Movies, Pillows and Changes
While watching a movie, things change between Elliot and Parker.
This chapter is character driven, setting up the plot. It is also mostly from Elliot's point of view. As always, I don't own anything but the plot and any miscellaneous characters I may or may not introduce. Please forgive me if they are out of character, I tried to stay as true to them as I could. ~SG84
Movie night wasn't something Elliot thought would have worked with the group, each of them being different enough that their tastes in movies were divergent more often than not, but for some reason it worked. It worked so well that it became tradition that every two weeks or so everyone would gather in Nate's condo, hanging out. At first Elliot didn't want to spend his free time with the team, spending most of his time with one or more of them nearly every day, but listening to the occasional outbursts from that others at the TV amused him.
"45 seconds, tops to break into that safe room." Parker commented on one of the 007 movies they were watching one night. Elliot wasn't sure which one it was, having given up on trying to keep them in order.
Elliot even caught himself analyzing the fight scenes, pointing out to no one in particular about how he would do a move or how he would approach a fight. The others would look at him like he was being too critical, but they couldn't really say anything, each of them doing the same thing when something came up that they felt like they could do better.
"Trust me, as a 'hitter'; I have every right to critique." Elliot said one night when Nate asked him why he couldn't just watch an action movie without saying anything.
This night they were watching the new Wolverine movie, all but Sophie having admitted they were closet, or in Hardison's case a open, fans of the Canadian mutant. Elliot was drawn into the action, suspending his disbelief in light of the fact that the movie was set in a world that didn't really exist. As the movie wore on, something shifted, the air in the room changing, making the hair on the back of his neck rise.
Beside him Elliot felt Parker's posture wilt, segueing from lazy to sleepy. She had been seated cross legged between him and Hardison, the three of them parked in their usual spots on the couch, Elliot on her left and Hardison on her right. Elliot was surprised that he was attuned to the thief well enough that even when they were in a relaxed atmosphere that he was aware of her every move. He needed to be sensitive to the others in the team when they were on the job, but not in a situation like movie night.
"Parker?" Hardison asked and lifted his hand to shake her shoulder when Nate spoke up.
"Let her relax, we've been so wound up lately with Monica Hunter and Lillian Foods, that we all deserve a rest." Nate settled back into his chair, returning his attention to the movie.
Elliot glanced at Parker and watched out of the corner of his eye as she slowly slumped in his direction, apparently deciding that he would make a better pillow than either Hardison or the back of the couch. Something inside him knew he should be pushing her upright and away from him, putting distance between them as he had in the past, but he just couldn't make himself push her away this time.
"Maybe we should wake her up so she can go to her condo." Sophie stage whispered, and Elliot had to fight the urge to snatch the thief closer to him.
"Hush, darlin'." Elliot shook his head as Parker leaned her head on his shoulder. "Let her sleep."
"Are you sure?" Nate asked as Elliot moved his arm to rest of the back of the couch, letting the blonde snuggle closer to him. He leaned back, feeling something warm bubble in his chest, sinking deeper into the couch.
Hardison was looking at him like he had lost his mind, and he may have, but if so, he didn't want it back. Normally Elliot avoided any kind of physical contact, especially from Parker, something about her making his hair stand on end, as if she radiated static electricity. Nate seemed uninterested, simply retuning his eyes to the plasma panels, but Elliot knew him better than that. He was filing the incident away in the back of his mind for further review. Sophie, on the other hand, was not quite as subtle. She looked almost giddy at the prospect of the cold hitter melting to the quirky thief. Elliot stared at her until she looked away, knowing that he wouldn't give in until she dropped the subject. For now, he was certain.
Now that everyone had stopped looking at him and Parker Elliot could breathe a little easier, relaxing into the feeling of Parker warm against his side. He was surprised at how right and natural it felt to have her beside him, feeling a stillness inside him that he had never felt before. His mind wandered, no longer seeing the world around him.
Lately it seemed that he and Parker were being paired together on jobs more and more, Nate pushing the two loners together. Before each of them would do their own thing, Parker being sneaky, him bashing heads, accomplishing their task to bring down the mark. Now the muscle man was sent with Parker to help her sneak into the places that she needed to be. Both notorious for working on their own and not playing well with others, got along fairly well, not really needing to communicate to get the job done.
