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]

"Now we're both a pain in the ass," Marc told her.

[totalwildcard]

Harley made a great big huffy noise that was only extremely thinly concealing that she was holding back a laugh.

"I coulda sworn I'd been warming ya up enough to take the pain away."

[hasaknightjob]

"You're tolerable," Marc said. Of course he was basically cuddling her at this point so tolerable was clearly an understatement.

[totalwildcard]

"And you're doin' a great job tolerating," Harley told him. Not at all being an obnoxious tease about it. "I feel so thoroughly tolerated."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc stopped the back rub long enough to give her a few pats, like one member of a sports team greeting another. "Good. Glad to hear it."

[totalwildcard]

Harley didn't manage to hold the snicker back any longer. It was like it just pushed its way through her and out of her mouth.

"Oh, God, the bro pat, really? That's what it's come to?"

[hasaknightjob]

Marc was possibly laughing as well. Hard to tell. It was mainly a huff of breath by her hair. "What? We're not bros?"

Marc was not remotely the kind of guy who could say 'bro' naturally.

[totalwildcard]

"We could be," Harley replied cheerily, "if I fit the bill at all and if you sounded like you'd ever used that word in a sentence before!"

[hasaknightjob]

"Not really 'bro' material," Marc said. Which he managed to do in an easy, tossed off manner. But then the words caught up to him and the joking mood deflated. It was Marc so not obviously. But someone close - in both senses of the word - could probably pick up on the shift in energy. Particularly when the way he rubbed Harley's back seemed to be about distracting himself now.

[totalwildcard]

Being both more perceptive than a lot of people gave her credit for and a lot more tuned into paying attention to Marc specifically than she maybe would have credited herself, Harley picked up on something.

She might've still claimed the subtle way her fingers were now kneading at the back of his shoulder was a complete coincidence, though. Plausible deniability and all that.

"Like ya better as you are, anyway," she said, but it lacked a lot of the mirth from just a moment ago.

[hasaknightjob]

That... actually eased a little of the tension that had appeared. Marc paused the backrub long enough to hug her. Again someone attuned to him would know that was a little more about what he needed than her at that exact moment.

[totalwildcard]

And someone attuned to him might even know he didn't often make moves towards anything he needed.

Harley kept her 'oh' to herself. She shifted, instead, straightening up a little, only so she could wrap him up a little better. Still rubbing something a little soothing into his shoulder.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc kissed the top of her head again. "See? You're pretty okay."

A vague attempt at getting out of the sudden mood and back to what had been a few moments earlier. Or something new entirely. Whichever.

[totalwildcard]

"And tolerable to boot," Harley murmured. "The ideal package."

[hasaknightjob]

"Don't forget hot," Marc told her. "You bring a few things to the table."

[totalwildcard]

"I did bring them to the table, but then ya wanted me off it."

Hilarious, but hey, that was less of a murmur again.

[hasaknightjob]

"Never said they had to stay there," Marc replied.

Weak joke but he was trying.

[totalwildcard]

"Even if you had, you're not the boss of me," Harley teased. "My good qualities will go wherever I choose!"

[hasaknightjob]

That got a breath like a laugh out of him. "Good. Way it should be."

[totalwildcard]

Pleased, Harley turned her head and pressed a light kiss against the side of his neck. "My choice all my good qualities are all on your lap again."

[hasaknightjob]

"Did notice that," Marc said. She might not be able to see his smile but maybe she'd gotten good at hearing when he had something like one. "Do my best to keep earning it."

[totalwildcard]

The kiss turned into a bit of a nuzzle.

"That's what I like to hear."

[hasaknightjob]

"I'm trying," Marc said. And the hell of it was that he was. Maybe not super great on succeeding but he was trying to do things differently than he had before.

Which raised a lot of questions about why but Marc wasn't going to get into that. It was enough that he was trying. Maybe.

[totalwildcard]

"Usually all that can be asked for, trying," Harley told him. Her hand was still rubbing the back of his shoulder. "'Less the person doin' the asking gets demandy."

[hasaknightjob]

"You planning on doing that?" Marc asked.