This little one-shot has been on my back burner for a few months, and finally got the nerve to post it. I hope you all enjoy it.
I tried to keep the characters from being OC, and I hope I succeeded.
Please remember to review at the end! :)
The day he left was the day he never thought would come. He had made a promise, and Eliot Spencer never broke his promises, until that day.
He sighed as he sipped his beer in a local bar. He never thought he could do it, but he did. Truth was he couldn't live with the pain. Yes, he was a chicken, a wimp, and when it came to his heart, he would gladly be called that.
He didn't know how it happened. One day he was happy helping Hardison and Parker, saving people and the next his heart broke.
He shook his head, as he downed the rest of the beer, and dropped some money on the bar. Sliding back on the stool, Eliot jumped down, and headed out the door.
Tonight was not a good night.
He approached his truck, and stopped when he reached it. Thunder rumbled above him, and he saw a flash of lightening in the distance.
Shaking his head, he opened the door of the cab, and climbed in. Thunder rumbled once more, causing the truck to shake in vibration. Shaking his head once more, he pushed the key in the ignition, and the truck came alive amidst the roaring storm brewing above him.
He didn't turn on the radio, as he drove to the little motel he had checked in for the night, and turned the truck off when he parked in a spot a few spaces away from his room door. With a sigh, he climbed out, and practically ran to the room, before the rain began to beat down harshly.
Entering the not so clean room, he locked the door, and went over to the bed. Sitting down on the edge, he bent over with his arms on his knees, and lowered his head.
Pain radiated from his chest as the memory flashed through his mind. No, he didn't need to remember it. It would do no good to dredge up something that couldn't be changed.
~Flashback~
"Hey, man," Hardison called one night after they had finished their mission.
Eliot sighed as he went to his friend. Hardison gleamed as he dug in his pockets.
"I want to show you something." He began, digging through all of his pockets.
"Hardison, if this is some trick, I swear." Eliot remarked, holding up his hand, and shaking his head.
Hardison shook his head, and finally pulled his hand out. Looking around them, he held out his hand.
Sitting in the palm of his hand was a large diamond ring. Not just any ring, an engagement ring.
"I'm going to ask Parker to marry me." Hardison stated, proudly.
Eliot stood frozen, staring at the ring, that didn't look much like Parker, but that wasn't why he was frozen. His best friend was going to propose to the woman they both loved. What was he supposed to say?
"Are you okay, Eliot?" Hardison asked after a moment, worry etching his face.
Eliot cleared his throat. "Yeah, man, I'm just fine." He answered, still eyeing the ring.
"I'm telling you this because I want you to be my best man." Hardison said with a smile.
Eliot dragged his eyes up to his friend. "How can you be sure that she will say yes?" He asked, hating the pain in his heart.
Hardison smirked. "Oh, she'll say yes." He answered, confidently.
"So you've talked about it?" Eliot asked, feeling a little sprite of hope.
Hardison shrugged. "Well, not exactly, but why wouldn't she? We've been dating for over a year now, and it's about time to put down roots." Hardison replied, nodding his head.
Eliot rolled his eyes. "Hardison, this is Parker we're talking about. You have to take things slow with her. You can't rush into this, not with her." He stated, pushing his hands out.
Hardison narrowed his eyes. "She's my girlfriend, Eliot. I think I know how she is going to respond." He stated, slightly angrily.
Eliot sighed. "Well, you might not know her as well as you might think." He replied, lowly.
"What is this man?" Hardison asked, dropping his arms to his sides. "You are supposed to be supporting me, and yet you are doing everything you can to object to me asking Parker to marry me." He finished, anger showing on his face.
Eliot shook his head. "I'm just preparing you man. Parker might not accept this like you think she will." He replied, turning on his heel to leave.
"Oh, she'll say yes, and you know why, Eliot, because she loves me." Hardison nearly shouted at Eliot's retreating back.
Eliot paused, before he reached the door. He didn't say a word, only nodded, as he opened the door and stepped out.
That was the last time he ever saw or spoke to Hardison.
~End of Flashback~
Eliot shook his head as he stood up, and began to strip. When he left, he never said goodbye to Hardison. He figured Hardison would shun him because of his objection. He hated that he left his best friend, his brother, but staying around and watching the woman he loved marry another was too hard.
He might have been strong, but he wasn't that strong.
Climbing into bed, after putting on his sleeping shorts, Eliot sighed as he listened to the rain beat down outside. It was peaceful, and Eliot felt his muscles relax as the rain continued to beat down.
