Okay so the thing about the OT3 that gets me is that it just Is. It's the three of them choosing each other over and over again
It's Hardison and Parker falling in love, holding on and letting each other go when they need to, growing up together and becoming who they want to be. It's supporting each other when they reach their breaking points, reminding each other to breathe, that they'll be there on the other side, every time.
It's Eliot and Parker understanding each other. It's Parker asking Eliot what he did and Eliot holding his heart out to her and asking her not to ask again because it would break him if he told her. Told them. It's Eliot reminding Parker that being "good" isn't always the best play, that sometimes you need to show your teeth and be ruthless to get everyone home safe.
It's Hardison and Eliot snarking and sniping at each other, both as banter and when something goes wrong. Because, in Eliot's past, when something goes wrong — people get killed. He is an ass and he's hard and he's often mean to Hardison, but it's not without cause and they both know that. They know what's at stake. It's Hardison teasing Eliot, but giving him a space where he can talk (or not talk) and express himself when he needs too.
It's the three of them choosing each other time and again.
For Parker and Hardison it's romantic, yes, but it also goes deeper than that. For Eliot, for all three of them, it's trust. It's having each other's back. It's knowing implicitly that the people beside you would walk through hell and back with you if they had to.
It's being known. It's home.
