A/N: I'm guessing nobody even remembers this series anymore. It's been a while, I admit, but finally here is the fifth and final piece of the puzzle. If you never read the Aces High series before, this will mostly make sense anyway (or you can go look for the other fics on my Profile Page if you want). If you were reading this series way back whenever, I hope the ending makes you happy :)

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to John Rogers, Chris Downey, TNT, and other folks that aren't me.

Full House

Reuniting with the team had never been a solid plan. At best, Eliot recalled them saying they ought to be parted a good six months to a year before they tried to regroup. Even then, he never really expected it to happen. It was Sophie and her stupid-ass musical that had got them all together in Boston last night. Hell, Eliot was sure that in all the years he'd been doing this job, of all the tortures and painful experiences he'd been through, nothing was as bad as the grifter's acting, and yet she proved him wrong last night, with her singing.

Shuddering involuntarily, Eliot put his focus back on the breakfast he was making. Nate didn't have much food in the place, mostly just coffee in all its various guises. Of course, even if he had a whole fully stocked kitchen to work with, Eliot knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate. Parker was at the table with Hardison, making for what passed for small talk with them. She seemed more willing to chat with the hacker than the hitter, and Eliot wasn't sure how to take that.

The rest of the team had no idea of the blossoming relationship between Eliot and Parker. They had spent more time together in L.A., outside of team meetings and jobs, than any of the others ever knew about. The last night before they parted ways, they slept together for the first time, and a few weeks ago in Las Vegas, they had their encore.

No words of love or any type of commitment had been spoken, even though they both had to know by now it was more than just sex that they shared. He cared about her, Eliot knew that much, and yet Parker had hardly looked at him so far, nevermind spoken to him. To be fair, they hadn't really gotten a chance to be alone, until now, he realised, turning around and seeing Hardison walking away. He was probably only gone to the bathroom, but with Sophie upstairs changing clothes and Nate still out cold, it might be the only chance Eliot was going to get.

"Hey," he said as he came over to the table with a plate of toast and a cup of coffee.

"Hey," Parker replied in kind, eyes firmly on the cereal in her bowl.

She was sat on the table with her feet in a chair, and didn't offer to move or be sat properly as Eliot joined her on the next seat over.

"So... When'd you cut out of Vegas?" he asked conversationally, as if it weren't a big deal that he just brought up the night they spent together there.

"The day after you," she replied around a mouthful. "I was bored with the casinos. Slot machines are just dull, and playing cards is... well, it's only fun with you," she admitted.

Eliot couldn't help the smirk that came to his lips then. Parker didn't talk in code much, she was too straightforward for that. It had taken a while to adjust to her forthright attitude, but over time he learnt to love it. He figured the only thing that could over-ride her need to say exactly what she was thinking was to try and make her talk about sex. The way she freaked out about intimacy, it kind of made sense, and yet where Eliot was concerned, he remembered a whole lot of intimacy between them. Parker certainly knew what she was doing when she wanted to let go, and he couldn't help being a little smug about the fact that he was the guy she chose for that. He'd like to think he was one of a very small number, though he never would ask.

"So, have you played poker with anyone else since Vegas?" asked Parker, subtle as a flying brick even using her own code.

It didn't help that she practically spelled out what she meant with her expressive eyes and looks. Eliot tried his damnedest not to laugh at her given her question was actually pretty serious in nature.

"Parker..." he began to answer, only to have Sophie come hurrying down the stairs, one of Nate's shirts thrown on over last night's clothes.

"Honestly, bloody men!" she complained. "You should see the things he keeps under is bed! Ugh!" she shuddered in over-dramatic fashion just as Nate began to stir on the couch.

Hardison returned from the bathroom at the same moment, and all talk turned to the possible job they were all about to pull. It seemed Eliot and Parker would have to keep their conversation for later.

"Y'know, I did look for you."

Parker wasn't sure how to answer when Hardison told her that. Most of her focus was supposed to be on the lock in front of her, but it was kind of distracting when somebody was talking at you. It wasn't just that the hacker was beside her, putting a tone on his words that even Parker could decipher as meaningful. She also knew the rest of the team were in her ear, including Eliot. Since he hadn't mentioned to anyone about them having had sex twice now, or seeing each other between L.A. and Boston, Parker wasn't sure she wasn't supposed to bring it up either. Still, she didn't want Hardison fawning over like a lost lamb whilst she was secretly sleeping with Eliot. That just seemed awkward and wrong.

"I'm pretty hard to find unless I want to be found," she shrugged, forcing herself to concentrate more on her lock-picks than anything else. "It's like that game Find the Lady. Y'know, with the cards?" she said, glancing sideways at him. "People think they're fast and smart, good enough to keep track and win but they never will," she explained. "It's not because they're not good people, it's just... they're looking in the wrong place."

