Title: H is for Home

Prompt by: hollow_echoes

Pairing/Characters: Eliot/Parker

Rating: PG

Setting: Tag for The Future Job.

Word Count: 441

"You feeling better now, darlin'?" Eliot asked as he came into the kitchen to get to work on dinner and found Parker sat on a stool at the counter.

"Yeah, sure" she sighed, not looking exactly right still, "I can't believe how lame I was before" she tried to laugh at herself, but it didn't quite come off.

"Hey" said Eliot, putting a finger under her chin and making her meet his eyes, "it's not lame to care about your foster brother" he told her firmly, "Just so long as you're not blaming yourself anymore, because that's stupid" he told her, not willing to let her feel bad for something so far back in the past, just because of what some idiot fake psychic told her.

"I know" she smiled bravely, watching intently as Eliot got to work chopping vegetables and such, "I don't think it would've got me so upset if... well, now I have like another foster brother, and if anything happened..." tears welled in her eyes all over again and the hitter quickly abandoned the knife on the chopping board to move around the counter and pull her into his arms.

"Nothing's gonna happen to me, Parker" he promised her as he held her close and rubbed her back.

Eliot wasn't sure whether to be glad or offended when a giggle bubbled up out of her throat then.

"I'm not talking about you, silly" she swatted him in the shoulder as she moved enough to look at him properly, though remained in his arms, "I meant Hardison, he's like my brother, kind of" she considered, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"Oh" said Eliot with a nod, "Maybe you shouldn't tell him that" he considered, as he thought of the plainly obvious crush the hacker had on their little thief, something she was clearly oblivious to.

"He should know" she frowned a little, not getting what she was missing as usual, then just as quickly deciding she didn't care as she put her head on Eliot's shoulder and enjoyed being held a while longer, "It's weird, this is the most like a family I ever had" she told him, "Nate feels like a Dad, and Sophie feels like a Mom"

"What about me?" asked Eliot then, not sure why he was asking but he couldn't help himself somehow.

"You?" said Parker with a smile as she moved to look at him, "Right now, you feel like home" she said, hugging him tight.

Eliot was sure that had to be nicest thing anybody ever said to him, and the weird part was, he felt just exactly the same way.