Author's note: all the usual disclaimers about not owning the Leverage characters/concept and not making any money from this apply.
Hardison slept late the next morning, waking to the sounds of a torrential downpour outside the hotel room window, and of Parker annoying Eliot out in the living room. They had obviously both been awake for at least a few hours.
"You're grouchy when you're hurt," Parker was saying petulantly when Hardison emerged from the bedroom.
"I'm grouchy 'cause you're poking me," Eliot retorted. He pushed her hand away for probably the thousandth time. "Go and find something to do."
"There isn't anything to do," Parker complained. "It's raining too hard to do anything fun outside, and you said we should avoid crowded places indoors until we're sure none of us is going to give anyone the flu. And Hardison's still sleeping, and we already ate breakfast. I'm bored."
"Well, I still need breakfast," Hardison said, dropping down into the chair next to her. "What are the options?"
Eliot gestured towards the room service cart off to one side.
"Parker did most of the ordering," he warned. "I'm not sure what aren't the options."
Hardison stood and started peering into the dishes.
"Pop tarts?" he exclaimed. "Seriously? Room service does pop tarts?"
By late afternoon, they were all going a little stir-crazy. Hardison, given an internet connection, was normally well-equipped for a day indoors, but Parker and Eliot had been bored enough to try joining in a multi-player game. And Parker was right: Eliot was grouchy when he was hurt. By the time the tropical storm that had been holding them hostage let up, Hardison was just as ready to escape the hotel suite as the other two.
None of them were showing any symptoms of the flu, so Hardison found seats on a flight to Portland the next morning; then, by mutual agreement, they went their own ways for the evening. Eliot didn't venture any further afield than the newsstand at the corner and the sports bar in the hotel lobby. He was moving better than the night before – and better than Hardison would have thought possible had he not seen it with his own eyes – but was pretty sure he still wasn't up for either the speed or distance the slightly manic glint in Parker's eye promised when she suggested they go "sightseeing". Hardison had seen the same glint, and was volubly protesting the need to either climb up or rappel down the Washington Monument when they parted ways from Eliot. He watched them until even Parker's blonde head was indistinguishable in the crowds, then chose and paid for his newspaper and magazine from the newsstand's selection, and headed back into the hotel. He had a sneaking suspicion that the sightseeing wasn't going to last more than a couple of hours, which meant he needed to take full advantage of the peace and quiet in the meantime.
Hardison and Parker actually lasted three and a half hours before they showed back up at the hotel. He knew better than to ask what they had been up to, distracting them instead with dinner – Chinese this time, because Parker wanted fortune cookies. And by the time they had found a restaurant that offered both authentic Chinese food and fortune cookies, eaten, and made their way back to the hotel, it was a perfectly reasonable time to shower and go to bed. Eliot wished the other two a good night and then closed his bedroom door firmly behind him, clearly indicating there would be no repetition of the previous night's slumber party. Parker frowned briefly at the closed door: she had slept better the night before, curled between Eliot and Hardison, than she could remember ever having done. But, while rules were made to be broken, boundaries sometimes deserved respect, and Eliot was telling them that his were back in place. And that brought its own sense of security in the form of familiarity, so, after a moment, she gave herself a quick shake, and then let Hardison tug her down beside him to choose a movie for the two of them to fall asleep to.