Title: Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?
Prompt by: Nic ('snow' and '"What's that meant to mean?"') and Becki ('Movie Night')
Rating: PG/K+
Setting: post-Season 5
Originally posted: 31st July 2015
Notes: for Nic's birthday.

Next time they were hanging out together, waiting for Hardison to get his research done so they could hit the next stage of their latest job, Eliot was refusing to play cards with Parker.

He thought it'd be better than listening to her sigh and complain about being bored, and it'd pass the time well enough. The first problem was that he was pretty sure she was cheating but couldn't prove it. The larger issue was the stakes.

Money was pointless for people like them. Any kind of expensive artifacts or possessions didn't mean so much, and so they played for chores and favours instead.

Eliot managed to transfer his promise to help Hardison clean out Lucille to Parker, as well as winning first pick of the carefully worded compliments next time they had to go sit through one of Sophie's performances. The problem was that when the game ended, Eliot also found himself with one promise on his pile that he really did not want to have to keep.

Take Parker to see the new Disney movie, Frozen.

Unfortunately, Eliot had told Parker several times over the years that he always kept his word, and always would with her, so he had to follow through, no matter how painful the task at hand. Hardison had laughed about it. He wasn't stupid enough to openly mock Eliot for having to go see a Disney princess movie, but he sure did laugh a lot.

Parker was skipping around like a kid on a sugar high just as soon as the day of the trip came. She was so darn excited to see the movie, and Eliot almost found it cute, though he wouldn't admit it.

"Just get in the damn truck, Parker!" he told her crossly when she continued to dance around, extolling the virtues of every Disney movie ever made. "You wanna see this thing, we can't be late."

She did as she was told and got in the vehicle, but it didn't stop her talking, or singing every song ever sung by an animated princess. Eliot tried to ignore her, but the way she did all the voices and sang note-perfect, it was difficult not to admire yet another talent she had at least.

When they arrived at the movie theatre, the place was packed, a whole mass of kids in the foyer, mostly girls, and mostly dressed up like their favourite Disney princesses. Parker and Eliot were pretty much the only adults there without children, the only two that looked like a couple, Eliot suspected. He wasn't sure why that thought made him feel strange. Above all things, this was not a date.

"C'mon, Eliot!" Parker complained hanging on his arm. "We have to get tickets. And popcorn. And soda. And chocolate!"

Eliot rolled his eyes and followed her over to the counter and then the concession stand. They ended up with enough snacks to feed the five thousand, or just one Parker, when it came to sweet treats. Eliot never did understand how she could eat like a nine year old and have the body of a model/athlete, and he never quite dared to ask. It was another anomaly that made up the enigma of Parker. As much as he complained, Eliot knew he wouldn't want her to be any other way.

They took two seats in the middle of the theatre, far enough back to not mess up their eyes, but close enough to clearly see and hear everything. Not that Eliot had plans to watch or enjoy this movie, he was here purely because he had to be. Parker settled down in her seat, popcorn in her lap, all other treats in Eliot's hands. She was so damn excited. Eliot just couldn't wait for ninety minutes to pass.

A hush descended as the lights went down. Even the little kids seemed to be hypnotised enough so as not to mutter a sound when the movie began. Eliot rubbed a hand across his forehead. He had been through torture too many times in his life, but somehow he just knew this was going to be worse than anything he ever experienced before.

It wasn't awful. Eliot was stunned to realise that Frozen really was a half decent movie, even for a guy like him. He didn't want to watch it over and over or anything, he wasn't crazy, but he actually hadn't been bored or felt the urge to vomit at the sickly sweet nature of the movie. It was a little more realistic than most kids stories, he would give it that. Not the princess that could turn stuff into ice obviously, or the rocks that turned into trolls, but the characters. The guy that double-crossed the girl, the princess fearing her own power, and the love between siblings conquering all instead of so-called romance between two people that barely knew each other. Yes, Eliot was impressed, but he refused to say so.

"Wow!" said Parker, as the lights went up, her eyes still glued to the screen even though the credits were over.

Eliot looked sideways at her and frowned at the dampness on her cheeks. Parker didn't really cry, almost never in fact, and yet she clearly had been during the movie. It was some kind of weird instinct that made him reach out to wipe her tears away the moment she looked his way.

"That good, huh?" he checked with a half a smile.

"Amazing!" she sighed happily. "Don't you think that was amazing? And beautiful, it was... it was beautiful," she said dreamily.

"It wasn't so bad", Eliot agreed with a shrug. "I personally prefer movies with actual actors and plots that might actually happen in real life, but it was okay."

Parker grinned at his minor enthusiasm and they both got up to leave. It was only now that Eliot realised quite how much Parker had eaten. All the of the extra large popcorn, save for maybe a half dozen pieces he got himself, two boxes of Raisinettes, a pack of Red Vines, and ice-cream too, as well as a large size soda. How she wasn't sick, he would never know.

The crowds were heaving in the movie theatre foyer and it took some shoving and a great deal of saying 'excuse me' for the pair to make their escape. As they got outside, Eliot looked over at Parker to see that she was still grinning, her head bobbing to whatever music she was humming. Instantly he recognised it as a song from the movie - it was a very distinctive melody.

