#Eliot will follow Nate to hell and try to protect him from it

[firebirdsdaughter]

So…

… I kinda mumbled about this in the tags of another post, but I do love how the fam all has different roles and positions and strengths and weaknesses in their relationships.

Like it’s interesting how something unplanned can result in some really interesting character stuff. The introduction of Tara in a role I like to dub the ‘wine aunt’ even if it never involves wine, gives some really great new angles for the characters, both their flaws and strengths.

Bc the fact is, Sophie’s right, they needed someone with a clear view on hand, for different reasons. Parker and Hardison are still the younguns; they absolutely talk back to Nate, esp when he deserves it, but ultimately go along w/ him, bc he’s dad and ultimately they trust and care about him, and Parker’s got that touch of the chaotic herself, to put it mildly.

Eliot’s a little different. I love how different his relationship is w/ the ‘parents’ and as a result how differently he responds to Tara. Parker and Hardison are tense immediately bc the primary grifter they’ve worked w/ is Sophie, they’ve already settled into family roles, and Tara is just that much different that it’s awkward. Meanwhile, as Tara herself notes, Eliot is a consummate professional when it comes to the job, but even his initial response to Tara is wary (he’s half in protective mode until Nate confirms her story). Further on, Tara proves she can be relied on on cons, and Eliot has enough concern for her to call Nate out about her (although he’d do that for anyone), but there’s still a distance, and I think you really see it in that moment at the start of the Zanzibar ep where she brings up Nate’s drinking.

I already love the moment where Nate specifically looks back at Eliot after being forced to take a drink in the Bottle Job, the way Eliot’s reaction is shown first. Eliot is the left hand, imo he becomes Nate’s closest confidant after Sophie, he’s the one Sophie’s always colluding w/ about Nate’s behaviour, something she presumably let Tara know. But when Tara tries to talk about Nate’s drinking, Eliot… Kinda shuts her out. He doesn’t outright push her off, and some of it may be that Nate is right there, but the way he responds w/ ‘I’m not an idiot’ and bluntly tells her it’s a symptom comes across to me as him almost telling her she doesn’t know what she’s talking about; and looking back, he never discusses private matters w/ her like he does Sophie, and she never asks him again, bc when she did (albeit not the most tactful or polite way), he closed ranks and pushed her off. And I think that’s the danger w/ Eliot—Eliot will absolutely keep an eye on Nate, call him out, stand up to him, do his best to manage things, but his first instinct will always be to protect Nate. And that’s what he’s doing in that moment—sure, Tara can be counted on for jobs, but Nate’s drinking issues are something personal that Eliot’s not going to discuss w/ just anyone; it’d take much more time for him to fully open up to Tara about that, he’s only semi just solidified his attachment to Nate and the rest of the team in the previous finale. Nate is kinda already filling the role of surrogate father for him, and by now his loyalty to Nate is totally locked in. It ties in to that conversation they have outside the hotel in the finale, where Eliot reads Nate the riot act and Nate asks if he’s walking away (something I think he only ever directly asks Sophie and Eliot, he says ‘anyone can walk away’ a few times, but I think he only ever directly asks them if they’re leaving, but I should be in bed, so maybe I’m wrong), to which Eliot says no, he’ll have Nate’s back, but he’s going to say his piece. But he’s still in.

And that’s it. Eliot is nigh too loyal and protective. He’ll try to stop Nate going off the rails, but there’s only so much he can do, and if it happens he won’t pull the plug, he will never cut out. He’ll follow Nate to hell and try to protect him from it. And that’s why they need that additional piece.

They’re all just so interconnected and I love it.

#Leverage #Eliot's first instinct will always be to protect Nate #when Tara starts poking he immediately closes ranks on her and shuts it down #it's like he's too busy #he'll be focusing primarily on keeping Nate from getting himself killed he won't be able to steer him back on track #meanwhile Hardison and Parker will gripe but go along #you could probably write an essay about the reasons for any of the three #I just spend a lot of time thinking about Nate and Eliot #and I absolutely see it #Eliot does his best but he's too loyal he'll follow through and keep trying to do his job #and Sophie reads people well #and that's why she sends Tara bc for what Tara lacks in her personal knowledge of Nate #she makes up for in being outside eyes #and it WORKS so well #Literal Crime Family

[e-vasong]

I’ve already talked about a Leverage crossover where the Hargreeves are conmen but I'm. losing it thinking about. a Leverage AU where the Leverage team sees these kids on tv, and they just go.  oh shit, that’s just fucking wrong.  (I know the timelines don’t match up but let’s pretend the umbrella kids were born a little later, or that Leverage takes place a little earlier, or something like that.  I don’t know.)

But these fucking umbrella kids show up on TV, and at first none of them are paying much attention. Not right away.  They’re busy running cons, and none of them except Hardison watch TV for fun very often.

So they’ve all heard bits and pieces about this Umbrella thing, and aren’t quite sure what to make of it.  Superhumans, huh? Eliot mutters at one point. Whatever. Our lives are already so goddamn weird.

But eventually they catch a broadcast while they’re home in between cases.  it’s playing in the background while they’re enjoying a meal together at the brewery.

The Umbrella Academy saves the day yet again! the broadcaster declares cheerily. We go now to a statement at the Louvre from their leader, Sir Reginald Hargreeves.

It’s just novel enough to catch their attention--being who they are, they all perk up at the word Louvre--and it gets them half-watching as they chat over breakfast.

It’s Parker that sees it first.  She’s Parker, so what catches her attention is actually not the fact that one of them is covered in blood, nor is it the fact that their father is calling them by numbers instead of names.  It’s the way that they stand, tense and upright.  It’s the way that the one covered in blood is trembling minutely, so fine that it’s almost imperceptible. But she notices. And she notices the way that the one to the bloodied boy’s left--the fifth one in line--leans over ever-so-subtly when their father is looking away. Whispers something with the barest movement of his lips. And then, after a moment of hesitation, he links hands with his shaking brother, twining their fingers together.  Parker knows that whisper, knows what this is. She used to do that with her brother.  Used to hold Nick’s hand, just like that, when their fosters were scaring him, trying to provide comfort even despite the fear of being caught.