Slowly he drifted to sleep, but his dreams were anything but peaceful.
At three in the morning, Eliot sat straight up in his bed when he heard a pounding on his door. With a groan, he wondered who would even be banging on his door at this time of the night. It didn't help much that he only had been a few hours into his sleep REM.
Standing up, he groggily walked to the door, and peered out the peep hole. His eyes widened as he saw who it was. Pulling his head back, he quickly opened the door, wondering if it was still his dream.
"Parker?" He asked, as he took in a very distraught looking blonde, clothes drenched and her eyes soaking in his appearance.
"It's me, isn't it?" She asked, slightly shaking, but not from the cold.
~Flashback~
Parker banged on the door, and charged into his house. Her face filled with frantic as she looked for him, and found him, in his room, packing.
She panted as she watched him pack every article of clothing into his suitcase.
"What are you doing?" She asked, stepping further into the room.
Eliot sighed, as he continued to pack. "You shouldn't be here, Parker." He replied, finishing up.
Parker stepped closer. "Eliot." She whispered, it sounded like a statement, but she had meant it as a question.
Eliot gripped the top the suitcase, and kept his head down. "I'm leaving, Parker." He whispered, standing straighter, catching a glance at her before he walked into the bathroom, to finish up.
"Why?" She asked, watching him.
"Because, you don't need me anymore." He answered, lowly.
Parker scoffed. "That's stupid." She stated, causing him to stop. "I always need you." She added, her eyes holding his.
Eliot broke away from the stare, and shook his head. "No, you have Hardison. Besides, it's time I moved on." He said with pain in his voice.
Parker shook her head. "No, Eliot, we're a family." She began, but he stopped her.
"We stopped being a family a long time ago." He replied, picking up his suitcase.
Parker shook her head again, and stood in front of the door, refusing to let him go. "No, we have never stopped being a family." She replied, sternly.
Eliot shrugged. He couldn't argue with her, not now. "Whatever you say, Parker." He whispered, gently pushing her to the side, and began his descent down the stairs.
Parker felt tears burn her eyes. No, she couldn't lose him. She couldn't. He was her rock. She couldn't lose him.
"Were you ever going to say goodbye?" She called out, watching him stop at the bottom of the stairs.
The tension in his back, answered her question. Shaking her head, she practically ran down the stairs.
"What did I do to make you leave?" She asked, as she stopped behind him.
Eliot clamped his eyes shut, and slowly shook his head. "You didn't do anything, and neither did Hardison." He whispered, but she still heard him. "It was me." He added, continuing towards the door.
"What did you do?" She asked, still trying to keep him there.
She had asked that question before, but this time it was different. She wasn't asking about the atrocities he had committed. She was asking about what he did to lead to him leaving.
He bowed his head. "I fell in love." He answered, reaching out his hand towards the door.
Parker's eyes widened as he opened the door. "Eliot." She whispered, still in shock.
Eliot looked over his shoulder. "Goodbye, Parker." He returned, solemnly.
As he climbed into his truck, he heard her crying out his name, but the loud hum of the truck drowned out her cries.
~End of Flashback~
Eliot moved to the side, and allowed her to enter the room. He sighed, as he realized she was probably soaked through to the skin, and she needed to get out of those clothes.
"You need to get out of those clothes before you catch a cold." He muttered, as he walked past her, and reached into his suitcase to pull out a shirt of his, and a pair of boxers.
Handing them to her, he nodded to the bathroom. "You can change in there." He replied, avoiding her eyes.
Parker clutched the clothes, and nodded as she moved to the bathroom.
Eliot sat down on the bed, and shook his head as his hands covered his face. He heard footsteps come out of the bathroom minutes later, and he sighed as he lifted his head to look at her.
"How did you find me?" He asked, as she dropped her clothes on the gray looking carpet, and stared at him.
"Hardison." She replied, simply, shrugging her shoulders.
Eliot nodded. "Figured he would find me, even if I never left a clue where I was going." He replied, standing up to walk over to the window.
Parker sighed. "He asked me to marry him." She stated, as if it was the easiest thing to say.
Eliot felt the pain in his chest again, and clamped his eyes shut. "I know. He showed me the ring." He replied, his voice deep and full of emotion.
Parker stepped toward him. "I turned him down." She replied, stopping a foot away from him.
Eliot turned around, quickly. "Why?" He asked, after a moment of staring in disbelief.
Parker sighed, and folded her arms over her chest. "He didn't get me, not like you do." She replied, easily, adding the last bit softly.
Eliot opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word, so he closed it quickly. "Parker." He finally whispered.