"I know I could've just got Hardison to download a copy of the movie for me," she said then as they headed back to the truck. "But I still kind of feel like illegal downloading is wrong. Disney deserves to get paid for the epicness of their movies, and I love seeing them on the big screen," she smiled widely. "First movie I snuck into as a kid was Disney."

Eliot opened his mouth to tell her about the first movie he snuck into before realising he probably shouldn't. Such an admission would only burst her stupidly-cute Disney bubble, since it was an R-rated classic he had gotten into, aged just twelve or thirteen. Parker was happy enough without him responding anyway. She was in her own little world of catchy tunes and happy ever after endings. Eliot couldn't help but smile as he watched her dance and twirl along the edge of the sidewalk.

They reached the truck and he opened up the passenger door, telling Parker to move her butt and get inside. She was spinning around and around instead of doing as he asked, which only served to make Eliot just a little mad.

"Parker!" he snapped at her, knowing sometimes it was the only way to get through to her.

Suddenly, she stopped spinning. A green look came over her face and Eliot momentarily closed his eyes, wincing because he knew what was coming next. Parker staggered two steps forward and spectacularly puked up all down the back wall of the nearest building. Eliot could use not seeing such a display, but he sure as hell wasn't going to walk away. Poor Parker. She may have brought this on herself, but he couldn't blame her. It'd be like scolding a kid for having a good time and that was just wrong. He came over to her as she continued to heave, though nothing more was coming up now. Putting a gentle hand to her shoulder, he proceeded to rub her back and tell her it was okay.

"Better out here than in my truck, I guess," he half-joked.

Parker coughed and then laughed a little. She felt nauseous still but doubted anything else was going to happen. Standing straight, she took a deep breath and faced Eliot.

"That wasn't fun," she declared.

"Let's just get you home, okay?" he offered, leading her to the truck.

He helped her inside and watched as she leaned back in the seat, clearly still feeling a little ill. Honestly, he didn't feel too good having seen her puke and smelling the results. Now at least they were driving away from the worst of it.

Eliot took care to drive slowly and carefully, mindful of jostling Parker around too much. After a little while, he glanced over and realised she looked a little better.

"There's a bottle of water in the glove compartment," he told her and she gratefully reached for it. "Take it slow," he advised. "You drink too much too fast it's just gonna come right back up."

Parker did as instructed and sipped the water slowly, feeling better all the time. Still, she felt more comfortable with her head back and her eyes closed, concentrating on breathing as they rolled along down the busy Portland streets. She was soon humming another song from Frozen, and Eliot tried not to smile at that.

"Y'know," she said all out of the blue, "you're a lot like Elsa."

"I'm what?" gasped Eliot, clearly both shocked and confused, as well as entirely offended at being compared to a Disney princess.

Parker popped one eye open and peered at him, giggling at the expression he wore.

"Not in the way that she's a girl or a princess," she said definitely. "Especially not since you cut your hair," she smirked, pulling on his shorter locks, not caring that he growled at her. "But in lots of other ways, you're my Elsa."

Eliot didn't understand at all and wasn't exactly happy about the comparison. He stopped the truck at a red light and looked across at Parker.

"What's that meant to mean?" he asked with a growl he couldn't help.

Parker sighed.

"Elsa has powers, and she can be dangerous, like you," she explained, peering at Eliot through half open eyes. "But she doesn't really want to hurt anybody, like you. You're both good people, and you both have a tough time seeing that, but we see it, me and Ana," she smiled. "We know there's good in you, and that love can fix everything."

Eliot didn't notice the light was green again until some idiot behind him honked their horn. He grumbled and turned his attention back to the road, driving on towards home. He tried to put Parker's words out of his head, but it was tough to do so. It sounded crazy, a comparison between the two of them and a pair of animated sisters from a kid's movie, but he had to admit, the parallels Parker drew weren't so out-there when he thought on it.

By the time he pulled the truck up to the kerb outside the pub, Eliot looked over and realised Parker was fast asleep. The excitement of the movie, then being so sick, plus coming down off the sugar high had put her in something akin to a coma. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and Eliot knew trying to wake her just wasn't worth it. Rolling his eyes, he exited the truck, gently closing the driver's door behind himself. He went around to the passenger side, opened up Parker's door and carefully unfastened her seatbelt. With no effort at all, he reached in to pick her up and Parker leaned her weight into him instinctively, arms going around his neck without a moment's pause.

She was still mostly asleep, and Eliot didn't mind if Parker wanted to stay that way. She was no weight to carry, and he couldn't even be bothered to find a way to press the elevator button when the stairs were right there. He took the two flights with ease and only had to struggle when it came to unlocking the door and getting inside. Hardison was spark out on the couch, as Eliot had expected, after a day spent gaming with his online buddies. The hitter walked right by with Parker in his arms, through to the bedroom she claimed as her own after Nate and Sophie left.

Eliot deposited Parker carefully on her bed and then stepped back. He pulled the comforter up over her and watched her snuggle down under it.

"Thanks, Eliot" she muttered, barely awake as she got herself comfortable. "See? You're not so scary," she told him sleepily.

Eliot smirked at the comment, leaning over to push her hair off her face and planting a gentle kiss in the centre of her forehead.

"Some people are worth melting for," he whispered before he left.

There was a smile on Parker's lips then, even as she slept on.