In the Quiet After
Title: In the Quiet After
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Eliot, Parker
Verse: n/a
Summary: After everything that had happened that day Parker is almost sure she shouldn't worry about something.
Notes: Tag to (and spoiler for) The Rundown Job.
Was originally about Eliot but ended up kind of focusing on Parker.
This shouldn’t feel this comfortable.
He’s in a random hotel bed with two bullet holes in him and more pain killers than he’s been on since…
Well his head isn’t clear enough that he’s entirely sure whether or not Bangladesh counts. Madrid though? Madrid defiantly counts.
Counting.
Parker’s sitting next to him, on the floor. They’d dragged him here to rest up and he’d bitched until he was settled down to just rest and everything was fine and he was working himself into a meditative state that would block out the pain enough that he could start sleeping off the whole damn mess when Parker had sat down next to him and the jostling had caught him just off guard enough he’d gasped and cursed.
And the next thing he knew Hardison was coming at him with pain pills and Parker was reminding him of how much he’d harassed her about taking her pain pills when she first got hurt and…
And now the world was wibbly wobbly, to use Parker’s own words, and he wasn’t sure…
“…I…” Well he wasn’t sure if Parker had actually said anything.
“What is it, Parker?”
She turned, folding her arms on the edge of the bed and resting her chin on them light enough nothing moved. She looked… concerned.
“You want to feel stuff.” She said.
“Parker, you gotta be a little more clear with me right now.” He told her. His head definitely wasn’t clear enough to translate Parkerish right now.
“Back, in the job with the cooking? You’re happy you started to feel stuff again. I…” She made a face. “That’s not why you don’t take pain meds. Right?”
Okay. Breathe in. Focus. Think. Oh.
“They make the world go weird, Parker. It’s dangerous when you’re me.” He told her.
“Okay. Yeah. Okay.” She said and turned back to her previous spot.
He could hear Nate in his head. Wait for it.
Ten seconds later she turned back. “I thought so. It… there’s a difference. Not feeling physical pain. Not feeling emotional pain. Right?” He gave a slow nod. The very distinctive smile she got when she realized she’d understood basic human emotion tugged at her lips but she held it back. “And earlier? When you said you didn’t feel afraid. That was good. Right? That wasn’t all of this… you know… making you not feel things again?”
He nodded again. “I wasn’t afraid because you two were with me.” He didn’t mean to say it but he’d blame the pain pills. “I took the pain pills because you two were with me.” He made his eyes focus on hers, tried to keep his voice even. She’d come so damn far he hoped she’d understand this. “I know you two will have my back.”
She nodded and sat back down. “I know that.” She said. Something in her tone making him smile as she repeated. “I know that.”
It shouldn’t feel this comfortable.
But it did.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Eliot, Parker
Verse: n/a
Summary: After everything that had happened that day Parker is almost sure she shouldn't worry about something.
Notes: Tag to (and spoiler for) The Rundown Job.
Was originally about Eliot but ended up kind of focusing on Parker.
This shouldn’t feel this comfortable.
He’s in a random hotel bed with two bullet holes in him and more pain killers than he’s been on since…
Well his head isn’t clear enough that he’s entirely sure whether or not Bangladesh counts. Madrid though? Madrid defiantly counts.
Counting.
Parker’s sitting next to him, on the floor. They’d dragged him here to rest up and he’d bitched until he was settled down to just rest and everything was fine and he was working himself into a meditative state that would block out the pain enough that he could start sleeping off the whole damn mess when Parker had sat down next to him and the jostling had caught him just off guard enough he’d gasped and cursed.
And the next thing he knew Hardison was coming at him with pain pills and Parker was reminding him of how much he’d harassed her about taking her pain pills when she first got hurt and…
And now the world was wibbly wobbly, to use Parker’s own words, and he wasn’t sure…
“…I…” Well he wasn’t sure if Parker had actually said anything.
“What is it, Parker?”
She turned, folding her arms on the edge of the bed and resting her chin on them light enough nothing moved. She looked… concerned.
“You want to feel stuff.” She said.
“Parker, you gotta be a little more clear with me right now.” He told her. His head definitely wasn’t clear enough to translate Parkerish right now.
“Back, in the job with the cooking? You’re happy you started to feel stuff again. I…” She made a face. “That’s not why you don’t take pain meds. Right?”
Okay. Breathe in. Focus. Think. Oh.
“They make the world go weird, Parker. It’s dangerous when you’re me.” He told her.
“Okay. Yeah. Okay.” She said and turned back to her previous spot.
He could hear Nate in his head. Wait for it.
Ten seconds later she turned back. “I thought so. It… there’s a difference. Not feeling physical pain. Not feeling emotional pain. Right?” He gave a slow nod. The very distinctive smile she got when she realized she’d understood basic human emotion tugged at her lips but she held it back. “And earlier? When you said you didn’t feel afraid. That was good. Right? That wasn’t all of this… you know… making you not feel things again?”
He nodded again. “I wasn’t afraid because you two were with me.” He didn’t mean to say it but he’d blame the pain pills. “I took the pain pills because you two were with me.” He made his eyes focus on hers, tried to keep his voice even. She’d come so damn far he hoped she’d understand this. “I know you two will have my back.”
She nodded and sat back down. “I know that.” She said. Something in her tone making him smile as she repeated. “I know that.”
It shouldn’t feel this comfortable.
But it did.