Parker rolled her eyes. "I don't love him." She blurted out. "I mean, I thought I did, but then I realized it was the brotherly type of love, and I mean, I couldn't see myself married to my brother." She ranted, turning away from him. "I mean, I know we dated for a year, which he constantly pointed out, but I didn't feel that way about him, not like I do for you." She blurted out.
She turned back around, to face him, and watched his once stoic face, melt into shock.
"It was me, wasn't it?" She asked, again, watching him carefully. "I was the one you fell in love with." She stated, stepping toward him.
Eliot didn't say a word, but Parker understood.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, tears forming in the back of her eyes.
"You were with Hardison." He said, simply, finding his voice once more.
"You still could've told me." She returned, shrugging her shoulders.
Eliot let out a frustrated sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. "No, I couldn't, Parker." He stated, almost harshly.
"Why not?" She asked, throwing her arms out, shaking her head.
"Because, Parker." He stated, turning his head away.
"Because why?" She asked, stepping closer to him, trying to get an answer.
"Because Hardison is my friend, and he loves you." He stated, moving his right hand in front of him, pointing at her.
Parker narrowed her eyes, and tilted her head. "And I love you." She stated, bluntly.
Eliot's eyes widened. "Parker, you don't…" He trailed off when she held up her hand.
"Yes, I do, Eliot." She started, stepping closer. "I may not understand too much about feelings or whatever." She began, shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders. "But I do know that what I feel for you surpasses what I thought I felt for Hardison." She stated, stopping within a foot of him.
Eliot closed his eyes. "Parker." He began, but again she interrupted him.
"No, Eliot." She stated, shaking her head. "When you left, I felt my heart break more than I ever thought it could. It was the first time that much pain hit my chest." She replied, pointing to her chest. "I have tried so many times to understand the kind of love that I should feel for Hardison, the kind of love that Sophie has for Nate, but I couldn't, and you know why?" She asked, with a smile on her face.
Eliot stared at her, his heart pounding away in his chest.
"Because the kind of love she felt for Nate is the kind of love I feel for you." She stated, simply.
Eliot turned away from her, and shook his head. "Parker, you can't." He stated, moving to the far wall, placing his hands on it.
Parker sighed. "I can, and I do, Eliot." She remarked, moving towards him again. "You leaving proved that to me. I could live without Nate and Sophie. I could probably live without Hardison, but I can't live without you, Eliot." She stated, softly, her voice trying to remain firm.
Eliot tensed up. What happened to the crazy thief, who never understood anything about feelings or emotions? This was not the woman he knew. This was the woman he thought she could be. The woman he loved.
Parker stood there watching him as his head bowed. She had followed him for one simple reason. To find out if she was the one, and to let him know he was her one. It was simple. She had even called Sophie. To say Sophie was shocked was the least of her problems; she needed to convince Eliot that she needed him, and loved him.
Parker tilted her head to the side, and thought of the only way to get him to believe her. With a small smile, she approached him, and gingerly wrapped her arms around his waist. She felt him stiffen, but didn't relinquish her hold.
Eliot felt his heart pound in his chest, at feel of her body wrapping around his. How many nights had he dreamed of this moment only to wake up with the realization of it not being real? He felt her move around him, to stand between him and the wall, and he lifted his head to look at her as she leveled her eyes to his.
Moving her arms up, she gently caressed his bare chest. She smiled as she felt him shiver, and then rested her hands over his chest, over his heart.
"Tell me, Eliot." She whispered, searching his warrior eyes.
Eliot swallowed, and opened his mouth. "I love you, Parker." He whispered, with certainty.
Parker smiled, and leaned forward. With slight passion, but mostly shyness, Parker placed her lips on his. She moved her hands up his chest and wrapped them around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. Eliot groaned at the contact, and moved his hands from the wall to her waist, and held her tightly to him.
Parker opened her mouth, and felt a shock run through her spine as his tongue entered her mouth.
Eliot was in heaven. The woman he loved was in his arms, kissing him, and was professing her love to him. Or was she?
Pulling back from her, he stared at her face as she slowly opened her eyes. "Tell me, Parker." He whispered, demanding.
Parker smiled as she gave her reply. "I love you, Eliot."
Eliot sighed as he pulled her into his embrace. He didn't know what was going to happen to them, but all he knew was he had her at that moment, and he wasn't sure if he could ever let her go.
What did you think?
This was just a little stretch from my original stories, and I hope you enjoyed it. I will be updating my Leverage stories real soon. :)
Until Next Time...