It’s not long before the others follow her gaze. She’s stopped engaging in the conversation entirely, is just staring at the television with a death glare, nose wrinkled.

“Parker, baby,” Hardison says.  “That’s your angry face.”

“I’m angry,” she says, and doesn’t elaborate.

“Got it,” Hardison takes it in stride, as he always does.

Eliot’s frowning at the TV.  Unlike Parker, his eye does jump to the most obvious thing first.  To the boy, no older than eleven or twelve probably, drenched head to toe with blood.  There’s no rips in his clothing; Eliot’s pretty sure the blood isn’t his. He’s standing up straight, but his shoulders are slightly hunched.  Like he’s injured.  Broken ribs, maybe?  And he’s been taught to hide them too. He’s also not the only one with that too-stiff posture. These kids aren’t standing up straight. They’re standing at attention.  Number One, their father calls one of them, and what are those? Fucking callsigns?  

Sophie and Nate are watching too.  Their faces are carefully blank.  They aren’t happy, Parker’s pretty sure, but they’re trying not to react.

“What the hell?” Hardison says slowly.  He’s the last one to catch on, though only by a very narrow margin.  He lacks Sophie and Nate’s cynicism, and the years of personal experience Parker and Eliot have, but he’s still too smart to not figure it out almost immediately.  And he is first one to abandon the stunned stillness that’s fallen over the rest of them, pulling his laptop out of his bag, already quickly tapping away at the keys.

“This ain’t right,” Eliot says, voice a growl in his chest.  “This is--this is--it’s televised child abuse.”

Sophie makes a quiet noise of agreement then. “It is,” she says, quietly disgusted. “Those poor children.”

Nate is still staring at the screen, lips pressed flat.

“This Reginald guy looks rich,” Parker says.  Then: “Can we kill him?”

Eliot chokes on his drink.

“How is this even legal?” Sophie asks.  She sounds curious, though not particularly surprised by the grievous violation of child protection laws before her. “It’s so...blatant.”

“Sir Reginald Hargreeves,” Hardison says, no longer typing.  “He is--oh shit.” And the typing resumes, faster and a little more panicked than before.

“Hardison?” Nate prods after a moment, giving Hardison a sidelong glance.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s all good,” Hardison says.  “The INTERPOL files on this guy are locked up tight though.  Almost tripped their security system there.  I didn’t, of course, but--”

“You couldn’t get in?” Eliot says, smirking.

“Yet,” Hardison says.  “Dammit, man, it’s been less than five minutes.  Give me a couple hours and that thing is mincemeat.  Metaphorically speaking, of course.  But I do see what’s going on here and,” he clicks his tongue, shaking his head in disappointment.  “Y’all, this is hinky.”

“Yes, I think we got that,” Nate says.  The corner of his lip twitches up.

“Yeah, yeah,” Hardison says.  “This guy has got friends everywhere.  No one knows how he got the kids, but it looks like he technically bought them--”

“He what?” Sophie sounds like she’s been suckerpunched.  Parker can’t think of the last time she heard Sophie sound so shocked.

“Oh yeah.  You think that’s bad?  The numbers aren’t code names  The numbers are their name names.  Like, legally.  I just found an article that said he ordered them by how useful he thinks they are, but judging by the adoption papers it was actually in the order he, uh,” Hardison coughs, “acquired them.”

Eliot is swaying where he stands.  “Common tactic.  He’s pitting them against one another so they’ll be easier to control.  It undermines the self worth of the ones lower on the scale and makes the ones that are higher up feel obligated to do what he wants.  Son of a bitch.”

“...And it looks like he leveraged their powers as excuse to gain exemptions from child protection laws,” Hardison continues like he hasn’t been interrupted.  “Claimed their abilities meant they don’t need the same safeguards.”

“That’s bullshit!” Eliot sounds thunderous.

“I know, buddy,” Hardison reaches over blindly, waving his hand around vaguely until he finds Eliot’s shoulder.  He gives it a comforting squeeze.  “I didn’t write it.”

Eliot heaves in a shuddering breath.  “That’s just--”

“Evil,” Sophie finishes.  

“I’m inclined to agree,” Nate says.  He’s not watching the TV anymore.  He’s staring off into the middle distance, arms crossed over his chest.

“Oh!” Parker perks up.  All the grief and distress that had been brewing on her face vanishes like storm clouds parting for the sun.  “Nate! Nate, are you scheming?  You look like you’re scheming.”

Nate makes a noncommittal grunt.  “It would be dangerous.”

“They’re in danger,” Sophie says softly, jerking her head in the television’s direction.

Eliot’s long-since gotten to his feet.  He’s pacing, and that’s how Parker knows he’s furious.  When Eliot is too angry to stand it, he has to move, has to find some way to handle the rage roiling under his skin.  Usually he cooks, chopping vegetables with furious aplomb.  And when he can’t cook, he paces.  

“They’re fucking child soldiers,” he says.  “I can’t--” he cuts himself off with a furious shake of the head.  I can’t believe, he was about to say, Parker thinks, but he had to stop because that’s not true.  Eliot knows better than anyone what the government--what the world does to people they find useful, whether its skill or power that makes them so.

“Y’all are behind,” Hardison says in sing-song.  “I’m already trying to burn this motherfucker down.”

“Hardison, do not tip our hand,” Nate says, snapping into his leader-voice automatically.  Parker grins.  He’s already got a plan, then.  She knew all that reluctance was just for show.  Sophie laughs, as clear and bright as the ringing of a bell, and even Eliot perks up.  

