vdistinctive

Yeah, it was! Even for Alec, who was more inclined to be hesitant and diffident had to agree. Well, mostly. "No TV though," he pointed out. "Or even those computers the other place had." Not that they were anything like the computers he'd ever seen. These were sleek and black and so fast, responding to every keystroke like magic. The computers Hardison was used to were big, heavy, clunky, and beige. With monitors his skinny arms couldn't even lift and the computing power of a slug.

But it did have toy swords and fake knives, and so many pillows and cushions and sheets and blankets, and enough room to make a truly epic blanket fort. "I been makin' some blueprints," he said, holding up papers that he'd drawn over. "Cause you gotta make sure that everythin' balances right or it'll topple over." He couldn't exactly explain why he knew this would work, but he was certain he was. "See?"

"Woah. You drew those?" Eliot draped himself over the back of the couch to peer over Alec's shoulder. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

Alec shrugged. "Nowhere. I just know how. I draw a lot in foster. Stops me from askin' so many questions, they say."

Eliot frowned. "What's wrong with asking questions?" No one had yelled at Eliot for asking too many questions, not since he'd grown out of his "why?" phase.

"Cause I ask too many an' lotsa times people don't know how to answer 'em," Hardison replied, matter-of-factly. "Other times no one wants to answer 'em. An' then I'm a bother."

"I found handcuffs!" Parker suddenly announced from on top of the TV system set-up. "Lookit lookit!"

They were about as real as the weapons right now, and she was having fun getting in and out of them.

"Dude!" Eliot bounced. "This house is amazing!" He didn't so much mind the lack of electronics. "Though I had to get all the poptarts and pizza bagels myself."

"We're probably good for tonight," Eliot decided. "But we should keep that in mind for tomorrow."

"Yup!" Parker hopped down and surveyed the fort with pleasure. "This isn't a girls-keep-out-fort, is it?"

"Nah," Eliot said. "I only make those when I need to keep out my sister." Which admittedly was often. And then Gertie cried even harder because Eliot totally let their next door neighbor come in and she was a girl and then Mom yelled at him for being mean to Gertie and also that bedroom wasn't going to clean itself, mister, if he didn't clean up by the end of the day she was going to come through with a trashbag and throw everything on the floor away!

There was a reason why Eliot spent most of his time outside hiding in improbable places.

"This place has got tons of stuff in it!" Alec agreed. "An' it's way bigger'n the other place we were in."

"But you gotta!" Alec argued. "There's no grownups here! What about...about doctor visits an' school an'--an'--an'--" He tried to think of other things that adults could help with. "They'll come find us! They got our names in the system an' if they gotta drag us home, we ain't never gonna get a family."

Parker scowled. "Don't want one." She pouted at him. "They're stupid. Doctors are stupid. And teachers are stupid. And nobody wants me anyway, so. They won't come looking for me." She had to grudgingly admit they might come looking for Alec. She scowled at him. "Do you like school?"