This ended up with lots of Nate in it, but the only pairing is P/E
It had started a few months after Eliot left the team. Nate had starting drinking again when his wife got remarried, and had started to just take on whatever 'bad guys' were featured in the newspaper that day, no matter how dangerous they were. Sophie got sick the change and left. Again. Which only made Nate worse. And he wouldn't listen to reason or objections to any of his plans, and three separate times, Nate had almost gotten shot while Eliot was way too far away to protect him.
So Eliot had left. After telling Hardison and Parker that it would be safer to stop helping Nate destroy himself. But he knew it would take something worse to pry those two away from him.
So when a few months passed and Eliot heard knocking at his door, he was surprised to find Parker when he opened it.
She stood there, looking small. Like she was afraid he would slam the door in her face.
So Eliot did his best to smile and say, "Thanks for knocking, darlin'. I know it's not your preferred way of entering a building."
She smiled then, as Eliot let her into his apartment. He had been cooking dinner, and she happily leapt up onto the counter to watch and ask questions as he continued to prepare dinner, now for two. They made small talk, or as close as Parker ever came to making small talk, and they ate. It was oddly pleasant, Eliot knowing that it was hard for to come here and making a special effort not to push her away, and Parker making a special effort not to breezily make the kind of comments that made Eliot the trained hitter scared to be in a room with her.
It wasn't until after dinner that Parker told him. Nate had made her leave. Even Hardison had had enough and had left, angrily. And Parker had tried to make him stay, even blackmailing him, but that just made Hardison more angry.
So Parker had stayed with Nate all by herself. She kept asking him to plan some more jobs, but Nate was just getting worse. When she finally decided to just steal all his liquor every time he brought some home, he had kicked her out. And said some things to her that even Parker didn't ever deserve to hear.
Eliot hated hearing it. Nate had become his friend and team leader, but to Parker, he was more like a parent or mentor. And he was probably the only stable person she had ever had, the only one who accepted her but also believed that she could be better.
Eliot could see Parker's guilt as she told him everything, her worry that somehow she was ratting out Nate. But at the end of her explanation she said, "So that's why I'm here."
And there it was. Eliot didn't have to ask to understand. Parker came to Eliot because she had no place else to go.
And though he knew he was going to regret it, though he was already thinking of all the horrifying results that might occur, he said, "Stay here as long as you like, Parker."
angsty futurefic - warnings for non-happy stuff
It had started a few months after Eliot left the team. Nate had starting drinking again when his wife got remarried, and had started to just take on whatever 'bad guys' were featured in the newspaper that day, no matter how dangerous they were. Sophie got sick the change and left. Again. Which only made Nate worse. And he wouldn't listen to reason or objections to any of his plans, and three separate times, Nate had almost gotten shot while Eliot was way too far away to protect him.
So Eliot had left. After telling Hardison and Parker that it would be safer to stop helping Nate destroy himself. But he knew it would take something worse to pry those two away from him.
So when a few months passed and Eliot heard knocking at his door, he was surprised to find Parker when he opened it.
She stood there, looking small. Like she was afraid he would slam the door in her face.
So Eliot did his best to smile and say, "Thanks for knocking, darlin'. I know it's not your preferred way of entering a building."
She smiled then, as Eliot let her into his apartment. He had been cooking dinner, and she happily leapt up onto the counter to watch and ask questions as he continued to prepare dinner, now for two. They made small talk, or as close as Parker ever came to making small talk, and they ate. It was oddly pleasant, Eliot knowing that it was hard for to come here and making a special effort not to push her away, and Parker making a special effort not to breezily make the kind of comments that made Eliot the trained hitter scared to be in a room with her.
It wasn't until after dinner that Parker told him. Nate had made her leave. Even Hardison had had enough and had left, angrily. And Parker had tried to make him stay, even blackmailing him, but that just made Hardison more angry.
So Parker had stayed with Nate all by herself. She kept asking him to plan some more jobs, but Nate was just getting worse. When she finally decided to just steal all his liquor every time he brought some home, he had kicked her out. And said some things to her that even Parker didn't ever deserve to hear.
Eliot hated hearing it. Nate had become his friend and team leader, but to Parker, he was more like a parent or mentor. And he was probably the only stable person she had ever had, the only one who accepted her but also believed that she could be better.
Eliot could see Parker's guilt as she told him everything, her worry that somehow she was ratting out Nate. But at the end of her explanation she said, "So that's why I'm here."
And there it was. Eliot didn't have to ask to understand. Parker came to Eliot because she had no place else to go.
And though he knew he was going to regret it, though he was already thinking of all the horrifying results that might occur, he said, "Stay here as long as you like, Parker."
continued below