Hardison grumbles, closing his laptop and stuffing it back in his messenger bag.  

Nate is grinning a little too, though it’s that angry smile he gets sometimes when Parker knows he’s thinking about hurting bad people.  She understands.  She's wearing hers too right now.  Nate glances them all over, and for all the malice dripping off the knife’s edge of that smile, his eyes are soft.  Maybe even a little proud.

“Fine. Fine. You guys win,” Nate says, lifting his hands in defeat.  He’s putting on a show of being beleaguered, but Parker can hear the sparking anger in his voice, and oh, how could she have forgotten?  Sophie is so gently righteous, Hardison so achingly distressed, and Eliot so full of fire and fury that she almost didn’t notice Nate’s seething wrath, nearly forgot that Nate looks at every injured child in need of help and thinks of Sam.  “Everyone, get your things.  Hardison, get us some plane tickets.  Let’s go steal some children.”

“Okay, okay.  I ain’t complaining cause, like, fuck that guy,” Hardison says, slinging his bag over his shoulder.  “But stealing children?  Could you have made us sound anymore like kidnappers?”

“Hardison!”

“I’m just saying.”

#tua #the umbrella academy #leverage #my writing #this is kind of garbage but i cant stop thinking about it!!!

[schrijverr]

Surprise Hit

On a con Eliot is recognized by someone who has a hit on him and has to run.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: mentions of some mafia dealings

~~~~~~~~~~~

The con went to shit.

This happened often enough with a mark not making the expected choice, a firewall taking longer to crack than anticipated or someone showing up that was not supposed to. It was normal, however the way it went to shit this time was unique. “Nate, I got a problem,” Eliot announced.

“What is it?” Nate asked over the coms. It was an integral part of the plan that Eliot talked to their mark, John Fernsby, and convinced him to meet with Sophie. Nate would have done it, but he had already been the one to go in and convince the billionaire that thebusiness was worth investing in and Hardison was needed to help Parker into the safe. It had to be Eliot.

But Eliot said there was a problem, which was bad. However, it was about to get worse when Eliot answered: “He’s talking with a foreign dignitary, but I know he isn’t. That’s Mikhail Volkov, Russian mob. He has a hit out on me.”

“The fuck, man,” Hardison replied.

“I didn’t pick it either, okay,” Eliot hissed back. “But if he sees me, we’re fucked. Well, I’m fucked and someone has to take my part in the con.”

Hardison had pulled up the camera feed of the gala and watched how Eliot turned away from the mark and tried to leave them room without pulling any attention to himself. He almost managed too, were it not for a serenade band coming in right as he was near the exit.

It was such a stupid little thing that they couldn't have predicted and it was so incredibly ill-timed that Eliot had no room to come up with something. Mikhail turned to the band and saw Eliot, his brow furrowed and he yelled: “Stop that man!” as Eliot started to sprint, multiple people now on his trail.

He pushed over furniture behind him and swerved while a few bullets started to fly around his head, dangerously close. In his ear Hardison was giving him directions to Lucille, but he knew he could not return to the team. Not right now.

The Russian mob was not known for their leniency and if they thought he had people he worked with, then they would only target them as well. No, he had to go into hiding on his own and return to them later, when he could shake off his pursuers. In his ear he heard Hardison rant at him as he took the wrong turn, but Eliot didn’t care. He had a plan.

On the street it was easier to disappear, though he got many looks from people as they cleared the way for him while he ran like a madman. There were a few screams when the Russians appeared behind him with guns.

If it were a normal day and he was on his own, he would have stayed to fight them, but he was wearing a suit he couldn't easily fight in and Sophie and Parker had still been in the building, he couldn't risk them for something stupid he’d done in the past. And when he was outside, he didn’t have the surprise advantage or the closeness to take on that many guys with guns.

So, he ran.

His lungs were burning in his chest and his legs would be jelly were it not for the fact that he regularly ran long tracks in case he got in this exact situation.

It took a while, but the bullets stopped flying around his head and he couldn't hear any footsteps behind him anymore. He took a moment to focus on the chatter over the coms. His brain hadn’t heardany of the key words to get his attention in the background, so he assumed it was all fine.

“Eliot, Eliot, are you listening to me?” That was Nate.

“I’m here,” he grunted, checking in the alley if there was anyone still following, before starting to climb the fire escape.

“What are you doing? Hardison’s GPS says you’re nowhere near the hotel. We need to regroup and figure out our next move,” Nate said as Sophie asked: “Are you okay, Eliot?”

He replied: “I’m fine, Sophie. Just didn’t want to lead a group of armed mobster to our hotel room when their goal is to kill me and all my associates.”

“They’re coming to kill us?” Hardison’s squeaky voice came through the speaker.

“Not if they don’t know I’m with you,” Eliot assured him, “which is why I’m not at the hotel right now. I think I’ve shaken them off, but just in case I’m taking a long way round. Probably won’t come through the doors.”

Thenhe tuned them out again. It might be rude and he heard they were still asking him all sorts of questions, but he wasn’t in the mood to answer. He had other things to focus on and the last thing he wanted was to tell them why there was a hit on his head from this particular mobster.

Going through the city over the roof, he saw a few familiar stances and haircuts stationed at public places where he would hide, as well as at the hotels and he knew he had made the right decision to take this route.

Mentally he was trying to figure out why Mikhail was here of all places talking with their mark. It could be that he was laundering money and their mark having a connection with the mob could both help and be an issue. He could get into witness protection in turn for information, but it was also proof that his business wasn’t clean, even if they had wanted to get him for the stealing of company funds that screwed over his employees’ safety.

But that was not his business to think about, but Nate’s. He would wait for what the man had to say about this development, but in order to do that, he needed to get back to the hotel.

