fandomtownies | Luke's, Friday

Dodge the scary head chef.

Who'll calm down a lot once Nate and Sophie actually show up.

Sophie	The rickshaw pulled up in front of Luke's, and Sophie let the driver help her out before peering back in at Nate. "It's not too late to call and warn them, you know. Like civilized people."
Nate	"Nah -- no. No, no." Nate stepped off the rickshaw with supreme dignity, nodding to the driver and slipping him a tip. "This is -- this is best. This way they don't have enough time to set anything up. We can see how they're really doing." He flashed her a smirk. "I figure they've had, what, half an hour warning, tops? Hardison may have spotted us coming into BWI, but he won't have spotted us any earlier than that."
Sophie	"Are you hoping they're doing well, or hoping they'll have a problem for you to fix?" Sophie gave him a gimlet eye, then shook it off in favor of tucking her arm through his. "I'm just saying, don't be too disappointed if they don't react how you wish, please."
Nate	"Disappointed?" Nate gave her a mildly affronted look. "Never." That wasn't true at all. But Nate had affected a certain carefree spirit since leaving the professional con game. ('Affected' being the operative word. Nothing about Nathan Ford had ever been carefree.) "Now, let's go see what our friends have been up to, hmm?"
Eliot	A rambunctious, nearly fully grown brindled lab puppy came barreling up with a delighted yip and leaped up on Nate's leg, tail wagging like mad and tongue looking for any skin that needed licking. How did she get out of the diner? Who knew? Val had special skills.
Parker	And possibly some help from her Aunt Parker. "Megabyte! Down!" She grinned at Nate and Sophie from the counter of the diner. "Always eat the shoes first!"
Hardison	"Eliot ain't gonna like you trainin' her that way," Hardison said, still looking at his laptop. "You're s'posed to call her Val." Then he glanced up and looked shocked. "Nate? Sophie? What are y'all doin' here?! We didn't know y'all were comin' for a visit!"
Sophie	Hardison always over-sold it. But Sophie suspected he wasn't trying too hard. Or was trying to annoy Nate. She took a step past the puppy-- adorable, but paws on Valantino, no - and left Val-Megabyte to harass Nate, reaching for Hardison and a hug. "Of course you didn't. Not even with me being Sarah Jane Baker again."
Nate	"Whoa there." Nate lifted his hands out of curious tongue range and attempted to gracefully side step the puppy. (It didn't work.) "The dog. Where -- who decided to get a dog?" He didn't approve. Pets made out of town jobs more complicated, and they added too much of an x-factor. Though at least it wasn't a cat.

Eliot	"Val!" Eliot's command was as much barked as any of Val's vocalizations. "Down." Val sat down, ears up at attention. Eliot came over to give her an approving rub. "Good girl." He looked up at Nate and nodded. "Nate. If you'd told us you were comin' I mighta made you somethin'."
Nate	"Ah." Nate looked from Eliot to Val and back. "Somehow this makes sense."
Eliot	Eliot rolled his eyes. "Yeah, shut up."
Parker	Parker, meanwhile, had hopped off the counter and thus diverted the Sophie-hug to herself, because when she could initiate it that was always nice. "We missed you. Welcome back! Look, we got a puppy." We. Yup. "Well, she's mostly Eliot's. And! Hardison caught you guys on camera."
Sophie	"I'm so very shocked," Sophie drawled, stroking Parker's hair out of her face. "On all counts." She heard that 'we', yes she did. Nate probably did too. But she was hoping he hadn't caught on yet. "It seemed a fortuitous time to visit. You're not terribly busy with clients, are you?"
Hardison	"Girl don't go stealin' my hugs, you thief," Hardison said with a laugh, wrapping Sophie in a hug of his own. "Yo, it's good to see you both. We been takin' bets that y'all bailed on a weddin' an' eloped to San Lorenzo."
Nate	"Never," Nate said. "Not to San Lorenzo." He looked around the diner. "Of course, I wouldn't have guessed you three would end up moving to a place like this, either."
Sophie	Still returning Hardison's hug, Sophie rolled her eyes and said, "Nate, you haven't even seen the rest of the place. Or the Island, for that matter. I told you it was perfectly charming." Aside from the dead people in that one bar. (Maybe that would shock Nate out of ordering something temporarily? A fun mind experiment for later.) "Eliot, give me a hug and introduce me properly to your pet." She gave Hardison a small smirk. "If we did get elope to San Lorenzo, I'd need you to invent Rebecca's twin sister first."
Eliot	"Like you couldn't make your own twin sister," Eliot said, pushing his hair out of his face and tapping his thigh to signal Val to follow him as he went to give Sophie an enthusiastic hug. "Val, Sophie. Sophie, this is Valentine." Val yipped and wagged her tail, but very politely didn't try to jump up on Sophie's outfit. Not while her person was watching.

