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sherydenTitle: Time For Me To Fly
Author:sheryden
Rating: PG
Word Count: 616
Spoilers: Minor ones for "The Big Bang Job" 3.15
Warnings: minor language
Disclaimer: Not mine. If it was, Eliot would be shirtless in half the episodes.
Summary: When Parker is threatened by Eliot's past, Eliot decides it's time to walk away from the team.
Notes: Written forangst_bingo for the prompt "threats." Title taken from an REO Speedwagon song.
Eliot stood in the middle of his living room, aimlessly gazing around at off-white walls and hardwood floors. Today, the universe had almost disintegrated at his feet.
He had spent years trying to convince himself that he could escape his past, but reminders of old crimes and connections had been popping up a lot in recent days. He had no illusions about how he would probably leave this world. After all, he’d been expecting a violent end since he’d come back from his first mission in uniform. What he hadn’t counted on, though, was a team full of criminals worming their way into his life and making him want things he knew he couldn’t have.
Today, Eliot had had a wake-up call of gargantuan proportions. One of his old adversaries had shown up in Boston looking for him. But instead of putting a bullet in the back of his head from a distance, the bastard had decided to make Eliot suffer. He’d taken Parker.
“Her blood will be on your hands,” the bastard had said.
For eight hours and seventeen minutes, Parker had been a captive, and the team had felt the gaping hole her absence had left in their family. Nate and Sophie, like supportive parents, had told Eliot that none of what was happening was his fault. Hardison had stopped pacing the floor long enough to punch Eliot in the face. He’d apologized for it later, but Eliot knew the kid was probably adding Parker’s kidnapping to his mental inventory of “Reasons Why Eliot is Dangerous”—filed between Eliot can kill someone with a spoon and Damian Moreau.
And Parker. Well, they’d gotten her back unharmed and had taken down the bastard who had grabbed her. She had acted like nothing out of the ordinary had happened and had started pestering the team to have a movie night. But Eliot knew in his gut that the damage had been done.
Her blood will be on your hands.
When he had realized he was starting to care about the team, Eliot had made himself a promise—the first time his past threatened one of them, he would leave. Standing in the middle of his living room, he knew he should have kept that promise as soon as the cell door had closed on Damian Moreau. This time, he would damn well do what needed to be done.
Chewing on his bottom lip, Eliot walked to the closet and pulled out the duffel bag he kept packed and ready for a quick getaway. He unzipped it and dug through the contents. There was some money, a couple changes of clothes, fake IDs, and some other odds and ends. Everything a man needed to disappear into the dead of the night.
He walked into his bedroom and snatched up a picture of his deceased parents, the soft vinyl case containing his glasses, and a little stuffed horse that he kept on the nightstand by his bed. Parker had gotten it for him one time when he was injured. Running his thumb along the plush brown fur, he let out a breath and walked back to the duffel bag.
Once the picture, glasses case, and horse were tucked securely into the bag, Eliot zipped it closed and walked over to the kitchen table. He scribbled a quick note that read: It’s time for me to leave. Let me go, okay? Then he laid his cell phone on top of the note and pulled on his jacket and knit cap.
Hoisting the strap of the bag onto his shoulder, Eliot glanced around his home one last time, whispered goodbye to his team, and walked out the door.
Master Fic List
***
Author:
sherydenRating: PG
Word Count: 616
Spoilers: Minor ones for "The Big Bang Job" 3.15
Warnings: minor language
Disclaimer: Not mine. If it was, Eliot would be shirtless in half the episodes.
Summary: When Parker is threatened by Eliot's past, Eliot decides it's time to walk away from the team.
Notes: Written for
angst_bingo for the prompt "threats." Title taken from an REO Speedwagon song. Eliot stood in the middle of his living room, aimlessly gazing around at off-white walls and hardwood floors. Today, the universe had almost disintegrated at his feet.
He had spent years trying to convince himself that he could escape his past, but reminders of old crimes and connections had been popping up a lot in recent days. He had no illusions about how he would probably leave this world. After all, he’d been expecting a violent end since he’d come back from his first mission in uniform. What he hadn’t counted on, though, was a team full of criminals worming their way into his life and making him want things he knew he couldn’t have.
Today, Eliot had had a wake-up call of gargantuan proportions. One of his old adversaries had shown up in Boston looking for him. But instead of putting a bullet in the back of his head from a distance, the bastard had decided to make Eliot suffer. He’d taken Parker.
“Her blood will be on your hands,” the bastard had said.
For eight hours and seventeen minutes, Parker had been a captive, and the team had felt the gaping hole her absence had left in their family. Nate and Sophie, like supportive parents, had told Eliot that none of what was happening was his fault. Hardison had stopped pacing the floor long enough to punch Eliot in the face. He’d apologized for it later, but Eliot knew the kid was probably adding Parker’s kidnapping to his mental inventory of “Reasons Why Eliot is Dangerous”—filed between Eliot can kill someone with a spoon and Damian Moreau.
And Parker. Well, they’d gotten her back unharmed and had taken down the bastard who had grabbed her. She had acted like nothing out of the ordinary had happened and had started pestering the team to have a movie night. But Eliot knew in his gut that the damage had been done.
Her blood will be on your hands.
When he had realized he was starting to care about the team, Eliot had made himself a promise—the first time his past threatened one of them, he would leave. Standing in the middle of his living room, he knew he should have kept that promise as soon as the cell door had closed on Damian Moreau. This time, he would damn well do what needed to be done.
Chewing on his bottom lip, Eliot walked to the closet and pulled out the duffel bag he kept packed and ready for a quick getaway. He unzipped it and dug through the contents. There was some money, a couple changes of clothes, fake IDs, and some other odds and ends. Everything a man needed to disappear into the dead of the night.
He walked into his bedroom and snatched up a picture of his deceased parents, the soft vinyl case containing his glasses, and a little stuffed horse that he kept on the nightstand by his bed. Parker had gotten it for him one time when he was injured. Running his thumb along the plush brown fur, he let out a breath and walked back to the duffel bag.
Once the picture, glasses case, and horse were tucked securely into the bag, Eliot zipped it closed and walked over to the kitchen table. He scribbled a quick note that read: It’s time for me to leave. Let me go, okay? Then he laid his cell phone on top of the note and pulled on his jacket and knit cap.
Hoisting the strap of the bag onto his shoulder, Eliot glanced around his home one last time, whispered goodbye to his team, and walked out the door.
Master Fic List
***