There were also “guards” at the entrance of their hotel, but the team was only on the fourth floor and while they weren’t close to the fire escape, Eliot could get up high and then go side wards over the ridge to their window.

He gave Hardison a heart attack when he got at the window. They hadn’t left it open, much to his chagrin, but were luckily there to open it for him and it was better not to have a weakness in the defense, so he couldn't blame them.

“What the hell, man,” Hardison said. “Give someone a warning before you go around showing up in front of the window. Did you even have safety or something? We’re up high. You could have fallen to your death, Eliot.”

“Yeah and if I had gone through the front door, I would have been shot,” he pointed out tiredly from where he was lying on the floor.

Parker was looking out the window and smiled: “Oeh, that’s a good climbing ridge indeed.”

“Woman!” Hardison exclaimed, while Eliot said: “We could do without the attention to our room, Parker, maybe next time.” She looked sad and glanced over one more time, before closing the window with a pout.

“Care to explain what happened?” Nate asked as he leaned over him. He did that face where he attempted innocence, but failed.

“Got recognized by someone who’s sort of actively trying to kill me,” Eliot replied with what they already knew.

“Sort of actively?” Sophie asked and Eliot was glad he could explain something not that bad to them instead of the other stuff. “Yeah, there’s a difference between saying, ‘hey if you manage to kill this person and prove it you get money,’ and ‘I am hiring you to kill this person within a time frame.’ Mikhail is the former. If I die, he would be happy, but he’s not putting extra resources in finding me and eliminating me.”

“And why would be be happy if you’re dead?” Fucking Nate always sticking his nose everywhere.

“I met him once,” Eliot wasn’t giving him shit.

“Would I be correct in assuming that the meeting ended in a loss on his end?” Nate replied.

“Maybe.” He was neither confirming or denying, not if there was no explicit reason. He hadn’t felt bad about the blow to Mikhail’s organization. It hadn’t been the worst he’d done and Mikhail had a smuggling ring of sex workers and that had been awful to find.

“Okay, so we know Fernsby has connections to the Russian mob,” Nate thought out loud. “So, he’s not only stealing money from his employees, but laundering dirty money as well. If we can tie those together then we’re set.”

“Mikhail has a weakness for brunettes,” Eliot informed him, not telling him how he got that tidbit of knowledge. “He also likes gambling.”

Nate got a glint in his eye as he looked to Sophie, who smiled back. Of course those two would have a plan without needing to communicate.

“You’re out for the rest of the con,” Nate told him. “Can’t have you risk the entire thing if you’re recognized.”

“What? No!” Eliot sat up. “I need to be there to have your back. With the Russians it’s only going to get more dangerous. I’m not leaving you to your fate with those people, they’re dangerous, Nate. This isn’t just some cushy billionaire anymore.”

“And what if he gets suspicious of Sophie because of you, what will you do then, Eliot?” Nate shot back. “I’m not saying you need to stay here, but I am saying you need to keep out of sight. You’re with Hardison in Lucille.”

Eliot wanted to protest, wanted to be closer to the danger in case it went to shit, he wanted to be there when a mistake from his past came back, but he couldn't argue with Nate’s logic and sometimes he hated that about the man.

So, he found himself watching the screens in Lucille as Sophie tried to get Mikhail to make a gamble on her company, to ditch Fernsby, because he was doing it without him and leaving him out of the profits.

He was filled with jittery energy, but so far so good.

“Hey, Eliot,” Hardison opened. “What’s it like, you know, to have a hit on your head? I mean, I’m wanted in some countries, but that’s just boring government stuff, not actual people, like persons, wanting me dead personally, you know.”

“Are you really asking me what it’s like when someone wants you killed?” Eliot asked him.

“I guess,” Hardison shrugged, trying not to look like he wanted to know the answer and failing miserably.

“It’s not that different from being wanted by the government, I suppose,” Eliot finally answered, surprising Hardison. “You just gotta watch out for different things and hope no one is desperate enough for cash to go after you. I have a good enough reputation that hardly anyone tries, but I’ve had periods where I had multiple people on my trail across a dozen countries. It was exhausting, but I get it. Kill me and you can make a lot of people with a lot of money happy.”

“Wait, hold on, reverse and repeat,” Hardison said. “A lot of people?”

“Yeah,” Eliot replied, didn’t Hardison know this? “I got more than one hit on my head. I think it’s five. Used to be six, but one of them died and the bounty fell through. Though I never knew if that one English guy put one on my head as well. And of course, the countries, but those are always lazy about it, so I don’t worrry too much about those.”

“What the fuck, man.”

Eliot didn’t see the big deal. He had done a lot to deserve it and he had learned to live with it. He hadalways kept one eye open anyway.

He focused back on the screen, despite the hiccup earlier with him, the con ran smoothly on its new course and Sophie was phenomenal as he pitted the two guys against one another, making them sell each other out in the end.

Nate was there with the police and both were arrested with illegal cash on their hands and a lot of bank records detailing their dirty schemes as well as showing the abysmal circumstances of the workers that had gone unaddressed in favor of laundering money.

Later when they were sitting in the bar, Nate turned to him and asked: “Any more of that we should be worried about?”

Before Eliot could answer, Hardison had jumped in: “Apparently between five and six more times.”

“No, between four and five,” Eliot corrected. “Mikhail is no longer on the list, but honestly we couldn't have predicted this and there are too many bad guys I’ve known, double crossed, worked for or left that are still out there. We can’t account for all of them. I’ll try to be aware of which marks could have ties to other’s I’ve known, but you don’t get to be good in my line of work without enemies.”

Nate wanted to say something else, but Sophie was quicker. “I’m not keeping track of all the people I have grifted either, Nate,” she said. “We all have a past and you’re not harping me about that or Parker on all she’s stolen. Just because Eliot’s past is a bit different, doesn’t mean we can treat it differently in our team.”

