The team had never seen Parker this close to openly crying. Not back at the Serbian orphanage, not in the countless times her life had been threatened since then, not even when they had scattered after Sophie's disastrous betrayal. They hadn't expected anything to make her cry, especially since the reformed team had been doing so well in the last few months.
They found her perched in the middle of the conference table, her favorite seat, legs dangling off the edge, looking devastated. Sophie approached her gently, but backed up when the blonde glared at her. Nate reached out to grab Sophie's arm, gently pulling her to the safety of the doorway. Eliot was at a loss, he never could seem to think when women cried. Or in this case, nearly cried. Hardison was the one who realized what was different about Parker.
Before he could help himself, he asked, "Where'd your sneakers go?" And Parker promptly fell apart into real sobs, not even protesting when Sophie rushed to wrap her in a hug as Hardison patted her hands awkwardly. He was fully prepared to handle crazy Parker, or even vulnerable Parker, but crying Parker was an entirely new sensation.
Eliot tried to help, really he did, but he was out of his element. "You can buy new sneakers Parker; you do have a lot of money." He said this gently, but was still subjected to a glare even scarier than the one Sophie had received. He raised his arms in surrender and ventured out of the room, Nate quickly following. This called for sports. And beer.
Sophie rubbed Parker's back gently until the girl seemed to realize what was happening and pulled away quickly. She jumped up and was out the door, maneuvering around Hardison before he knew what was happening. Hardison had a fleeting thought of Parker running barefoot across rooftops, and hoped she had some other shoes to wear. Sophie turned to him, eyes wide and confused.
"That was… odd. Even for Parker, I mean. They're just shoes." Hardison shook his head thoughtfully,
"Mm, mm, nuh uh, it's not about the sneakers. Not really," he paused as Sophie looked at him expectantly, "Man, it's hard to explain. She just, those were her sneakers, ya know?" He sighed as he realized she clearly did not know. Making an exaggerated shrugging gesture, he decided it was time to go home.
That day led to the day a week later, which found Hardison in Parker's apartment, hoping the thief wouldn't come home unexpectedly. She had finally purchased a new pair of sneakers, exactly like the old ones. She still occasionally glanced at them in sadness, but she didn't cry anymore. Hardison still didn't know what had happened to the old pair, but nobody wanted to bring it up. Parker had complained the new pair didn't have the right souls, and it took Hardison days to realize she hadn't meant the bottom of the shoes. It took him a few more days to realize that the GPS he put in those sneakers were gone with them. And so he snuck into Parker's place when he knew she was on a job with Sophie, a job that involved high heels. He hoped she had left the sneakers at home.
He found the shoes in the refrigerator, and tried to be surprised. It didn't work. He just laughed and planted the GPS. Closing the fridge, he decided to take a look around, realizing he'd never seen more than her doorway. The apartment did surprise him, in that it looked almost normal. No, it looked too normal, and the thought saddened him as he thought deeper. The place looked like something out of Leave it to Beaver, or any housekeeping magazine from the 50's. All the colors were soft and cozy, doilies and flowers covered the surfaces. The kitchen gleamed. Everything was in perfect place, but it was easy to see the common rooms had hardly been used. He wondered what she ate, seeing as the only thing sharing the fridge with the sneakers was a few packets of soy sauce. He sighed. All Parker wanted was to be normal, or be seen as normal. He knew her décor was just a way to try and convince herself she was like any other girl, like a girl with a husband and kids, not a girl with an adrenalin addiction and more money than God. But that wasn't who she was, and he realized he probably wouldn't like her if it was.
The bathroom was just as cozy and warm, but this room at least looked used. Towels were slumped on the floor, accessories were scattered on the sink. Her shampoo lingered. Absently kicking the pile of towels, Hardison decided he liked this room. And tried not to think it, really he did, but he quickly realized how easy it would be to set up a webcam in this little bathroom. There were four locations alone that could point right into the shower that even Parker wouldn't find. Mentally smacking himself, he pushed the camera back into his pocket with the hand that had subconsciously raising it. He made it a point to always carry a camera or two, but usually for cons, not dirty wrong thoughts of peeping at Parker. He shook his head and turned to leave, freezing when he heard a soft thud. Panicking, he jumped into the tub, pulling the dark green curtain closed.
Parker closed the window behind her, glad to be home. Slipping off the god awful heels, she headed to her bedroom to grab a clean towel. She needed a shower after this day. Humming nonsensically, she stripped off her costume and draped the towel over her shoulder, heading, buck ass naked, to the bathroom.
Hardison's mind raced as he thought about the options in front of him, as he heard Parker humming in the other room. He could make a run for it, but she was faster. He could fess up to the GPS and deal with the consequences. Or, he could wait and hope she went back out, and then make his escape. The third option seemed the best. Settling himself as comfortably as possibly in the tub, he hunkered down to wait. He nearly yelped as the bathroom door opened. Before he could even react, the shower curtain was yanked open, leaving him staring into the face of a very annoyed looking Parker. A very naked, annoyed Parker. He couldn't stop the soft moan that escaped his lips as he took her in, unable to look away quite yet.
Parker, comfortable with nudity as ever, just tapped her foot and waited for an explanation.
"Can you cover up, please girl, can't think straight with you all… naked and stuff," Hardison pleaded. Parker rolled her eyes but wrapped the towel around herself.
"Ok, now, don't be mad," Hardison began; "I didn't think you'd be home!" he stopped as he realized how that sounded.
"No no no, that's not what I meant. Ok, a little bit. But I was just trying to make sure I could find you if you disappeared on a job, that's all." He stopped again as he realized she didn't know about the first GPS, so she wouldn't know about this one. And so he explained. When he finished, Parker glared at him, but looked less annoyed then she had started.
"You should've just told me, Hardison. I'd have given you the sneakers. I trust you." She smiled shyly, another Parker sensation he wasn't prepared for.
"Good to know, I… um, I trust you too," Hardison responded as he climbed out of the tub, very carefully not making contact with the towel clad Parker. Before he could leave, she stopped him with a question that froze him in place,
"You didn't put up any of your cameras did you?" Parker asked, only half joking. He swallowed hard, thinking about how close she had come to hitting the mark, and how much he had wanted to do just what she said.
He shook his head, "Course not Parker, I wouldn't do that." And he wouldn't, even if he really wanted to. She laughed, leading him to the front door.
"It's too bad," she began as his eyes went wide as saucers, "That could have been fun." And with that she pushed him out the door, evil grin on her pretty face, towel dropping just a second before Hardison's view was blocked by the door.
Groaning, Hardison tried to figure out what exactly had just happened. All he knew was that the next day at the office was going to be… interesting; the image of Parker burned pleasantly into his brain.