Luke's, Saturday

[vdistinctive]

So waking up in the apartment above the old diner had been a bit of a surprise, but the most it got out of Eliot was grumbling over what a dump his partners used to live in.

Well, that and the fact that it meant there was a whole extra set of stairs he'd have to navigate to get on with his day, anyway. He was even worse with stairs these days than Hardison was, and going down was worse than coming back up, but unlike Hardison, he didn't let that stop him. After fixing them all a nice breakfast upstairs (well, a decent one, anyway, the fridge there was barely stocked), he made his way to the diner and, finding it closed, set about opening it up for old times' sake.

Today's specials
Saturday brunch!
Spinach and feta omelet
French toast
Fresh fruit crepes

Luke's was open and OCD free.

Comments

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Man, this brings me back," Hardison said with a low chuckle, padding into the kitchen area of the diner to press a kiss to his husband's cheek. "Grumpily cooking at Luke's. Which is very different from you grumpily cooking in New Orleans. Or grumpily cooking in Barcelona. Or Paris. Or Portland." He grinned at Eliot. "It's a very distinctive grumpy. I should take a picture for the kids."

[vdistinctive]

"And I'll grab one of you sittin' around doin' nothin'," Eliot said. Living so close to his hometown had made his accent thicker over the years. "Your distinctive Fandom doin' nothin'."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Please, Eliot, we been together long enough for you to know that I ain't never doin' nothin'." He tried to stealthily grab a bottle of orange soda--Luke's still had a stock, who knew?--before leaning against the counter to continue to give Eliot a hard time. "Like, right now, I'm givin' you a hard time. Later, I'mma eat some crepes." Because he still ate like a 27 year old. "An' check on the kids with my phone an' make sure that there ain't no reason for the police, firetrucks, or paramedics to be at our house while the kids are home alone. Then maybe..." He gave Eliot a suggestive grin. "We'll see what the afternoon has in store."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot snorted. "You schedulin' in a nap? To recover from all that work you're apparently doin'?"

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Sneaky kiss! And then a selfie with Hardison, with Eliot in the background.

"Good idea."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Morning, babe," Hardison said, with the self-satisfied smile of a man with both his beloveds next to him and an entire carefree weekend awaiting them all. "Course it's a good idea. I'm a genius, ain't I?"

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"And modest too." And she meant it! 'Cause really, he was a handsome genius, did he mention that? Nope. "Ada sent me a text that Spike's girlfriend is over. She is awaiting developments."

Which was just hilarious, because Spike's game was all stolen from Hardison. Parker snuggled closer and added, "I'm going to see if my old warehouse is still there later."

[spin_kick_snap]

Nick had gotten a brief text message (They have spinach and feta omelettes. Either you meet me for breakfast or I'm eating them all!) and then Kathy was flinging open the door of the diner and dashing inside. The counter? Pfft, it was only, what? Chest-height? She could clear that easy. Rules about customers being banned from the kitchen? Ignored, if they existed.

"Eliot!" Hug incoming and twenty years overdue.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot barely managed to brace himself in time. "Kathy?!" He tossed the cane aside to be able to give her a good, proper hug. "Darlin'. My god it's good to see ya."

[spin_kick_snap]

There was unabashed tears now as Kathy clung to him. Tears and, yeah, some outright sobbing. "It's so good--I've missed--oh my gosh, Eliot, it's been too long, I'm so sorry."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot held on harder. "No, darlin'. It's alright. I'm just so glad ya ain't --"

He'd been absolutely positive she was dead.

He pulled back a little to get a good look at her. "What happened? Why'd you disappear?"

[gunslingerpose]

Well, Kathy was getting a return text message, a If you eat all the feta so help me god, Kathy, I won't sneak you out the back way to run rooftops for a month, and a few minutes later, Nikolai was making his way into Luke's. Yes, complete with battered old duster, equally battered old tin star (people insisted that he wear the damn thing), mirrored shades, and a vaguely amused look on his face.

"If this turns out to be John Smith again, so help me god..."