Eliot didn’t fully agree with the comparison. His enemies we’re not the same and one of them coming back would be worse than it was for others.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to disagree with her. Not right now.

He thought of all the people he killed, all the families he’d left behind with one member less. He thought of Moreau and the horrible things he’d done for that man. He thought of the US Army that had turned him into a killer and set him loose on foreign soil for the first time.

And he thought of his team. Of how glad he was he knew them and how they made him better and didn’t force him to be a person he hated. How much they meant to him and how badly he didn’t want to loose that.

So he stayed quiet and let Sophie defend him, hoping his past would not come back like that again.

~~

A/N:

Sorry that the con is kinda vague, I only had the ‘the mark/someone there has a hit on Eliot and he needs to run’ and no clear plan on running the con in the background. Hope it was still enjoyable :D

#RR writing #leverage #leverage tv #eliot spencer #nate ford #sophie devereaux #parker #leverage parker #alec hardison

[be-gay-do-heists]

a small practice ficlet,, some hurt/comfort for hardison, prompt of con gone wrong and a fall, tw for water trauma

------

“That was quite a tumble there, kiddo,” Nate was calling in the background above their commotion, above the cicadas droning in the surrounding trees, in the kind of voice one used with kids when they fell and you didn’t want them to start crying. Normally Hardison would bristle; he was a grown man, he didn’t need to be coddled, never mind that he didn’t think Nate had ever called him “kiddo” before. As it was, he tried to focus on the calm in those words, trembling.

The con going sideways as the mark decided his alias’s valuable skills were too valuable, and subsequently being kidnapped, had been hard enough on his nerves. Jumping twenty feet into a river from a moving train car to make his escape had pretty much shattered them.

Parker’s wiry frame was under his grasping hands, dragging him from the water, just as soaked as Hardison was from having swum out to get him. He concentrated on how it felt for them to grab and pull him from the current, the strength in their grip, trying to process that he was safe in their capable hands now. Parker was solid, Parker was a rock. There was splashing behind his head, and suddenly Nate was holding him too, he and Parker hauling him onto the bank and up onto his feet. Hardison clung on to the two of them for dear life as they started wobbling towards Lucille, feeling too shaky to stand on his own.

The water dripped from him, out of him. His thoughts had all turned liquid.

“Parker, drive, and safely,” Nate gritted out once they had the back doors open and the hacker inside. Hardison caught a glimpse of the antsy, anxious look on Parker’s face as they darted towards the driver’s seat, sensing they would be out of sorts for the rest of the day. Hell, he would be out of sorts the rest of the day. He pushed himself up to a sitting position against the side of the car, just trying to breathe.

“You’re ok now, you’re alright. You did really good, you timed it perfectly, and you threw elbows just like Eliot told you to. We heard it over the comms,” Nate said softly. Hardison half-choked around the mouthful of water that he coughed up, a sob following from his throat. The mastermind helped him get his ruined suit jacket off and threw the spare blanket they kept in Lucille around his shoulders, rubbing a warm hand on his back. “You’re ok, you’re alright,” he kept up, pausing a second to put a hand up to his ear. “You can relax, Sophie, he’s alright, just scared.”

“Just scared” was probably true, even if Hardison didn’t feel that way. He was aware of himself tearily mumbling “ow ow ow ow” over and over again, despite being sure he hadn’t hurt anything when he fell. It was like hitting the water had washed everything from him except his fear. He was grateful that his earbud had fried in the river; the chaos of the team’s communication would have probably only made him panic more. He devoted his full attention to Nate’s attempt at a soothing flow of words and the mastermind’s hand on his back.

The ride was smoother and slower than he had ever experienced in a car Parker was driving, but he could tell they had still driven fast from the speed at which they arrived at their rendezvous point of Nate’s apartment. No sooner had the back doors opened than Eliot was entering his space, touch immediately probing for injuries. Hardison could see the splits on his knuckles from where he had presumably just been taking care of Hardison’s captors.

“Can’t believe you wouldn’t check him over after a fall like that,” he growled at Nate. Turning back to the hacker, softer. “Hey man, you injured? You hurt anywhere?”

Hardison shakily pushed Eliot’s hands off, overwhelmed. To his credit, the hitter backed off responsively, letting Sophie brush past him. “Give him some space, you lot,” she said, shooing them all to the sidewalk, and crouching in front of Hardison. “We’re all glad you’re alright, and we’re sorry that things got scary and we couldn’t be there for you sooner. We can take you up to Nate’s, or to your place—“

Hardison nodded, distressed. “Mine. Please. Don’t leave.”

“We won’t,” Sophie reassured, extending a hand. He took it and hauled himself up, shaking. She supported him as they got out of Lucille, the others outside resisting the urge to crowd. The journey up to his apartment felt like an eternity, bounded on all sides by their concern. To his relief, as soon as they entered his place, they dispersed in different directions, like he was a magnet and they were oppositely charged. Eliot went to the kitchen, Parker towards the bedroom, Nate setting about to mess with the thermostat like a total dad. Only Sophie stayed by his side, helping him to the bathroom.

“Do you want to take a shower, or a bath?”

He shook his head furiously, shivering at the thought of more water. “Just. Wanna get these wet clothes off,” he murmured, voice still weak. Damn job. Damn shaking.

Sophie respectfully averted her eyes as he stripped, handing him a washcloth so he could at least clean the river off his face, his hands. Even in the silence of the bathroom, the familiar space around him, he could still hear the phantom sound of the river rushing in his ears. Parker was standing in the doorway when he looked up from his task. They handed a pile of his clean comfy clothes to him, pausing afterward like they were trying to force some thought into the shape of words, their fingers fluttering nervously. Hardison knew the feeling.

