eliot smirked at that. "Darlin', I'd be the evil twin already." He did not want to meet a doppelganger just like him only worse. "Not much I can show you without stairs," he said. "But there's rickshaws for hire if you want to get bounced up and down 'em instead of walkin'." And back to Parker. "And then you can explain exactly what the hell you mean by vortex, and why you didn't tell me about this sooner."

If she and Hardison had fought off their evil twins without him, so help them. . . .

"Rickshaws? How quaint." Sophie's smile took any sting out of the word, and she sighed as Parker started tilting her head this way and that, studying Eliot from every possible angle. "I think that would be delightful." And keep Parker from freaking out his staff... too much.

"It's a Hardison thing. It sucks you in and pushes you out and it goes in all directions. Do we get to meet anyone you know here?" She tilted her head upside down to look at him. "You should also fix us food. To check that you're Eliot."

"You're going to be doing this all weekend, aren't you," Eliot said. Oh yeah, this was going to be just great.

He smiled faintly in spite of himself.

"I'll make you guys dinner after the tour," he promised. "Got a garden going at the house. Winter squash is just coming in. It'll be good." As for her other question/demand: "And not if I can possibly help it."

He couldn't. Fandom had too much fun throwing people together for him to keep Parker and Sophie totally separate from its chaos.

Parker grinned back, then did a flip off the counter to go stalk a busboy.

"That sounds lovely." Sophie gave him a speculative glance. "So that means there are people to meet." Give up now, Eliot.

Eliot rolled his eyes. "No, Sophie. I've lived here for months without meeting anyone at all." He eyed Parker, then decided she probably wouldn't traumatize the busboy too much and let her do her thing. At least it meant she wasn't staring at him, any more.

"You know we're just looking out for you. Sometimes, I miss the old days," Sophie said with a nostalgic sigh. "But we also don't want to have to show up to rescue you without any preliminary intel."

There was a suspicious squawk from the kitchen.

Eliot sighed. "Parker! Don't harass the staff! I have to work with these people."

Well, no. He really didn't. It was the principle of the thing.

"There will be no jobs on the island," he said to Sophie. "Even Nate can't plan a con in a place with evil carnivals and weekend long virulent amnesia."

"Eliot," Sophie chided. Why were you tempting fate? Why were you tempting Nate?

Parker came out of the kitchen looking suspiciously smug. With some kind of salad shooter in hand.

"No jobs," Sophie conceded. "Just emergency knowledge. If you ever need us.... amnesia? Really?"

"So I hear," Eliot said. "That was during the Robert Louis Stevenson job, but the local radio station reported it."

Sophie's skeptical look said she was letting this go. For now.

"You should sing while we're here, too. Just to be sure," Parker chipped in.

"No," Eliot said over his shoulder. "That was for one job. It's not a test."

"Pfftttt."

Sophie patted him on his shoulder. "Sometimes, Eliot, you are so adorable."

Because NPCs can have family, too!

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Luke's, Friday

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OOC