Apartment Above Needful Things; Tuesday Late Morning

[totalwildcard]

Harley had spent most of the weekend on the mainland. Not just Baltimore, either - she'd taken the kid out on a little road trip. Yanno, for life lessons! Most of them criminal, of course, but that was sort of how their mentorship worked, so someone else could handle the boring stuff. Anyway, they'd had fun!

So much of it, in fact, that Harley had only landed back on the island late on Monday evening. Technically probably Tuesday? Which meant that after she'd passed out and slept her fill, the day was already well on its way. She rolled groggily out of bed, shambled her way into the living room --

And groaned when she saw the glitter bomb still waiting on the coffee table, and not downstairs attached to the front door ready to explode on Frenchie if he showed up again this week. Whether he'd already shown up or not, Harley was not in a state to go set it up now.

She shuffled around some more, in search of her phone, which she found discarded on the kitchen counter. No calls, no messages apart from Cass informing her she'd ordered breakfast delivery on Harley's account. Harley looked at the phone for a long moment more anyway, tapping her thumb against the side of it in thought. Groggy, still sleepy, not yet caffeinated thought.

And pulled up a number she'd had for a while but never actually texted before.

(Successfully, anyway. There was that time on her birthday.)

You awake yet?

(expecting one but can be open for other stuff as well!)

Comments

[hasaknightjob]

Tuesdays tended to be Marc days, so he was around. In fact he'd already gotten a workout in using their gym downstairs and had just finished a shower and was getting dressed. Which was why it took a sec for Marc to register that there was a message waiting for him.

Generally speaking people knew that Marc's policy on being contacted was don't. Marc figured this either meant it was an emergency and/or someone who got to be an exception to that rule.

So when Marc saw the caller ID he got that answer.

Him texting back was also an answer. In more ways than one.

I wake up earlier than you

[totalwildcard]

Not always!! Harley sent back, one hand handling the phone, the other trying to get coffee going. She was doing neither thing particularly well, but that was the vibe of the morning for her.

Couldve been the exeption

[hasaknightjob]

Marc would have protested that it had been one time. But that meant calling further attention to it and nobody needed that.

Instead he went with,

you're always an exception

[totalwildcard]

Exceptional enough to get breakfast delivered?

You couldn't fault a gal for trying! Especially when such an obvious ulterior motive for getting in touch could help obscure actual ulterior motives!

[hasaknightjob]

this is what I am now? Food guy?

Which wasn't a no. He hadn't eaten much yet either.

[totalwildcard]

Well what guy do you WANNA be instead?

[hasaknightjob]

Question for his whole freaking life right there.

Marc debated what to answer. Which came out as a delayed reply because he didn't do the thing of typing and erasing until he figured out what he wanted to say.

I could eat

[totalwildcard]

If nothing else, it gave Harley a fighting chance to actually get the coffee machine properly going during the delay.

So bring food!

It also said something about how early in the morning it was for her and how groggy she was that she squandered such a perfect opportunity for innuendo. Tsk.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc rolled his eyes. Not that she could see that.

whaddya want

[totalwildcard]

Food!!

It was never too early to be annoying, unfortunately.

[hasaknightjob]

dry cereal, got it

He'd been up earlier than her after all.

[totalwildcard]

But could he imagine the pout he was causing? It was a good one.

Have that already nvm don't come over

[hasaknightjob]

Another one of those delays before

too bad. I'm getting a burrito

[totalwildcard]

Harley's own delay was because all this talk of cereal (all two texts of it) had inspired her to pour some into a bowl and then she'd had to go all the way to the fridge for the milk, and you know how that all went.

Frenchie might be in the store jsyk

Odds were great she was going to take Bruce for his morning walk out the less often used door in the back room, yes.

[hasaknightjob]

It always took Marc a moment because to him Frenchie did not mean Remy.

He also noticed it was being taken as a given he was coming over now.

Which wasn't wrong.

k you want coffee?

[totalwildcard]

He was a big boy, Harley was trusting him to tell her if he didn't want to come over. Or couldn't, or whatever. Or that she could make it worth his while if he did, if need be. That, too.

(Also she didn't want him to think there had been anything serious about that 'nvm don't come over'. But she didn't want to think about that.)

If it's better than my machine YES pls

Most things were. One of these days she was going to get around to getting her hands on an espresso machine.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc considered where he was going. In fairness he had to write back,

Could be debatable.

[totalwildcard]

Bring it anyway, we'll have a TASTE TEST

It was that patented positive thinking in action again.

Shitty coffee vs shittier coffee!

[hasaknightjob]

In fairness it was possible the coffee was perfectly fine. Marc had never had it nor Harley's so he had no basis of comparison. But that was more information than Marc ever felt was worthwhile to provide.

Instead he opened up the food app to put in an order for pickup, then texted back,

Gimme 20

[totalwildcard]

Roger that!

There was a smattering of food related emoji after that. Because of course.

[hasaknightjob]

After close to twenty minutes, which included a stop at the burrito place on the way, Marc was at the front door to Harley's shop. He tested it to see if it was unlocked.

[totalwildcard]

It was not, unfortunately. Harley was Harley and hadn't thought that far ahead, in part because she had actually used the back door in those twenty minutes to take Bruce out to do his business.

And of course she was upstairs happily puttering around.

[hasaknightjob]

Honestly, Marc was glad. Not that crime was a thing on the island but he felt better when she didn't let random people wander in when the place wasn't open.

Shut up.

He took out his phone and texted,

let me in

[totalwildcard]

Aww! And yet most of the rest of the island should have worried about Harley waltzing into their houses, considering her track record.

Anyway, Harley saw the message, and made an excited noise, and skittered to a window to poke her head out of it --

Nope, wrong side! So off to one of the windows towards the front of the building she went, and opened that one so she could lean out of it and peer down.

And there he was!

"Yoo-hoo, Mr. Delivery Man! Catch!"

Because she was dropping her keys down for him, yeah.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc wasn't Steven, so he did in fact catch the keys even though one hand was juggling the food and coffee.

"I gotta let myself in now?" he called up as he unlocked the door. But it was a fake grump at best.