“I’m gonna teach you how to fall properly,” Parker finally managed. “There’s a trick to it. To making sure you don’t get hurt.” And then they were gone, and Hardison’s hands were so locked onto holding the sink that Sophie reached out take the washcloth from him.

His fight or flight response was finally wearing off by the time he had his clothes on, and just pulling his shirt over his head made him sit down on the toilet lid to recover. Sophie tsked. “Oh no you don’t, you’re crashing somewhere more comfortable, where you won’t bang your head on the tub if you keel over,” she said, helping him up again with significantly more effort.

The living room had been transformed into the ultimate cozy space, lights dimmed, extra blankets pulled out, a mug of steaming tea already sitting on the coffee table. Sophie wasted no time leading him to the couch and nearly swaddling him in blankets, the comforting weight making Hardison not mind that he couldn’t free his hands. At the grifter’s parting hand on his forehead, he sniffled, trying to relax into the feelings of safety and care that his crew had cultivated for him. In the background he could hear the whispers of Nate trying to discuss where to go next with the con, with Sophie immediately hushing him and showing both herself and him out.

Eliot came into view in front of him, crouching down without crowding his space. The hitter had his cooking bandana on, was probably in full stress soup mode already; his hands clenched and unclenched like he was resisting the urge to touch. “You sure you’re not hurt at all?” he said, doing a mostly convincing job of keeping the worry out of his voice. At Hardison’s small nod, he reached out to put his hand, broad and warm, on the hacker’s neck, lightly moving his thumb, before pulling away and standing again.

Hardison looked up at feeling the dip in the couch cushion behind him, Parker perching above him like a nervous gargoyle. They fussed with one of his blankets before pulling the tv remote out of nowhere, and turning on the television to cycle through Hardison’s list of movies, pressing a foot against his hip comfortingly.

The click of the remote was more soothing than he thought possible. Behind him in the kitchen, a pot bubbled and a chef’s knife rhythmically thudded against a chopping board. Hardison took a deep breath. There was no water. He was being protected by his people. He was safe.

#the opening scene from the movie the fall replaying over n over in my head as i wrote this: owie #leverage #miko speaks #fic #my fic #releasing it into the world becuz i cant work on it anymore kinda lost steam #hurt comfort #whump #just in case: #tw almost drowning

[kookicat]

The Price of Peace

He gives in, in the end, to the doc's increasingly worried questions, coupled with concerned looks from the team and lets the man drive him to the hospital. Maybe he’s more blasé about injuries than the rest of the team, but that doesn’t mean he’s stupid. He knows his body well enough to know when to worry, and while he’s pretty sure there’s no need now, he’s no longer responsible for just himself. He has a team who relies on him now, and that’s enough motivation to accept the offer. 

Nate herds Hardison and Parker back to the hotel and Eliot expects Sophie to go with them, but she follows him to the doctor's truck. His zip through hoodie is in her hands and she offers it to him, because the night air is taking on a chill and his skin and hair is still damp from the exertion. He slips it on, keeps his eyes averted from her as he eases his left arm into the sleeve, biting back a curse because moving hurts. It’s been a while since he did any real wrestling and the muscles in his back and thighs are letting him know they’re not happy about it. 

The doc unlocks the truck doors and climbs into the driver's seat, cell phone in hand as he makes quiet arrangements. Eliot tucks himself in the back seat next to Sophie with a groan he can't quite stifle. There's a nasty throb starting in his left shoulder and his left eye has started to swell closed. The gloves have worked to mostly protect his hands but his knees and elbows are already sore. It's nothing that he hasn't been through before, but he's not used to anyone looking out for him, more used to retreating to that week's safehouse and bunkering down until the worst injuries heal and he can take his next job. Having a team to care about -for- him is new, and he'd be lying to himself if he said he's totally comfortable with it. 

Sophie wordlessly hands him an instant ice pack and he presses it to his cheek, leaning back against the seat and letting his good eye close. His head aches, a sharper pain wrapping around his cheekbone and down through his jaw. The ibuprofen he'd swallowed back in the gym aren't doing anything but making him feel vaguely sick. The truck is chilly despite the hoodie and the ice pack isn't helping. He shivers once, a quick quake working through his body.

"Here," Sophie says quietly and shakes out one of her giant scarfs so it mostly covers him. The silk is cool on his skin at first but it warms quickly. It smells like Sophie- jasmine and musk and some hint of spice that he’s never quite figured out. It helps, blocking some of the cold sir and he feels himself relax, just a little, which helps his tight muscles. 

He has to swallow twice before he can answer and even then, his voice isn't quite as steady as he would have liked. "Thanks." He forces his good eye open and rolls his head so he can look at her. 

It's just dark enough to hide the expression on her face, but he thinks that she's frowning. "We could have found another way, you know," she says, softly. "No-one would have thought less of you." 

Something in his jaw clicks when he starts to speak. "How long would that have taken? We did the right thing." He shifts, fingers clenching under the scarf as his battered ribs join in the chorus of hurts playing on his body. "The Howorths are safe now, and Rucker can't try the same trick on anyone else." 

"Damn hard," the doctor says, "watching you taking that battering. Never seen anyone do that before." The doctor glances at them in the mirror, then turns his eyes back to the road. 

"It's what he does," Sophie says, with a tone in her voice Eliot can't quite figure out, because he’s exhausted and hurting and still feels vaguely sick. There's reluctant admiration in it, coupled with worry, because they all know there's only so much damage a body can take before something breaks beyond repair. 

It's not something he wants to think about, at least not while he's battered and bleeding. He closes his eyes again, leaning back against the seat, and lets himself doze, just a little, knowing it's a risk but doing it anyway. Trust has to start somewhere, and this is that place. 