Sophie	"Hello darling," Sophie said in dulcet tones. First to Eliot, then to his pet. "You need to come visit us more often, you know the invitation is always open... she's adorable, Eliot, when did you get her?"
Eliot	"Last February," Eliot said, smiling proudly down at his puppy. "She kinda -- picked me. Wouldn't take no for an answer." Val panted happily, trotting in an excited circle. She was being very restrained! They were impressed by her restraint, right?
Hardison	Hardison was. Which was why he was trying to slip her a bit of bacon from his sandwich while Eliot was talking to Sophie. "Kinda hard to get away sometimes," he said. Casually. "Between teachin' an' the diner an' Leverage stuff, we actually stay pretty busy."
Sophie	So casually. Oh, so casually. Bless his heart. "I want to hear all about it," Sophie said, managing to put levels of meaning into that phrase that were there to be picked up on, oh yes. "We heard about Florida, but I want details on all the rest of it, too."
Eliot	"Dammit, Hardison," Eliot grumbled without turning around. "Stop feedin' her scraps." Hopefully the fact that he meant Val and not Sophie was clear enough. "Stick around a bit and you could get a chance to meet some of the students," he said. "Though, uh. Don't be surprised if some of them think they already know ya."
Hardison	"You don't know that I am!" Hardison protested. Guiltily. And then he whispered, "Sorry, girl," and took the bacon away. Meanie.
Parker	Parker wandered over to Look at Nate. Mixed feelings she didn't understand or have words for were churning; happy at seeing him. Suspicion of him being Up to Something. Hoping he approved of the way the crew was going. Knowing that even if he'd do it different, she was doing it Right. Worry, because it was Nate. So, between the urge to punch him and hug him, somehow, Parker wound up leaning into his space and staring at him. Staring. Staring. Maybe she could get him to say something first, the way Sterling did sometimes.
Nate	Nate met her gaze and calmly Looked back. He nodded faintly. "Parker. Heard about that job down in Florida." He raised an eyebrow. "Nice work."
Parker	Parker couldn't help the grin that comment brought out. "That one was fun. Those old people deserved better. And we got to watch Eliot fish, which is hilarious." She cocked her head. "You guys keeping busy?" Which was not Small Talk, it was, who have you tormented lately, Nate?

The buffet at the park had been good, but Kathy thought her parents might appreciate a more traditional meal for dinner. Which had, of course, been Kathy's attempt to get them off the island for a few hours, but her dad had balked at the expense of a cab ride and going down all those stairs, so Kathy had settled for the next best thing.

She had faith that Eliot would be able to whip up something close. Hopefully. Ish.

"Uhhh, it's not usually so festive in here," she told her parents, ducking as a motorized rubber bat swooped along the ceiling. "The, uhh, staff can get really enthusiastic about holidays."

Sarah was looking around with undisguised delight. Her parents? Undisguised disdain.

...This was gonna be a long weekend.

"Kathy," Eliot greeted warmly, tossing the kitchen towel he was wiping the counter down with over his shoulder. "How are you, darlin'?" He sized up Mr. Li sizing up his diner with rather less warmth. "This your family?"

"Darling?" Mrs. Li asked in Korean.

"He's from the South," Kathy explained quickly, grateful that they weren't having this conversation in English. And hoping Korean wasn't one of the languages Eliot spoke. "It's a cultural thing."

"It's inappropriate, that's what it is," Mrs. Li sniffed. "You're too pretty to be comfortable with random men calling you endearments. It gives the wrong impression."

"No, Mom, it's not like that at--"

"Don't argue with your mother, Katherine," Mr. Li said coldly.

"Dad, I'm not--"

Her father turned to stare at her. "Are you now going to argue with me, Katherine?" he demanded.

Kathy immediately shut up, giving him a small, contrite bow. "No, Dad, of course not. I'm sorry." She then turned and gave one to her mother, too. "I apologize for arguing with you, Mom. I didn't mean to."

Then, in English, she said, "Yes, Mr. Spencer. This is my family. My mother and father, and my little sister Sarah." Turning back to her parents, she explained, "Mom, Dad, this is Mr. Spencer. Uhh, he's my...coach?"

Eliot was more than passingly familiar with Korean -- he'd spent too much time facing off against North Koreans in various parts of East Asia not to have picked some up -- but he wasn't anywhere near fluent. He couldn't follow the dialect (or type of conversation -- scolding wasn't that close to threats of torture), but he could definitely pick up the gist.

He couldn't even be surprised.

"Kathy's been my teaching assistant for a few different classes now," he said instead, offering Mr. Li his hand for a shake. "And I've helped her out with some of her athletic hobbies as well. It's good to meet you."

That last was very polite. Very very polite. Passive aggressively polite.

"A coach?" Sarah looked excited. "Kathy, I thought you'd quit gymnastics!"

"Yes, Katherine," her father said, glancing at her. "I thought you'd realized it was a waste of time and money better spent elsewhere. You never placed any higher than bronze back home."

Turning back to Eliot, Mr. Li accepted the proffered handshake, pumping the requisite three times before dropping it. "You teach...gym, then?" he asked. "Normally, I expect Katherine to assist with more academic classes."

"Problem-solving and teambuilding. Both important skills for success, including in academics." Eliot raised an eyebrow. "Your daughter is a very capable young woman, Mr. Li, gifted both academically and athletically. She's been a great help to her fellow students both in and out of the classroom."

Kathy beamed at him, warmed by his praise. "Thanks, Mr. Spencer," she said quietly.

Then, more loudly, she added, "Mr. Spencer's going to write me a letter of recommendation for college." Wait! Had she asked him? She'd intended to ask him. She snuck a peek at Eliot. "Errr, I hope?"

She had, actually. But even if she hadn't, Eliot's response, a firm nod and a smile for Kathy, would have been the same. "Absolutely. It's my pleasure."

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OOC