2025-05-21 - Performance Review: Part One

Parker's bedroom isn't anything special in terms of size; employees are offered similar housing to each other amongst the various apartment buildings. Therefore, he has to make a statement with its decor. Fine, modern furniture fills the room, but at the same time gives the space an aesthetically-pleasing, minimalist feel. A piece of abstract art hangs on the wall, large and salient among the simple, clean lines of the white-and-glass furniture.

It's here, after probably some wine and conversation, that Parker would have led Cooper after meeting one that exchanging messages with the man. It happens, and he wouldn't be ashamed to admit it.

"Ugh." Under crisp white sheets that are not crumpled with use, Parker stirs. A hand slides up from across his bare chest to rub sleep from his eyes as he shifts at turns. The night before starts to come back to him, bit by bit.

It's a far nicer apartment than Cooper has woken up in after most of his hookups, truth be told. Not in the shape and size of the apartment - that's pretty standard. But most of the guys he's hooked up with since starting in the park aren't really about decorating.

In the moments before Parker stirs, Cooper was snoring softly. The bare bit of movement though, seems to kick him out of deeper slumber. Slowly he starts to wake. He stretches his toes out towards the end of the bed, then opens his eyes. It takes him a second to remember everything that happened. The app didn't really prepare him to be hooking up with a classy guy who serves wine and has art on the wall, so he chugged it a bit too fast to tamp down the nerves. That had the effect of loosening him up just enough, but it also gave him a bit of a hangover.

He rolls over onto his back and pushes his hair out of his face. "Damn, sorry. We didn't talk about whether I was actually supposed to stay the night. I know some guys don't like that."

Parker is about both decorating and flaunting his wealth. The entire apartment speaks to that, though there are accents belonging to his roommate, too, who was absent the night before.

The compliance agent turns onto his side, resting one leg against Cooper's side as the world fades back into focus. The heavy-headed feeling after a night of wine slows the process, but he's in no rush; it's his day off. "Hm?" He doesn't seem to register the other man's question at first, but then he waves a hand dismissively before him. "I didn't fit a California Queen in here if I didn't think someone else might use it."

He reaches blindly for the nightstand, where he usually sets his watch, to grab it and check the time.

"Dude, I have no idea what the difference is between a California Queen and a regular Queen." Cooper sits up and rubs at his neck. He rolls his shoulders forward and stifles a yawn. He's got the physique both of someone who works for a living and someone who cares about aesthetics and works to maintain it. He's got evidence of a fading sunburn from a collared shirt on the back of his neck and his hands are fairly calloused. But he also clearly cares about his hair and just general grooming and aesthetics.

"Anyway, I should probably get out of your hair." He looks back and grins in a lopsided way, his chin length hair mussed and covering part of his face. "This was fun."

"Four whole inches." Parker says this like it doesn't mean anything, though the deadpan may be a joke given what they just went through. Squinting at his watch, he groans. "Ten already?" It was a late one, that's for sure.

Regardless of whatever he has going on today, he can spare a moment to look Cooper over. There's the body that made him reach out in the first place. "Definitely one of the funner encounters I've had here." He, too, sits up and stretches. Though older than Cooper, he keeps in shape with a very strict routine developed by his trainer.

"What do you have going on today? Fixing...something?" Did he get that right? He shifts and slides to one side of the bed to search the floor for clothing.

When Parker says 'four whole inches,' Cooper can't help but snort-laugh like an immature teenager. He slaps a hand to his mouth, eyes dancing with mirth. "Ahh, I will...file that away for my next pub trivia night."

When he notices he's being looked at, he positions his body in a more deliberate way and returns the once-over. He bites the edge of his lip, then pushes hair behind his ear.

The question makes his eyebrows raise. "Uh, yeah. Later on." He leans over the side of the bed and digs for his pants to pull out his phone. He doesn't mean to put his bare ass fully in the air in the process, but his pants were a little further away than he thought. But then he's got his phone. He flops back down on the bed and flips through. "I'm on the 2-10 shift today."

Parker grimaces at the idea of pub trivia nights but looks delighted by the sight of Cooper's bare body, the way he shows off and struts around for his phone; maybe he doesn’t need to rush.

Still, he stands and walks over to where his underwear ended up, fully intending on displaying himself in the meantime. “I don’t envy you with the late shifts.” Yes, 10pm is late for him. “It only hits us when there’s an oversight committee coming.

He flicks a pair of briefs up and into his hands, then slips them on.

Cooper flips through his phone for a moment to clear notifications, then he starts to dress again himself, stealing glances over at Parker as he does. "I don't mind it. Nightlife doesn't start until after 10 anyway, and then I can sleep in. But sometimes they put me on an early shift right after the late shift if someone goes off sick or something. That sucks."

He sits on the edge of the bed and wriggles his boxer briefs on, then digs for his jeans. His clothing is far from designer label, but the Levi's fit him perfectly and the white short sleeve button-up with a subtle abstract yellow pattern suits his skintone and makes his eyes pop. "You're in management, right?"

He stands up and starts to do up the buttons of his shirt. "You don't have to answer that. I also know some guys don't want smalltalk or personal details either."

Given that he lives here, Parker can change into something more comfortable than what he wore last night, so he pulls out an expensive white tee from a drawn and tugs it over him. "These islands have a decent nightlife? Besides the resort?" If so, it sounds like hasn't seen it.

"Yep, I'm in management." He pauses there, hands on hips, and peers at Cooper sternly. "The only thing I don't want is for you to think this will get you a promotion." One eyebrow lifts as if to say, got that?

Cooper grins lopsidedly. "Mhmm, judging by the nice place and your fancy wine and your soft clothes..." he approaches and reaches out to just touch the sleeve of his shirt briefly. "...I think you and I probably have a different definition of nightlife."

The stern look makes him stand up straighter, his grin turning from sheepish to cocky. "Yes sir," he salutes floppily. "No casting couch benefits. Understood."

Parker shifts saucily as Cooper approaches, glancing down at the fingers that brush against the sleeve of his shirt. "Judging by this messy business..." He reaches up to try and run his fingertips through the younger man's bedhead of hair. "I think you're right."

Pulling away from the salute, which he lows his head to to make his peer more menacing, he opens another drawer for a nice pair of sweatpants. "Good. There's nothing worse than a needy text like that." After pulling them on, he glances back. "There's, uh, breakfast or whatever." He gestures vaguely to somewhere out there in the apartment.

"Yeeeah, my hair's not the only thing about me that's messy." Cooper grins and doesn't move away from the touch.

"And don't worry, Captain Rules Lawyer. I can climb the ranks all on my own. I'm actually good at my job. Shock, I know. I'm more than just a pretty face." He does a sassy little hairtoss.

When he gestures, Coop follows with his eyes. "Mhmm, tempting. But I should be going." He leans down to scoop up his socks and does a little hop maneuver to get them on. Once they're on, he approaches Parker. "But this was fun. You know where to get me if you want to do it again."

Parker rolls his eyes at that, but it's probably true. "We'll see about that." Management surely has access to something that can back up the claim. If he can even bother to look into it, let alone remember the boast.

The hairtoss does earn a genuine bit of snorting laughter, but when Cooper turns down breakfast, Parker doesn't appear brokenhearted. He fixes his own hair, staring into a mirror propped on his dresser, and then turns to offer a self-satisfied smirk. "It was. I'll walk you out."

He tilts his head in the direction of his door, fully expecting never to see this guy again outside these walls.