He had woken earlier then the day before, three hours of sleep was still excellent for him and considering how much work he had accomplished since he woke he considered it a good thing. He had taken all the books off her shelves and moved them up into one of the other guest rooms and begun dismantling the shelves starting with the worst. Two had broken just by the simple act of removing the books and he allowed himself a moment of relief that he had noticed the problem before it killed somebody.
He had been working steadily for a few hours and made it through half the room before he felt her presence enter the room. He turned and couldn't help the small smile at the sight of her in an oversized sweatshirt and pants rubbing her eyes as she lent up against the door frame. He could almost imagine in that moment a younger Parker doing the same thing, perhaps the girl she was before the world got ahold of her. "Loud." She muttered collapsing into the only chair in the room he hadn't put tools or wood on.
"Sorry darlin' had to get this started." He handed her the drawing he had folded in his back pocket and she smiled up at him.
"Can we have breakfast?" she asked the promise of something to do during the day motivating her fully into wakefulness.
"There's an omelet in the microwave just set it for two minutes and you'll be good to go." He told her smirking as she scurried off at the promise of one of his omelets. He had first made her one when they had been stranded at the site of the emergency plane landing their first year working together. All the people on the flight had been put on a no-fly list while the incident was investigated and Nate had managed to find them a house to rent while they waited.
He had been the only one to notice Parker holding herself more gingerly then usual and it took him a moment to remember she had been down in the cargo hold with hundreds of bags flying through the air while the plane had been on its crash course with the ground. It was nearly impossible to imagine her getting out of that without having been banged up a bit. That had been the moment when he honestly began to admire her as a person more than just a thief. Hardison would have been whining all night, Sophie would have had Nate all over her and been enjoying the attention but Parker had simply retired to her room and suffered in silence.
Eliot knew she wouldn't have any desire to be fussed over, something he was sympathetic toward and had instead decided to make her one of his famous omelets. His mother had been particularly sore after an appearance from his father and Eliot had seen a cooking show with magic omelets he made one for his mother. The smile on her wounded face had made them his go-to food to cheer his mother up and after seeing a similar look on Parker's face every time he noticed her having a bad day or a job didn't go the way she wanted it to she got his mother's special omelets.
"Yummy." She re-entered the library rubbing her stomach and Eliot glanced down at his watch. He had been sitting thinking about Parker for nearly twenty minutes and she was now staring at him clearly wondering what was next.
"Go get dressed and we'll go to the hardware store." He told her smiling as she once again was off like a shot much more awake now that she had eaten. As she got ready he began taking the wood scattered through the room to the garage, he loaded it into the back of the truck that he left parked in the driveway the night before.
"Hey!" The voice of a young boy stopped him and he peered around the side to see four children none any more than seven sitting on a bikes at the end of the driveway staring at him. "You stealing that stuff?" the kid at the lead of the pack, a young child with dark hair who was clearly the oldest of the group asked glaring at Eliot from his perch.
"Nope, I'm fixing it." He replied, he didn't have the heart to be mad at the little boy who was very similar to himself at that age.
"Hard to fix in your truck." The boy accused, "We watch after her stuff when she's not here so you better watch it." He threatened as Eliot fought as hard as he could against the smile that appeared on his face at the realization that this group of neighborhood kids had adopted Parker as their own and were willing to threaten complete strangers to protect her.
"It's ok Jimmy." Parker bounded out of the House and past Eliot to high-five the kids on the bikes. "Eliot come here!" she demanded hands on her hips as the kids put their bikes down onto the sidewalk. "Guys this is Eliot he's my new roommate." She announced tugging gently on his shirt sleeve. "Eliot that's Jimmy." She pointed to the boy who had first confronted him. "Emma and Alice they're sisters." The two young red-headed girls smiled shyly at him while a young boy, about five hid behind them. "And that's Eric he's still little."
"Nice to meet you." Eliot nodded to the kids sending a wink in the direction of the little girls who blushed pink at the attention.
"Are you Parker's boyfriend?" Jimmy asked his tough-guy routine from earlier still firmly in place as he sized Eliot up.
"No we're friends though." Eliot answered feeling oddly like he was addressing Parker's father rather than a neighborhood kid that had likely only known Parker a few months.
"What kind of friends?" the boy asked as Parker pulled Eric out from behind the girls and swung the boy who was squealing with Joy up into the air while the girls danced around them.
"I don't know what you mean kid." Eliot put down the door to the truck bed and sat down patting the bench beside him. Jimmy looked between him and the seat before making the jump to join him. Both of them sat facing the street taking in the sights of Saturday morning in a suburban Boston.
"My Aunt lives with us and she watches us during the day and after school when it's not summer. She has friends who are boys that come over and they hang out and go shopping and watch movies and stuff I can hang out with them." Jimmy paused in his explanation clearly trying to find the words to explain what he wanted to say. Though Eliot had a good idea where the conversation was going he didn't interrupt allowing the child to gather his thoughts. "Sometimes though she has other friends who go into her room and stay there and then if they do come out they're mean to me or my sister. She's not here because she's just a baby and mommy likes to see her when she's not at work but Auntie Danielle says that they're her friends too. Which kind of friend are you?"
Eliot took a moment to marvel at the child's ability to string his thoughts together so coherently for someone so young. He then allowed himself a flash of dislike for this aunt who apparently used baby-sitting time as an excuse to get lucky. Eliot's eyes drifted over to Parker who had put down Eric and was leading the children in a game of tag the four of them running through the yard laughing and tripping over each other and he felt a pang of longing for a life he would never have. He could have children sure and they could live in a wonderful house like the one Parker owned, if his feelings in that area got their way they would be Parker's children. Despite the fact that those things were entirely possible he knew full well that he would never stop looking over his shoulder and Parker wouldn't stop being who she was, he knew full well they could never be normal.