"Uh-huh," the hacker nodded, though he wasn't entirely sure he was following and it would have showed on his face if Parker bothered to look.

The fact of the matter was, her own attention was split between the job she was here to do, and the guy she was actually talking to. Eliot had to be listening, she was sure of it, and everything she was saying right now was really for his ears, more so than Hardison's own.

"The trick is to realise that the Lady isn't where you expect her to be," she continued. "You're looking at the table, thinking you know, but actually, she's not even there. She's already in the dealer's pocket or up his sleeve, because... that's where she belongs," she smiled.

Hardison assumed of course that her grin was for a job well done, the key copied and the safety deposit box open. The truth of the matter was, she liked her little analogy she had come up with, and was pretty sure Eliot would understand what she would struggle so hard to say in real terms. She belonged with him and she knew it now. He either knew her well enough to find her in Vegas or fate had planned it like that. Either way, it had to mean something. The warm fuzzy feelings Eliot could evoke in her had to matter. Parker liked it, and when she liked something that much she did not give it up - no way.

Until the job was done and a real decision was made on whether they stayed here or not, the members of the Leverage crew were all holed up in different hotels. Parker made a point of following Eliot to his chosen spot that night, though the reception desk never saw her. Around the back of the building and up through the fire escape, that was her style. As if he had been expecting her, Parker found the glass doors on Eliot's balcony were already open when she arrived.

"What took you so long?" he asked when he looked up, arms folded across his chest as he leant on the door jamb.

"I got distracted," she admitted, pulling something out of her back pocket and showing him.

From her back gloved fingers hung a beautiful gold chain with a diamond pendant in the centre. Eliot's eyes went wide at the sight of it.

"You miss the memo that said we 're the good guys now, Parker?" he asked rhetorically, whipping the necklace from her hand and shoving it in his own pocket.

"There was a memo?" she frowned some at that.

Eliot only rolled his eyes. Sometimes she was impossible, but that didn't change how he really felt about her. It felt weird to be alone together after spending the last twenty four hours in and out of one another's company. The team were always there, except for a whole five minutes in Nate's apartment, and that had been barely half a conversation. Over the comms earlier today he heard her talking about Find the Lady, a clumsy attempt to explain her feelings, he was certain. Eliot wasn't dumb. He let people think he was because it worked out well for cons and such, but he was sharp as a tack most of the time, equally as smart as Nate or Sophie in his own way. Still, whilst he thought he knew what Parker was trying to tell him before, he wasn't quite willing to gamble on it. She was just that unpredictable sometimes.

"What are you doing here, Parker?" he asked her out-right, figuring it was the best way to know.

"I came to see Sophie's play, and now we're doing a job," she said, with an expression and tone that told Eliot she thought he was dumb as anything right now.

"No, not here in Boston," he growled a little into those words. "Here in this hotel room, with me?"

She was frowning at that one, clearly thinking very hard about what she said next. Eliot didn't hurry her, since he knew it was a big deal to her. Hell, it was kind of a big deal to him too. It was a good long while since he had a woman in his life he cared this much about. Sure, the sex was great, but it was so much more than that. She listened when he talked, and he did his best to protect her. They were there for each other in a way that even the rest of the team couldn't boast. It was a friendship that had been set on fire with a passion neither of them had entirely expected. It was love by any other name, and yet neither were willing to say so yet.

"I like you," said Parker at length. "I... I like having sex with you, but also just talking to you," she explained as best she could. "And I kind of don't want the others to know, because... I just don't," she explained badly, before turning troubled eyes upon him. "I don't know what any of that means, do you?"

He thought about telling her what it could mean, but bottled it. Scaring her with real words of emotion and feelings would probably lead to her bolting, and Eliot couldn't bear that right now. Besides, things like this didn't have to be labelled. If they worked, that was all that really mattered. Everything else could come later, in time.

"Not exactly," he said, shaking his head. "I just know that I'm glad we're here, and... y'know, I miss you like crazy when you're not around."

That brought the biggest smile to Parker's face that Eliot was inordinately proud to have put there. She was clearly glad to be here too, back with the team where she belonged, but more than that, back here with him. To think this had all started when she came sneaking over to his place in L.A., begging him to teach her poker. It was as if she read his mind when she moved to stand close in front of him and produced a pack of cards from Heaven only knew where.

"So, you wanna play strip poker?" she asked, with a look that proved she had a good idea where the game would end before it ever started.

Eliot was not about to argue with her suggestion.

"Darlin', I thought you'd never ask."

The End