"That's just weird man." Hardison murmured to Nate, who made his famous, 'hum?' face, pretending to be interested when he really wasn't. "Nothin' good can come from this." Elliot felt his control on his temper snap.
"You're just upset that she's leanin' on me instead of you." He draped his arm over her shoulders lightly, shielding the sleeping woman from the hacker. "Grow up Hardison; she's asleep."
In defiance of the fact that the movie was only about half over, Elliot closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Like a silent film, memories of Parker flitted through his mind. All the times he had to boost her up to reach a crawlspace, especially this last time where he lifted her up through the roof on an elevator car, the two of them so in sync that neither gave a cue to the other, their actions fluid and natural.
Subtly tucking Parker closer he mulled over the fact that he was less and less bothered by her machinations and crazy personality. Elliot realized that he actually was looking forward to working with her. He liked the fact that when she was on a job, more often than not lately, she was calm and focused on the job, a much more pleasant partner at times than the joke cracking Hardison or the badly acting Sophie. He fit with Parker in a way he didn't fit with the others.
And that is what concerned him. Never before, not even with Aimee, had he felt this level of comfort, and it unsettled him. There was something in him that wanted to hoard Parker close, to protect her and keep her unique innocence in tact. Like when she believed that Saint Nicholas was Santa; he kept telling her he wasn't Santa, but he thought it was charming that she was adamant in her belief, only changing her mind when Sophie explained who the saint was. The Patron Saint of Thieves.
Since that job, she had developed a penchant for stealing St. Nick things. She had even gone so far to nick a platinum pendant of the saint and gave it to Nate for his birthday.
"You're a thief now Nate. And he's Catholic like you." Oddly, that made sense to Elliot, but at the time he dismissed Parker's words, not wanting to look too closely at his feelings.
Distantly Elliot heard the movie go off, but he was more asleep than awake, and could care less what the others were doing. He felt a blanket being draped over the two of them as he vaguely heard the group speaking.
"I still don't like this Nate." Hardison sounded like he was pouting.
"It's fine Hardison." Nate replied. "What can happen; they are both asleep on my couch."
"Be quiet." Sophie sounded close, the one who had covered them up. "You'll wake them up."
Soon silence fell, and Elliot slowly adjusted his position on the couch. He slumped down and angled his body, tucking Parker in between him and the back of the couch. She snuggled closer, her shirt ridding up, making the rough skin of his hand catch on the satin skin of her side. Idly he ran his thumb along her skin, coming to grips with the truth.
He was falling for the little thief, and he didn't want to save himself.
The next morning Nate found them entwined on the couch, Parker practically draped over Elliot. Her face was pressed into his neck and both of his hands were edged up under the hem of her shirts, holding her close. They both looked at peace and relaxed, and it clicked in his head. Elliot was a much better match for Parker than Hardison was. She would walk all over Hardison, but Elliot had the ability to be firm and balanced her with his level-headedness.
"Nate?" Sophie joined him, and saw what he was seeing. "Oh."
"You know that this complicates things right?" Nate asked absently.
"No more than our relationship complicates things." Sophie said softly, an indulgent look on her face as she looked at the two on the couch. "C'mon Nate, let's let them sleep; this may be one of the few times they have together."
Elliot woke a few minutes before Parker did. He was surprised that the others hadn't woke them up yet, knowing that everyone seemed to gather at Nate's for anything and everything, including meals. He was determined to enjoy the precious quite moments.
Parker was heaven in his arms. She was so soft and warm, so very alive, and she called to Elliot's protective instincts. He wanted to tuck her inside him and protect her from the world, but at the same time he knew that she could hold her own better than most. For example, she had come to him asking for him to teach her how to fight after the fork incident in Belgrade. The fear in her eyes made him want to hunt down whoever had hurt and traumatized her in the past and rip them from limb to limb. She was also the quickest of the group, finding ways out of situations that everyone thought was impossible to escape.
He buried his nose in her hair and breathed deep, savoring the scent of her vanilla shampoo as well as her own unique smell. His arms tightened as he came more awake and realized that they were in a very provocative position. All of her was pressed to him, her body having contoured itself to his, draped over his form with abandon. One of her legs was threaded through his and his imagination took flight, his body reacting accordingly.
"Elliot?" Parker woke up like she did everything else, quick and smooth. She sat up quickly, tucking her legs under her. Elliot grunted she kneed him in the side by accident.
"What?" He sat up as well, missing her warmth.
"You make a good pillow."