Fic: Leverage (Eliot/Parker) - for ultra_fic
Title: Christmas Deny
Fandom: Leverage
Pairing: Eliot/Parker
Rating: PG -13
Summary: Parker insists she isn’t getting a cold, Eliot knows better.
A/N: For ultra_fic, who asked for Eliot/Parker Christmas fluff - I hope you like this, thank you for being such a great friend and support to me this year! It means a lot! Hope you enjoy this fic!
Eliot isn’t really big on Christmas - there are too many memories of lonely ones - but Parker loves the holiday, so when he walks into their headquarters heaving a Christmas tree behind him he expects to see Parker, bouncing ever so slightly and talking so fast he can’t make out the words. Instead, it’s Hardison who greets him with a sarcastic comment and, Eliot notices, no offer to help carry the tree the rest of the way.
Eliot doesn’t find Parker until twenty minutes later when he ventures into one of the rooms they barely use in search of ornaments for the tree. Parker’s slumped against the wall surrounded by bits of tinsel and looking considerably peaky.
“You started getting the decorations out, huh?” Eliot asks, crossing over the room to crouch down in front of Parker.
“I thought it would save some time while you got the tree but - well, it took longer than I thought.”
“Because you’re sick.”
Parker shakes her head, pushing herself up from the floor. “I’m fine, just a little tired. Did you get the tree? Is it huge? Does it have room for my loot? Oooh, does it have room for candy canes?”
“It’s about the same size as the one we got last year so: yes, yes, yes, and it depends on how much sugar you’ve had already.” Eliot grabs one of the boxes of decorations and starts walking, not missing the fact that Parker chooses one of the lighter boxes to carry. “How long were you sitting in there for?”
“Not long. Oh, did you remember to pick up some gingerbread? If not we could make some.”
Eliot sighs. “You’re not going to admit you don’t feel well, are you?”
“It’s almost Christmas. Nobody gets a cold over Christmas.”
“If you say so.”
~~
Even though it’s almost Christmas there’s still a lot to do; they’ve got a job to finish up, and at some point one of them needs to pick Nate and Sophie up from the airport. Hardison puts together a spreadsheet of all their tasks, setting deadlines and allocating jobs to each of them. Eliot tells him it’s over the top but as it gets closer to the day they’d decided they were going to stop working he has to admit it’s a good idea, if only because it stops Parker from taking on everyone else’s jobs as well as her own.
“So at ten tomorrow morning Janice is going to be on her way to her office. We’ll be-” Parker breaks off as a coughing fit hits, gesturing for one of them to continue with her sentence.
“We’ll be stationed at various points along her usual route, convincing her that she’s only going to be safe if she walks home the way we want her to when she walks home tomorrow night,” Eliot finishes, watching Parker carefully. She’s been powering through over the last couple of days, and if Eliot didn’t have experience with Parker pretending to be okay he probably wouldn’t have noticed the signs that tell him Parker is sicker than she’s letting on.
Hardison laughs. “I’m looking forward to this one.”
“This woman really deserves it,” says Parker. “But we stick to the plans we have in place, no improvising new pranks because we think it’ll be fun, okay?”
“Sure thing, Boss.” Eliot quirks his lips a little. “Whatever you say.”
“Good.” Parker smiles and then leans forward as if she’s about to kiss him. “What did - did you just pull away?”
Eliot winces. “You’re sick. Germs. Christmas. I have to have enough energy to cook Christmas dinner for fourteen people - that requires military precision and full health.”
“I’m not sick.”
“You’re at least a little bit sick,” says Hardison. “I’ve got to agree with Eliot on this one - I want my Christmas dinner.”
Parker doesn’t talk to either of them for the next three hours; Eliot’s glad - it means she’ll be resting her sore throat.
~~The day before Christmas Eve Hardison drives to the airport to pick up Nate and Sophie, giving Eliot some time alone with Parker for the first time in days. Except when he goes into the kitchen for just a couple of minutes to take his newly made mince pies out of the oven, he returns to find Parker fast asleep under a blanket instead of watching the film they’d chosen to put on.