Jimmy coughed politely at his side clearly bored of waiting for Eliot to think of an answer. "Can I talk to you man to man for a second?" Eliot asked, he could practically hear the child sitting up straighter at the thought that Eliot viewed him as an equal.
"I guess." He answered clearly trying to make his voice a bit deeper in an attempt to sound more like Eliot.
"Between you and me I want to be Parker's boyfriend one day when we're both ready." He paused for a moment surprised that the words didn't feel that strange now that they had been said to another person. It didn't surprise him or even make him uncomfortable. Though he hadn't acknowledged it he knew full well that he was going to try to date Parker, he had to know what he was feeling or he would never be able to move on. "But even if I did become her boyfriend, I would not be mean to you I like you."
"Really?" Jimmy asked Eliot turned and faced the child who stared back in that way that only children do. It was the face of someone who will believe whatever you say no matter what. For Eliot the face of a child was like the face of his mother, there was no lie he would tell that face.
"I have a lot of respect for someone who takes care of their friends." Eliot gestured to where the children and Parker had stopped running around and were lying on the grass tickling each other. "I'm a lot bigger then you and you didn't know I was but you still confronted me to try to help Parker and since she's my best friend I like you for protecting her too."
"I guess you're ok." Jimmy told him holding out his hand for a shake in a gesture Eliot assumed he had learned from his father. He took the motion for what it was and shook the boy's hand just as seriously as he would have Nate or Hardison's. "And don't worry I won't tell Parker that you like her, my friend Danny told Julie in my class that I liked her and it made me really mad."
"I'd be mad too." Eliot shared stepping down onto the pavement. "Guess we should check on them."
"Yep, girls can get into trouble if you're not careful." Jimmy commiserated clearly happy to have someone to talk to about the woes of only having girls and little boys to play with.
"Eliot help!" Parker yelled clearly out of breath as she squirmed around trying to avoid the kids who had apparently ganged up on her. Eliot rushed forward and instead of helping Parker began tickling her as well her shrieks of laughter drawing the attention of the entire neighborhood. Most smiled and shook their heads leading Eliot to believe that this behavior was common for Parker and the children. One woman however started across the street toward them towing another behind her. Eliot lifted Parker out of the fray of children unable to tell if they were upset or just looking to make introductions.
"That's Jimmy's mom and aunt." Parker whispered in his ear once she caught her breath.
"Parker!" The older of the two women, a warm kind looking person with long brown hair the same shade as her sons called out to them.
"Hi" Parker replied suddenly much more like the Parker he knew that got uncomfortable in social situations.
"We just wanted to meet your friend sweetie." The younger woman told them not even paying attention to Parker her eyes and he imagined her hormones focused on him instead. "Danielle Holden, this is my sister Rachel it's a pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand clearly expecting him to kiss the back of it. Eliot barely refrained from rolling his eyes, women like that expected every man to be their prince charming or character from whatever romance novel they were reading. He took her hand and shook it moving closer to Parker in the hopes that the woman would draw her own conclusion.
"I saw you talking with Jimmy" Rachel told him watching her son who had joined the tickle fight that Eliot had pulled Parker out of. "It seemed serious I hope he wasn't misbehaving."
"Not at all." Eliot told her, it was clear how much this woman loved her son and he found it hard to believe that both she and Danielle had come from the same family. "He's a great kid."
"And he certainly has taken a shine to Parker here." Danielle tossed in, "She's quite the child whisperer, I don't think there's a single kid on this block that doesn't just adore her. We've been trying to get her over for dinner one of these nights to thank her."
"You have?" Parker asked perking up at the thought of a home cooked meal. "You should just ask next time."
"We would love to have you over Parker and Eliot as well of course." Rachel told her placing a hand on Parker's shoulder. "I really do appreciated the time you spend with Jimmy I know he can be a handful and I would love you to meet Jane the new baby. How about Sunday dinner does six work for you?"
Eliot looked over at Parker who was already looking to him for some kind of social cue. "Only if we can bring desert."
"It's settled then!" Danielle smiled and hugged both of them tightly making sure Eliot felt her breasts pressed up against his chest. He repressed a shudder at the smell of too much perfume and hairspray. He felt Parker squirming to get loose beside him and took it upon himself to release them both from the hug.
"Yay!" Jimmy exclaimed running over with the others tagging along behind.
"Let's head home kiddo, time for lunch." Rachel took the younger children by the hand clearly intending to drop them at their respective homes as well. "We will see you Sunday." She called over her shoulder as she her sister andthe children walked away.
"Quite the group of people you've met here." Eliot told Parker who seemed sad to see them go.
"They're more fun than grown-ups!" Parker defended hopping into the truck.
"I'm a grown-up." Eliot told her as he backed the truck out of the driveway careful of any other neighborhood children he might see running around.
"But your Eliot." She told him like that would explain everything. Before he could ask for any kind of elaboration on that answer she had turned up the radio and was singing along to some god awful pop song Sophie had introduced her to as they drove down the street.
AN: I just realized that as much as I love Parker and Eliot this story would get pretty boring with just the two of them so I spent the last few days making up a cast of Parker's neighbors and Archie's family. That's probably the biggest group you'll meet them in but I always saw Parker getting along better with kids then with adults.
Thanks for reading!