Title: Taking Care of His Girl
Author: Elisabeth
Rating: PG
Pairing: Hardison, Parker
Summary: Hardison hated seeing Parker in pain.
Spoilers/Timeline: Takes place during The Future Job.
Word Count: ~700
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from Dean Devlin et al.
Feedback: Yes please! It makes me happy and keeps me writing.
Thanks to Angel's Kuuipo for looking this over.
Note: This is my maiden voyage into the Leverage fandom, so please be kind.
Taking Care of His Girl
Hardison hated seeing Parker in pain.
No one hurt his girl. Well, not his girl. Not yet anyway. His someday-maybe-hopefully-before-too-long-when-the-locks-were-done-being-fiddley girl. He really wanted to be the one to fiddle with Parker's lock. And when did locks become something dirty anyway?
Back on track.
He wasn't a violent man - except for when he was playing WoW, but that's something else entirely. In the real world, he generally disapproved of violence. However, he was fully on board with Eliot killing Dalton Rand for what he did to Parker.
It had taken every ounce of strength he possessed to resist sitting next to her on the floor of Nate's living room and pulling her into his arms. Luckily, he knew that such a gesture wouldn't be appreciated. At least not with the others watching.
Parker hated feeling vulnerable, he knew this. And this was the most vulnerable he'd ever seen her. She'd just had one of her darkest secrets exposed on live television. So yeah, he was out for blood.
Luckily, the team hated seeing her in pain almost as much as he did.
After Nate's call to arms, the team separated. Hardison knew he'd have a long day ahead of him, gathering intel, but first things first.
He shut down his laptop and finally went to sit beside Parker on the floor. Sliding to the ground, he leaned over and bumped her shoulder.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said in that small voice that unnerved him.
"Did I say anything?" he asked, holding his hands up. He smiled at her briefly before sobering. "Not asking. Just offering an ear…should you feel like sharing?"
Parker's lips twitched, flirting with a smile. She groaned, rubbing her palms against her eyes roughly to wipe away the last of her tears.
She turned her head, looking at Hardison, seeing the compassion and understanding, and knew she could trust him to not pressure her. "Thanks."
"Let's get out of here," Hardison offered, hopping to his feet. He extended a hand to Parker, and gave an internal sigh of relief when she took it.
Hardison grabbed his bag on the way out the door.
"Can we go steal something?" Parker asked as they stepped onto the elevator.
"Maybe later," Hardison agreed.
~~*~~
While seeing Rand get exposed and arrested was satisfying, Hardison knew that Parker would still need to do something to feel in control again.
Nate really should have known better than to leave a loose end like a dead criminal's hidden money left in the wind. Then again, maybe he did know better. Maybe he had the same thought Hardison did.
While going through Kusen's records, it wasn't even a second thought to run Brancato's too. It was an insult to his intelligence to assume he wouldn't.
So, after dropping the others back at headquarters, Hardison held Parker back.
"You up for a little role play?" he asked, grinning widely.
Her eyes sparkled. "You found the money," she guessed.
Hardison just laughed as Parker slid into the passenger seat of the van.
It was almost too easy, really. I mean, what kind of armed robber hides his stash in a bank safety deposit box?
All Hardison had to do was access Brancato's death certificate and create a birth certificate naming him as Parker's father. One little key swap while the bank manager wasn't looking and voila, stolen money has been stolen.
Back in the van, they settled in back to count the money. As Parker finished, there was a seriousness to her face that Hardison wasn't expecting.
"I thought you'd be happier after that," he commented.
"I am happy," Parker said, not sounding anything in the range of happy.
"But..." he prompted.
"But, I'm not the only one Rand hurt." She turned wide eyes on him and Hardison knew exactly what she was thinking.
Moving back to the driver's seat, he said, "C'mon, I think Nate's meeting with the client in about an hour."
At a light, Parker reached over to grab Hardison's hand. He looked down at her hand on his before meeting her eyes.
"I just… Thank you," she said, squeezing his hand.
He turned his hand over and squeezed back. "Any time."
The End
Copyright© February 2010