--

"Eliot," Sophie calls softly as they pull into the hospital parking lot. He's quiet and still on the seat next to her, enough to worry her if it wasn't for the steady rise and fall of his chest. There’s a little blood on the corner of his lip, more caked in his hairline and the sight of it makes something fierce clench in her chest. We should have found another way, she thinks, even though she knows it would have taken too long, left the family they were trying to protect defenceless. As much as she hates it, he’d been right. 

He blinks awake, muscles in his jaw clenching as the pain hits again, sending measured breaths through his teeth until he gets it back under control. "Fuck," he breathes, fingers flexing in a way that makes her want to take his hand. He catches something in her expression and smiles, softly. “I’m okay,” he says and hands the scarf back to her. 

“Eliot, you’re bleeding,” Sophie replies, and hears the doctor chuckle dryly at her tone. He is though, a slow trickle threading through his hair. His face is lined with pain and she hadn't missed the slight shake in his hands when he passed the scarf back. 

He shakes his head, lost for words, and twists to open the truck door, bracing himself as he swings his legs out. Moving is a bad idea, because the slow, sluggish nausea that’s been plaguing him suddenly becomes much more acute, and he has to close his eyes, leaning back against the truck until the worst of it passes and he can breathe again. 

Cool fingers find his wrist, and he startles a little, twitching his arm away. “Sorry,” Sophie says, and reaches for his arm again. “May I try something?” 

He squints at her, then nods, once, and regrets it as a galaxy of stars filters through his brain. It’s all part and parcel of a concussion, and while he’s lived through it before, he’s not too thrilled to be living through it now. 

She presses her fingers against his wrist, feeling for the right spot, knowing she's found it when some of the tension in his jaw fades. "I learned this on a cruise. The ship had some wonderful art I was going to relocate, but we got hit by a tropical storm and I spent three days throwing up until one of the stewards took pity on me."

It helps, as does her warmth as she leans against the truck, close but not quite touching him. "Let me tell you, when he showed me this, I wanted to kiss him and kick him at the same time."

He huffs a quiet laugh at that and starts walking, gently disengaging her fingers. They follow the doc towards the hospital doors and Eliot wonders why in hell he let himself be talked into this. He has no love for hospitals, has spent more time than he'd like inside of them, and he already can't wait to be walking back out of this one. 

It's a handsome redbrick building, newer than he'd expected. The doc leads them straight into the ER and points to an open bay, where there’s already a nurse waiting. Eliot stops, thinking about walking back out to the truck, going back to the hotel and sleeping for at least twelve hours. A quick glance at Sophie’s face dissuades him of that idea; she’s frowning, clearly worried, and her eyes keep darting from the blooming bruise on his cheekbone to the still oozing cut on his hairline. 

“Eliot?” she says, and the frown deepens. “What’s the matter?” Her hand drifts to his elbow and he draws in a soft breath because the contact hurts. He's pretty sure that come the morning, he's going to be covered in nasty dark bruises. 

“Nothing,” he says, and resigns himself to god knows how much poking and prodding, taking a seat on the bed, idly rubbing his thumb over one aching knee. “Can we get this over with?” he asks the nurse, with the best smile he can muster and sighs. 

----

He walks out again four hours later, after enough scans and xrays to make him feel like he's glowing, a bag of prescription meds dangling from one hand, a pretty good buzz running through his veins and ten stitches in the cut in his scalp. All he wants is to find a vaguely horizontal place to occupy and sleep for at least eight hours. His limbs feel like they're made from lead, heavy and stiff and vaguely achy. His back aches too, each step jarring through him like he's in a car with a blown suspension. His left shoulder is taped, supporting a torn muscle, and he's starting to wish he'd accepted the offer of a sling. 

Sophie is sitting in the waiting area, silk scarf wrapped around her. She looks exhausted and he pauses, feeling a wave of fondness wash over him at the sight. She has nasty oily coffee from the ancient vending machine and she offers him the cup when he walks up to her. 

The smell makes his stomach roll and he shakes his head. "I'm good, thanks," he says, voice just a little hoarse, and thinks about sitting down. He's pretty sure he won't get back up any time soon if he does so he rests his hip on the row of chairs instead. 

He can see the question in her eyes just waiting to escape, and while she's not frowning any more he's got to know her well enough to know that she's still worried. "I'm fine. Nothing major," he says, carefully avoiding mentioning the hairline fracture in his cheekbone. "Worst of it is a couple of broken ribs and a damned concussion." 

She presses her lips together, a mix of anger and concern drawing her brows into a frown. "Just a couple of broken ribs," she mutters and shakes her head. 

"Soph," he says, fighting back a yawn. She looks up at the nickname, head tilting just a bit. "I'm fine. I've lived through worse. It'll suck for a couple weeks, that's all." He keeps his tone gentle, knows the anger in her is coming from a place of worry, knows she's probably blaming herself, because he knows for damn sure that's what he'd be doing if their positions were reversed. He'll tell Nate everything in the morning, because you don't hide injuries from your commanding officer, but Sophie doesn't need to know everything. It's just more weight to bear and God knows they're all already carrying enough. 

The doc breaks the moment by ambling over, Eliot's chart tucked under his arm. He offers it to the other man. "Figured you wouldn't want a record of your visit leaving here," he says and pulls his keys out of his pocket. "Can I interest anyone in a lift back to their hotel?" 

----

The gentle motion of the truck is soothing and he leans on the door, bruised temple resting against the cool glass and lets his mind drift. His eyes don't want to focus, turning the passing street lights into a pleasing blur. He's not sure if it's the concussion, the exhaustion, the drugs, or a combination of all three but he's content to just watch the darkened streets go by. He blinks heavy a couple of times, realising that he's dozing again and they're almost back at the hotel.

