Hi All, I know I've been an absentee author lately. I'm hoping to remedy that soon; starting with this.


Eliot heaved a sign upon entering his apartment. There, sitting on his couch, in the dark, was the distinctive form of Hardison. He switched on a nearby lamp and kicked off his shoes.

"What is it?" Eliot didn't bother with preamble. It was late and he was tired.

"I got a problem, man," Hardison looked as exhausted as Eliot felt. "It's Parker."

Eliot couldn't help but laugh. "When isn't it?" The sad look Hardison gave him made Eliot feel bad for the jibe, and he moved to sit next to the hacker. "What's the problem?"

"You ever made a deal with a woman?" Hardison started coyly. "Y'know, the whole 'anything you want for your birthday' kinda deal?"

Eliot smirked. "Yeah, why? Parker asked you for something you weren't expecting."

"Yeah…" Hardison took a deep breath. "You."

"Yuh… Come again?" Eliot's eyes were wide, and he now shared the panicked look on Hardison's face.

"She wants you. Us. I mean, she wants me to convince you to…" Hardison gestured wildly.

"Oh."

"I told her I needed to think about it, and that I'd have to talk to you, because you know how she can be with words and I didn't want her to, uh, well, y'know… scare you."

This made Eliot laugh aloud, and Hardison couldn't help the responding smile.

"Let me ask you something." Eliot spoke after a moment. "How come you didn't turn her down flat?"

"It's Parker," Hardison gave a lopsided smile. "And besides; she didn't ask to go off with someone without me, and she didn't ask to bring a stranger in. You, Eliot… you're safety. For both of us. I can't blame her for wanting to make us more than just the three of us. The way her mind works; bringing you in is making sure you don't leave us."

Eliot became uncomfortable upon hearing this. Hardison sensed he'd said something wrong, but didn't know what to do. It was clear he hadn't planned anything in advance.

"Is that what you think?" Eliot said quietly. "That I'm going to leave you?"

"None of us are shining examples of security," Hardison tried to explain. "You can't tell me you've never thought about it. Or even thought one of us would skip out on you."

Silence was the answer, and Hardison figured he must have said something right. He stayed quiet for a moment, waiting for Eliot to respond to the main issue.

"I need a drink," Eliot mumbled as he stood up and headed towards the kitchen. Hardison stayed still, not asking for a beer like he usually would, and waited for Eliot to come back. Hardison was surprised when Eliot returned and placed a beer in his lap. Eliot took a swig of his drink, while Hardison just played with the label.

"You want me to tell her you said no?" Hardison eventually asked. Eliot looked sideways at the younger man and saw the trepidation in his eyes.

"You still haven't told me what you want in this," Eliot replied. "Parker asked for this. What about you?"

Hardison put his beer down and edged towards Eliot. The hitter put his beer down and turned towards Alec. Eliot kept his body language open as he watched Hardison shore up his courage. What Eliot expected was another slew of words that would somehow end in an answer to his question. What he got was Hardison's lips on his, Hardison's hand holding the back of his head, Hardison's chest almost touching his, and a low rumble that Eliot belatedly noticed was coming from his own throat. When he realised this, Eliot's body seemed to be kicked into life. His hand moved to mirror Hardison's, with his other resting on Alec's thigh, he pressed forward and smiled in the kiss when Hardison went without protest. Eliot stretched the hacker out on his couch and let his hand slide from Hardison's thigh up to his hip. Hardison made a small sound and Eliot pulled away to grin down.

"I guess that answers that."

The End…?