Title: the stretch of distance
Fandom: Leverage: Redemption (if you only know the original Leverage, you can still understand the fic just fine)
Rating: PG
Length: ~600 words
Author notes: For lyr for the great prompt: Hardison is away a long time while Parker and Eliot worked in the US. How did they cope?
Also for the fan_flashworks challenge of Words from Other Languages and the prompt: iktsuarpok (n. Inuit) the anticipation of waiting for a loved one

Summary: Established OT3 Parker/Hardison/Eliot, with Parker and Eliot missing Hardison while he's out of town doing amazing work but apart from the rest of the team.







Eliot felt the bed move as Parker sprawled out next to him. He was long past being startled by her sneaking in without him noticing, so he just nodded, gave her a smile.

She let out a loud sigh, and Eliot waited for the rest.

"I think it's probably okay to steal a person if you make out with them after," Parker finally offered.

He reached out and grabbed her hand; her fingers interlaced with his, strong tendons choosing not to grip too tight.

"Yeah," he said, watching her reactions closely. "But in all the years we've known him, he's never once asked us to be less than we are."

She rolled her eyes but he could see from the shift in her shoulders that she agreed. To love someone and see them fly without you was a struggle, and her face looked like when she was determined to make her arms or legs reach an impossible length during a heist, the look she got when she knew she was about to be stretched too thin.

"I feel like..." she trailed off.

"Yeah?" he said, gentle as he could make his voice.

"I feel just... very frowny about the whole thing."

"I do too sometimes," he said, rubbing her arm softly with his thumb.

"I know. You are being a huge baby about the fact that Hardison isn't here."

"What? No, I -- Why - what are you talking about, Parker?!"

She gave him an exasperated look for making her state the obvious. "Your eyebrows look a certain way when you miss Hardison. Like, you act the same and everything else is the same, but I can tell by your eyebrows that you're super sad you don't get to squish Hardison and hug him and play your little mangames with him."

"Videogames aren't mangames."

"I know, I meant when you guys have sex without me participating, I call those your little mangames."

"Great."

"So... what do we say to him next time he calls? That it hurts a lot that he's gone. Or should we lie and say we're glad he's 'happy' and 'making a difference'?" Parker said.

"Is that a lie?" Eliot asked.

Parker shrugged.

"I love him. I miss him. I want to tell him how much I love him but I also want to say fuck you for not being here. There should be a card for that."

"There should," Eliot said, realizing that he wasn't just humoring her. That was pretty much how he felt since Hardison left a big hole in his longstanding daily ritual of filling his time up with hope instead of regret. At first he had thought that it'd be way harder for Parker than for himself, but now he wasn't so sure.

She moved so her head was on his shoulder, and they both stared at the ceiling.

"Okay, I know how to say 'I love you' and 'fuck you but not really I don't mean it but actually I kind of do but I don't because I'm so proud of you and what you're doing and also I really really love you and also fuck you,'" Parker said finally.

"How's that?"

She turned her head, determination in her brow. "Pranks."

He laughed. "Definitely. We should do that. But how do we play a prank on him when he's across the world?"

She thought for a moment, then they both turned to each other at once, knowing they were both thinking the same thing.

"Drones," they said.

"You think you can get Breanna on board with pranking Hardison?" he said with a smile.

"If anything, I'm going to be the voice of restraint," she answered, and they both burst out laughing at the thought.

"You think Hardison will know why we're doing it?" she asked when they had caught their breath.

Eliot nodded. "Yeah, he'll get it. He's the smartest guy I know."

There was a long silence.

"Fuck that guy," Parker said, letting just a hint of tears show for the first time since Hardison left.

He pulled her in for a close hug. "Don't worry. We'll see him soon."