Beautiful Mess

a/n Hey, folks. Sorry it's been taking me so long to continue anything. Real life is kinda kicking my butt. Anyway, this is a little longer than my normal Parker and Eliot drabbles, and not quite as clever, but that's not the point. THE FLUFF IS! Enjoy. ;)

"What the-?"

Eliot stood in shock, staring around his apartment. Everything was covered in a dusting of sparkles, and there were paper scraps and paint spilled across the top of the island in the kitchen.

Another annoyed and bewildered look around, then it clicked.

"PARKER!"

From somewhere over his head, the blonde's voice spoke. She sounded apologetic and a little scared. "I didn't think it was gonna be this messy. I'm really sorry, Eliot. I got excited, and then when I looked around, everything was all… glittered. Are you mad?"

Sighing heavily, his fingers coming up to squeeze the bridge of his nose. "No, Parker," he answered, resigned. "I ain't mad. I"m just pissed. Not to mention wonderin' if I'm gonna hafta get a new apartment, since glitter's like animal hair, and it gets everywhere, no matter how much you vacuum."

"Oh."

The silence lasted a few more minutes, before Eliot looked up at the ceiling. "You gonna help me clean this mess up, or you just gonna keep hiding up there all day?"

"Uuuuum…"

Finally losing his temper, Eliot barked, "Parker, get the hell down here now, or you're gonna be livin' on nothin' but fortune cookies and cereal again!"

With a frantic squeak, there was movement above his head, and then the air vent on the wall a few feet away popped open and the small blonde thief slid out. Pouting, she stayed out of arm's reach. "That's not fair, Eliot. You were gonna make Boeuf Bourguignon tonight!"

The hitter smirked. "Yeah, well, help me clean up and I still might."

It was nearly twenty minutes later, when they were both wearing an inescapable layer of sparkles, that Eliot finally thought to ask, "What the hell were you doin' that started this anyway?"

Parker blinked, then a huge smile crossed her face as she ran back over to the vent and pulled out a large, folded over piece of blue construction paper. Grinning, she held it out for Eliot to see.

Glitter and rhinestones and splashes of different colored paint were all crammed onto the front, around the words "Happy Birthday!" Slowly opening what he now knew to be a card, Eliot was greeted by two perfectly detailed pictures of a horse and a guitar, along with the message, "I hope your birthday is really great, and I got you something! But I didn't steal it! I promise. -Parker"

Surprise was the strongest emotion as he looked up and locked eyes with the madly grinning blonde. There was also annoyance and tenderness and disbelief, and a dozen other feelings being mixed into some kind of crazy cocktail. "Parker-"

"No! You have to wait a minute!"

She danced over to the nearby couch, and reached underneath. Pulling out a cardboard box that had been duct taped shut, and with ribbons and bows tied all over it, she held it out to the hitter.

Carefully, Eliot reached out, taking the gift and sitting down on the couch to open it. He blinked and Parker was curled up beside him, eyes big and happy. "Open it, open it!"

As he peeled off the bright decorations, and used his pocketknife to slit the duct tape, Eliot knew it didn't matter what was in the box. What mattered was that Parker remembered when he'd slipped up and told her his birthday, and then she had done her best to make it special for him. It had been years since anyone had given him a present on his birthday. In fact, he'd spent a lot of these days in third world hellholes, planning his escape.

But the way Parker's eyes lit up as he pulled out the packaged set of eight paper-thin ceramic knives blew all those years away.

"Thank you, Parker."

She leaned closer and nuzzled into his side, and he happily put an arm around her shoulder, pulling the thief snuggly against him.

Then she looked up at him with what could only be described as puppy-dog eyes, which he just knew Sophie had to have taught her, and asked, "So, will you still make dinner?"

And Eliot burst out laughing.

fin.