Eliot risks a quick touch to Parker’s forehead and just manages to hold back a loud curse that would have woken her for sure. She definitely has a temperature, her skin hot and sticky against his hand.
“Stubborn,” he mutters, leaving her to sleep. Maybe some rest will help her get better before Christmas Day.
~~
Christmas morning arrives and they all meet at headquarters as agreed to gather around the tree to greet each other and exchange presents -everyone except Parker.
“Is she still not feeling well?” asks Sophie.
Eliot shakes his head. “I’m about ninety per cent sure she has the flu.”
“And over Christmas, too. Poor Parker.”
“Yeah, I’m going to go look for her. Can you wait to open the presents until I let you know if she’s going to make it or not? If she does, she’d hate to arrive and find the presents opened.”
As soon as he’s extracted a promise from every one of his team Eliot sets off to find Parker. He goes by three of her safe houses before he finally locates her at one of her many apartments. He knows she’s in there by the faint sound of a Christmas carols CD drifting through the door but she doesn’t answer when he knocks. Glad that they’d finally given each other spare keys to most of their places, he lets himself inside.
Parker’s stretched out on the couch, almost made invisible by the mountain of blankets she has pulled around herself. She glances around as Eliot enters. “You’re here.”
“I am. You’re croaking and not looking so good.”
She pulls a face. “I think I might be sick.”
“You think you’re well enough to make it to headquarters if I help you?”
“No, I don’t - which sucks because it’s Christmas.”
“So it is. Merry Christmas, Parker.”
“It isn’t though. It’s sick-and-not-able-to-leave-the-apartment Christmas.”
Eliot watches her for a moment and then goes across to kiss her forehead before saying, “it will be merry. You wait right here, don’t move. Give me an hour, tops.”
“What are you going to do?”
“If Parker can’t be brought to Christmas, I’m going to drag Christmas’ ass to Parker.”
And for the first time on Christmas Day 2013, Parker smiles.
Fandom: Leverage
Pairing: Eliot/Parker
Rating: PG -13
Summary: Parker insists she isn’t getting a cold, Eliot knows better.
A/N: For ultra_fic, who asked for Eliot/Parker Christmas fluff - I hope you like this, thank you for being such a great friend and support to me this year! It means a lot! Hope you enjoy this fic!
Eliot isn’t really big on Christmas - there are too many memories of lonely ones - but Parker loves the holiday, so when he walks into their headquarters heaving a Christmas tree behind him he expects to see Parker, bouncing ever so slightly and talking so fast he can’t make out the words. Instead, it’s Hardison who greets him with a sarcastic comment and, Eliot notices, no offer to help carry the tree the rest of the way.
Eliot doesn’t find Parker until twenty minutes later when he ventures into one of the rooms they barely use in search of ornaments for the tree. Parker’s slumped against the wall surrounded by bits of tinsel and looking considerably peaky.
“You started getting the decorations out, huh?” Eliot asks, crossing over the room to crouch down in front of Parker.
“I thought it would save some time while you got the tree but - well, it took longer than I thought.”
“Because you’re sick.”
Parker shakes her head, pushing herself up from the floor. “I’m fine, just a little tired. Did you get the tree? Is it huge? Does it have room for my loot? Oooh, does it have room for candy canes?”
“It’s about the same size as the one we got last year so: yes, yes, yes, and it depends on how much sugar you’ve had already.” Eliot grabs one of the boxes of decorations and starts walking, not missing the fact that Parker chooses one of the lighter boxes to carry. “How long were you sitting in there for?”
“Not long. Oh, did you remember to pick up some gingerbread? If not we could make some.”
Eliot sighs. “You’re not going to admit you don’t feel well, are you?”
“It’s almost Christmas. Nobody gets a cold over Christmas.”
“If you say so.”