[spin_kick_snap]

Bet I could change your mind... had flashed over his phone just before he'd arrived.

"We'll at least enjoy the food until we have to kick his ass again?" Kathy suggested, from behind several plates of food. There was golden French toast drenched in butter and syrup and layered with Nutella, crepes filled with fresh fruit and whipped cream. And, of course, a feta and spinach omelette the size of her forearm. "These are all mine and you're going to have to give me a damn good reason I should share," she told him.

[gunslingerpose]

"Because you love me and I haven't told Freedom about all the late-night bouncing about you've been doing?"

Not that he'd been waiting for an excuse to break that one out lately or anything.

Look. Feta. It had been a while.

"Stealth knows, I'm sure, but if you were in any real danger she would have put a stop to you going out herself by now. Try telling George and the Captain that, though."

[vdistinctive]

"Nick, ain't it?" Eliot never forgot a face, even when it was hidden behind sunglasses. "Nice ta see ya in one piece."

[gunslingerpose]

"In spite of every attempt to the contrary?" Nick shot Eliot a little grin. His hair was a little salt-and-pepper around the temples these days, and he had a little more stubble than he used to, but he was probably making Eliot's job a little easier still by not having actually changed a hell of a lot besides. Sharp features and a penchant for life-force vampirism tended to do that. "Yeah, all in one piece, against all odds. Eliot, wasn't it?"

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

And hey, look, it was their former T.A. and Parker was still pretty good at sneaking food from unsuspecting people.

"You're alive! ... Eliot still makes the best food, doesn't he."

[spin_kick_snap]

"He does!" Kathy was so happy to see Parker, she didn't even mind the food theft. "And I am! I'm so sorry to have worried you both! I had good reasons, I promise!"

You know. Zombies. End of the world. Stuff like that.

Across the street (NFB, squirrels)

[hexentotchen.livejournal.com]

...Just as she'd been about to make the shot, someone got in the way, jumping up to hug Eliot Spencer.

That was. Annoying. And now the cafe was filling up with more people, and Hanna could guess how many more would come in.

The sightlines were terrible here anyway; she'd have a better shot later. Interesting that he was still with the two people she'd barely remembered from being a student here years ago.

Hanna silently packed up her gear, and slipped out of her perch without being spotted.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Parker had lazed in bed a while, but now was the time for exploring with no kids around!

"I looooove this place." See, free trip to Maryland!

[vdistinctive]

"I know you do," Eliot said, offering her a strawberry. "Up to and including the times it tried to kill us."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"But it looooves us back! And it tried to kill us in fun ways." Parker took the strawberry, nibbling happily, and curled up on the counter, as flexible as ever. "Do you think it'll do that again?" She almost sounded hopeful.

Later That Evening...

[spin_kick_snap]

After a good dinner of steak, steak, bacon-wrapped steak, and yet more steak, Kathy reached into her bag and pulled out several bottles of alcohol. She wanted to talk, but this wasn't a conversation--wasn't a story that could be told entirely sober. And considering the only alcohol in LA came from bathroom stills and it was still too dangerous a prospect to indulge in with any regularity, Kathy saw no reason to indulge a bit while she was here. Safe.

Ha, she considered Fandom safe. That was just a sign that the whole world was upside down and inside out.

The ouzo, she slid in front of Nick. God only knew the last time he'd had more than a swallow of that. The rum, she kept in front of herself, and pushed the vodka and whiskey in the middle of the table. She didn't know what Eliot or Parker or Hardison drank--or even if they drank--but it was a nice to share.

"You sure you don't mind?" she asked, curling up against Nikolai. "It's a pretty long story. Twenty years long, I guess."

Re: Later That Evening...

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"I don't mind," Parker said, putting her feet up on a chair. "You lived it. I only am going to be hearing about it."

She'd gotten a lot better at listening, over the last couple decades.

Re: Later That Evening...

[vdistinctive]

Eliot reached for the whiskey and poured a couple fingers into his glass. "We're no strangers to hard, long stories. Mind you, most of the ones we've heard are zombie-free."