Ship: Pre-Eliot/Parker?, mention of Hardison/Parker (kinda), quick mention of Nate/Sophie

Spoilers: Nothing specific

Summary: Parker proposes something to Eliot that catches him rather off-guard.

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize are not mine. Really, really not mine. Do you believe me yet?

Author's Note: Probably totally OOC…Virgin attempt at a Leverage fic and I had to choose Parker to handle first. Written at midnight out of boredom. Not betaed. Let me know what you think.

Back-Up Plan

By LissaMarie

Eliot Spencer was a man of few words by nature. He enjoyed the peace and quiet of their offices (well, Nate's apartment, technically) when everyone was off doing their own things, and he could relax in front of the monitors and focus on nothing except SportsCenter. He knew Parker was floating around the flat somewhere, but she hadn't gone out of her way to seek out his company, so he let her be. He wasn't one for making small talk, and he really didn't have anything to talk about.

Parker had other ideas. She broke the quiet hanging over the flat with a completely absurd, off-the-wall statement that could only come from Parker that left the introverted man completely speechless.

"Huh?" was all he could manage to get out. No way did I hear that right was the only thought going through his mind, and it seemed set on repeat.

"I said 'We should get married.'" Parker had a trace of annoyance in her tone at having to repeat what she thought was a simple idea. She was sitting cross-legged on the counter staring at the back of the hitter's head, thinking absently that she should steal his shampoo because his hair was really shiny even under artificial lighting.

Eliot finally seemed to find his voice. "And how did this idea come to you?" The outlandish proposal seemed a bit out of left field for him even if they had managed to become what he would consider friends over the past few years. Sure, he didn't know where she lived or where she disappeared to on their days off, but he did know that she secretly loved the movie Ocean's 11 (the George Clooney one…she was automatically bored to death by any movie pre-1986) and preferred vanilla over chocolate when it came to milkshakes…Really, the small details seemed more important than the everyday, general non-sense, at least, they were for him.

It's with a nervous bit of curiosity that he turns around to hear her response wondering vaguely how long she had been sitting right behind him without him being aware of it.

"Well, Rachel and Phoebe have Ross and Joey as their back-up plans in case they don't get married by the time they're 40. I figure that odds are that doing what we do will make it difficult for either of us to find someone to marry even after I turn 40." A small cough from Eliot at the slight regarding his age and his ability to form a relationship only caused a small pause in Parker's logical (at least in her mind) explanation of her thought processes. "And since the need for a back-up is pretty much guaranteed, I see no point in waiting until we're old to go through with it."

Figuring he understood the gist of what she was saying if not the specifics, Eliot swallowed the discomfort that came with understanding Parker-logic and attempted to infuse some of his own. "And at what point did you reach the conclusion that I was the best candidate to act as your 'back-up plan'?" There was a part of him that was still wondering who Ross and Joey were since they seemed to have been put into this kind of situation themselves by women that couldn't possibly be as…special…as Parker.

Of course, there was Parker-logic to explain her choosing him over the other two men in her life. "Well, Nate's in love with Sophie…And he's, you know, kinda old. And Hardison…" She paused as if trying to figure out the words to translate from thought to speech. "Hardison would be disappointed with me, I think. He understands me alright, but it's like he knows where the locks and motion detectors are but is just guessing where the guards and heat sensors will be…And he's imagining them to be where it would be most convenient for him. I don't want him to feel disappointed in me. The idea makes me feel ooky."

This time the Parker-logic seems strangely like normal-logic. But there is still one part she hasn't explained.

"So, why me?"

Parker's smile is soft, so unlike the smiles and smirks that usually grace her lips. "Because you don't understand me. You don't try to find some reason why I am the way I am. You just accept me and look out for me and make sure I eat good food and know how to protect myself. That's what you do when you're married to someone, right?"

The small smile that broke through Eliot's pensive mask of confusion could have been caused by flattery or amusement, but he refused to think to hard about it and just assumed it was amusement…That was usually a safe bet when dealing with Parker, but the sincerity that was strongly evident in her words made some small part of his mind object strongly to the characterization. He could understand why she would choose him from her reasoning, but the idea still made little sense to him.

"Why the sudden need to get married? I thought you and your money had a good thing going?" The question was half-joking, half-curious. Parker had never before expressed any interest that he was aware of in any kind of romantic relationships with anyone.

The thief's smile turned into her more usual blank expression, which made the hitter want to take back his question. It wasn't often that Parker allowed herself to be so vulnerable, and he knew her well enough to be humbled by the appearance of some real emotion from her.

"Getting married is something that normal people do. They get married, buy houses, have kids, get a dog…I might not totally understand people most of the time, but I can understand why they want those things. Why they want a family of their own…A home. I didn't before the team came together, but I do now." Parker's blank expression was replaced by a stubborn, determined set to her eyes and jaw, causing her lips to purse slightly and her eyebrows to furrow.

The small part of Eliot's mind that was arguing in Parker's favor before was now loudly proclaiming that the expression was cute (a word that Eliot would deny even thinking under any torture). He forced himself to smile reassuringly and patted the sofa cushion beside him. The blonde beamed and nimbly bounced over to take a seat where indicated tucking her feet beneath her so she could fully face him.

"So, you're going to marry me?" The question was clearly impatient, but then again, when was Parker ever patient?

Eliot leaned his head on the back of the couch. He stretched his arms out to rest along the back cushions and let out a small grunt (because it was certainly not a sigh). With a wry grin, he glanced sideways at his bouncing teammate.

"This is kind of a huge decision…Do I at least get some time to think about it?"

Parker let out a breath and fell gracefully into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. "I guess."

With a chuckle, Eliot turned his attention back to SportsCenter since he missed most of the headlines. The two bad-guys-turned-good-guys sat in silence watching television until Parker's violently bouncing leg made Eliot give in and hand her the remote. She flipped to some documentary about the U.S. Treasury while he absentmindedly played with her hair.

Not even an hour had passed when-

"Have you thought about it yet?"

After all, Parker wasn't exactly known for her patience.