~~
Even though it’s almost Christmas there’s still a lot to do; they’ve got a job to finish up, and at some point one of them needs to pick Nate and Sophie up from the airport. Hardison puts together a spreadsheet of all their tasks, setting deadlines and allocating jobs to each of them. Eliot tells him it’s over the top but as it gets closer to the day they’d decided they were going to stop working he has to admit it’s a good idea, if only because it stops Parker from taking on everyone else’s jobs as well as her own.
“So at ten tomorrow morning Janice is going to be on her way to her office. We’ll be-” Parker breaks off as a coughing fit hits, gesturing for one of them to continue with her sentence.
“We’ll be stationed at various points along her usual route, convincing her that she’s only going to be safe if she walks home the way we want her to when she walks home tomorrow night,” Eliot finishes, watching Parker carefully. She’s been powering through over the last couple of days, and if Eliot didn’t have experience with Parker pretending to be okay he probably wouldn’t have noticed the signs that tell him Parker is sicker than she’s letting on.
Hardison laughs. “I’m looking forward to this one.”
“This woman really deserves it,” says Parker. “But we stick to the plans we have in place, no improvising new pranks because we think it’ll be fun, okay?”
“Sure thing, Boss.” Eliot quirks his lips a little. “Whatever you say.”
“Good.” Parker smiles and then leans forward as if she’s about to kiss him. “What did - did you just pull away?”
Eliot winces. “You’re sick. Germs. Christmas. I have to have enough energy to cook Christmas dinner for fourteen people - that requires military precision and full health.”
“I’m not sick.”
“You’re at least a little bit sick,” says Hardison. “I’ve got to agree with Eliot on this one - I want my Christmas dinner.”
Parker doesn’t talk to either of them for the next three hours; Eliot’s glad - it means she’ll be resting her sore throat.
~~The day before Christmas Eve Hardison drives to the airport to pick up Nate and Sophie, giving Eliot some time alone with Parker for the first time in days. Except when he goes into the kitchen for just a couple of minutes to take his newly made mince pies out of the oven, he returns to find Parker fast asleep under a blanket instead of watching the film they’d chosen to put on.
Eliot risks a quick touch to Parker’s forehead and just manages to hold back a loud curse that would have woken her for sure. She definitely has a temperature, her skin hot and sticky against his hand.
“Stubborn,” he mutters, leaving her to sleep. Maybe some rest will help her get better before Christmas Day.
~~
Christmas morning arrives and they all meet at headquarters as agreed to gather around the tree to greet each other and exchange presents -everyone except Parker.
“Is she still not feeling well?” asks Sophie.
Eliot shakes his head. “I’m about ninety per cent sure she has the flu.”
“And over Christmas, too. Poor Parker.”
“Yeah, I’m going to go look for her. Can you wait to open the presents until I let you know if she’s going to make it or not? If she does, she’d hate to arrive and find the presents opened.”
As soon as he’s extracted a promise from every one of his team Eliot sets off to find Parker. He goes by three of her safe houses before he finally locates her at one of her many apartments. He knows she’s in there by the faint sound of a Christmas carols CD drifting through the door but she doesn’t answer when he knocks. Glad that they’d finally given each other spare keys to most of their places, he lets himself inside.
Parker’s stretched out on the couch, almost made invisible by the mountain of blankets she has pulled around herself. She glances around as Eliot enters. “You’re here.”
“I am. You’re croaking and not looking so good.”
She pulls a face. “I think I might be sick.”
“You think you’re well enough to make it to headquarters if I help you?”
“No, I don’t - which sucks because it’s Christmas.”
“So it is. Merry Christmas, Parker.”
“It isn’t though. It’s sick-and-not-able-to-leave-the-apartment Christmas.”
Eliot watches her for a moment and then goes across to kiss her forehead before saying, “it will be merry. You wait right here, don’t move. Give me an hour, tops.”
“What are you going to do?”
“If Parker can’t be brought to Christmas, I’m going to drag Christmas’ ass to Parker.”
And for the first time on Christmas Day 2013, Parker smiles.