fandomtownies | Luke's, Monday

Eliot had always been in incredible shape. His job required it, and frankly he enjoyed the exercise. One of the ways he stayed that way was by taking care of his body, from icing his fists after fights to his regular appointments with a massage therapist on the mainland.

So when, this morning on a routine run around the island, his right knee twinged in a way it never had before -- even after that time it'd been broken by Malaysian crime lord with a crowbar -- he felt rather justified in being pissed. Especially after calling his doctor about it and getting "what do you expect? You're getting old" as a response.

"Do you smell -- camphor?" the cook asked as they got the diner ready for what in Fandom passed as the lunch rush.

"I was going to say menthol," the busboy said.

Okay. So maybe Eliot coating his entire knee in Tiger Balm was a little bit excessive.

Today's specials
Marrakech lamb with tahini squash gratin
Whole roasted cauliflower with red wine, shallots and wheatberries
Challah grapefruit french toast

Luke's was open. And aromatic.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

The servers are giving the booth in the corner, where Eliot's got his leg propped up on a stack of wholesale food mailers, a wide berth.

Distract him from his attempt to search the internet for non-"you're getting old" answers about his knee.

(No, WebMD, he didn't think it was bone cancer.)

(. . . Probably.)

I don't know what Eliot's complaining about. My body started falling apart at age 27.

Or possibly age 12.

I've basically never been in shape.

"Why does it smell like an apothecary's shop Olympic Boulevard in here?" Kathy asked, looking around for Eliot. It was weird not to spot him in the kitchen.

"Well as I live an' breathe," Hardison said, clutching at his chest and staggering backwards. "Is this Eliot usin' the internet? It's an Easter Monday miracle!"

I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHO TO PING YOU WITH SO YOU GET BOTH, YOU'RE WELCOME.

"It ain't that bad," Eliot grumbled, thus revealing his location. "You people act like you've never smelled topical analgesic before."

It was pretty bad. At least Eliot had washed his hands after putting it on.

"The internet says I'm dying," Eliot said. "So, you know, it's about as useful as I thought it was gonna be."

ILU. MY MORNING NEEDED THIS.

"I'm pretty sure I now know what bathing in Tiger Balm smells like," Kathy said, wrinkling her nose as she slid into the booth with him. "You smell like an ajumma with arthritis." She smiled, but worry flickered in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

ILU2 AND YAAAAAY!

"Why you wastin' your time on WebMD?" Hardison asked, because obviously that's where Eliot had ended up. "That's like usin' Bing as your search browser. Worse! Like, AskJeeves or somethin'."

Because those were all references Eliot was going to get, yes.

"Also, I dunno what that smell is, but I wouldn't trust whatever's comin' outta the kitchen like that."

Oh god, he did smell like his grandmother. Well, she'd used Bengay, but still.

"I'm fine," Eliot grumped. "My knee's just -- actin' up."

For no reason. 40 wasn't that old. That was the whole reason it was appalling to other people that he'd never expected to even make it this far. . . .

"It's what that googly thing sent me to," Eliot said defensively. He knew what Google was. He knew how to properly refer to it. He just felt like insulting it, right now.

Except now he didn't just smell like his grandmother, he probably sounded like her too. He really was getting old.

"It ain't the food. It's Tiger Balm."

Yes, Eliot. It was.

"With as much damage as you've taken, I'm surprised more things don't act up on you," Kathy said. "The body's ability to heal isn't infinite, you know."

"You say so, Granpa," Hardison said, unknowingly adding fuel to the...burning conflagration. "You want one of us kids to figure this newfangled contraption out?"

In fairness, it wasn't like he knew this would rub Eliot the wrong way today. Well, not anymore so than normal.

"Still ain't answerin' the overall question," he added. "Why you lookin' up stuff on the web anyway?"

And Kathy didn't even know a fraction of how much damage Eliot had actually taken. Not everything had scarred. "'Course I know that. Why the hell d'you think I'm treating the damn thing instead of just pretending it'll go away on its own?"

Contrary to some might think, Eliot wasn't the sort to deny himself medical attention. He just insisted it only came from a very few trusted sources.

Why should he? Eliot was usually much better at keeping this close to his chest.

"Because my damn doctor's useless. I ain't that old, dammit!" He was tempted to slam the computer shut and maybe throw it across the room, but he was old enough not to throw temper tantrums, at least.

"I'm suggesting you take this into account for the future," Kathy said. "You're expanding the franchise now, right? Let some of us pick up the slack." Her mouth twisted a little. "Not that I think I'm cut out to be a hitter."

The noise Eliot made was half-snort, half-sigh. "I spent the weekend at a wedding. And not even one I had to fight people at."

Okaaaaay. This definitely went above and beyond whatever Hardison had thought was going on.

"A'ight," he said, shooting the laptop a worried glance. Don't fret, little computer, Hardiman would protect you. "Why dontcha back up a bit. Your doctor's useless about what an' ain't no one said you were old."

Umm, except for all those times he just had.

"Don't you patronize me." If you looked up 'prickly' in a Fandom dictionary, right now, you'd find Eliot's photo. "I know when somethin' ain't right and my knee doesn't just twinge 'because I'm gettin' old.'"

Eliot's weekend had gone much better than Kathy's, that was for damn sure.

"...Then what did you do?" Kathy asked.

Right now? How about 'always'?

"I ain't say it did," Hardison said mildly. "I'm still tryna get a full sentence outta you 'bout what's wrong."

"Nothing! That's the whole damn problem." Sorry about your mentor sulking at you, Kathy. "I was just doin' my usual run and the damn thing just started hurting."

Page 1 of 7

Luke's, Monday

Mod your service

Talk to Eliot

OOC

Re: Talk to Eliot

RE: Talk to Eliot

RE: OOC

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: OOC

Re: Talk to Eliot

RE: Re: OOC

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

RE: Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot

Re: Talk to Eliot