          The doc swings the truck into the parking lot and drives up to the door, pulling to a gentle stop. Eliot knows he should thank the man but he can't find the energy and settles for an exhausted nod as he opens the door and practically falls out of the vehicle. He desperately needs sleep, preferably before the painkillers start to wear off. 

         Sophie waves the doc goodbye and comes to stand at Eliot's side, one hand raised like she wants to help but isn't sure how. He digs deep, trawling reserves of energy he rarely ever uses, and forces his legs to move. They stumble into the waiting lift and he leans against the wall with his good shoulder, all the words he wants to say jumbled on his tongue. 

         She reads something of it in his expression and nods, once; message received and understood. 

        The lift stops and they walk out. He expects Sophie to head to the girls' room but she doesn't, pulling out a key card and leading the way to the third room they'd hired, the one Hardison had dubbed the control centre. "The doc said someone should keep an eye on you tonight. He listed a few gruesome ways in which you could come to peril," she says dryly and pushes the door open. "Besides, Parker snores. I hope you don't." 

       "No one has ever complained," he says and limps into the room, heading to the recliner, glad he's got running shoes on that he can just toe off unlike his usual boots. He's pretty sure he's going to have enough trouble getting up in the morning and the bed just seems like tempting fate. "I'm fine here," he tells her and eases down into the soft leather, tapping the button to raise the leg support. It takes him a second to get vaguely comfortable but he's honestly so exhausted that he's not sure comfort is really going to matter. 

       Sophie shakes a blanket out over him, watching him fight to keep his eyes open. There's something oddly endearing about it that makes her smile. "Go to sleep," she says softly and with a sigh, he does. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28907364/chapters/70920525 part two is posted here too. 😊

#leverage #whump #eliot spencer #fanfic #hurt/comfort #sophie devereaux #the tap out job #A little what if #episode tag

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Wedding Job

leverage 1.07

Nate: No. No, it's-it's not right. But, you know, uh, we're not detectives. And if you want to prove your husband's innocence, there are plenty of agencies I could recommend.

eliot and hardison share tired, annoyed looks and I felt that in my soul

- - - - - 

Teresa: I understand. Thank you. Where did my daughter go?

Hardison:I think she was with Parker.

(Parker is teaching the little girl how to pick locks)

Parker: Go! 

(they both begin to work on the locks, after a few seconds, the girl gets hers open)

Parker: 6 seconds! Give it up! Good job.

parker can be good with kids and it’s adorable

- - - - - 

Hardison: Just take the mob out of it.

Nate: What? Take the mob out of it?

Hardison: Hear me out. Isn't this just a breach of contract?

Eliot: These guys had a deal, right? And your boy, Ray, he lived up to his end, but Moscone didn't. And for that, there's not a court of law in this world this lady can go to.

Parker: Which is exactly the kind of case we take

the ot3 immediately jumping in to support sophie’s idea

- - - - - 

Hardison: We can't. That thing's a fortress, man. I clocked four armed guards, a Tikva security system. That thing's Israeli-Made. It's used to protect their military bases. It's unhackable. Oh, and then there's the FBI parked around the corner.

Parker: FBI? Where? (looking through camera lens)

Hardison: You see that crappy van that says "plumber"?

Sophie: Did you say "plumber"? That's their cover? Oh, that is so cute. It's like it's 1978 all over again

- - - - - 

Parker: I saw some rubber gloves. What do you do with those?

McSweeten: Oh, actually, we've just been kind of blowing them up and playing volleyball. But, uh, yeah, if we need to do any kind of investigation…

big boredom during quarantine mood

- - - - - 

eliot being proud of the one (1) thing he did on the computer 

- - - - - 

parker winked at mcsweeten that poor boy, I’d be smitten too

+

fic writers get on this, parker smells like jasmine

- - - - - 

Hardison: All you have to do is rip them on my flash drive and run.

[FBI Offices]

(Eliot closes the door)

Eliot: I don't have to type anything, right?

[Leverage Headquarters]

Hardison: No, just plug it in. It does the rest.

Eliot: All right, 'cause you know I just learned the Photoshop thing you told me.

Hardison: I-I know. Baby steps.

[FBI Offices]

Eliot: So I just plug it in.

(Eliot forces open a set of cabinet doors and they open, revealing stacks of cassette tapes. He looks at the flash drive in his hand)

[Leverage Headquarters]

Hardison: Now, audio files, they can take a little while to run, but, uh, the servers are pretty loud, so that should give you some cover.

[FBI Offices]

Eliot: It's tapes.

[Leverage Headquarters]

Hardison: Wha-hold, wait. Did y-you just say "tapes"?

Eliot: I just said "tapes"!

Hardison: Cassette tapes?

[FBI Offices]

(Eliot picks up a cassette case and taps it with the flash drive)

Eliot: Your little thing, it's not gonna work.

[Leverage Headquarters]

Hardison: But at least you ain't got to type nothing.

[FBI Offices]

Eliot: Hardison, how am I supposed to get out of the FBI offices with a boxful of surveillance tapes, huh?

[Leverage Headquarters]

Hardison: Punch somebody.

[FBI Offices]

Eliot: Oh, I’m gonna punch somebody

- - - - - 

Nate: Can you break the codes?

Hardison: The codes? The codes to the Cayman Bank and Trust, where the Cali cartel and the African dictators keep all their dirty money? The ones that Moscone changes anytime he damn well pleases? Like, it's-c-come on. Dude, are you kidding me?

Nate: You know, you're-you're very negative lately. 

Eliot: Yeah. 

Nate: And the sass, it doesn't-doesn't help.

bruh lay off hardison

- - - - - 

[audio of mob family fighting playing off of hardison’s computer]

Sophie: It's a bit like an opera, isn't it?

Eliot: You mean 'cause I want to run away

- - - - - 

Nate: Sophie. Where are we at?

Sophie: Huh? I don't know, Nate. I think you need to ask yourself that question. You called me, remember? And now we're working together every day. I don't know what you want. And to ask me that dressed like a vicar? You're a very strange man.

Nate: No, no, no. I meant where are we at with finding the money?

Sophie: Oh.

chaotic sophienate 

- - - - - 

Nate: How are we doing? How's the search?

Eliot (chopping vegetables): I haven't started yet.

Nate: Okay, you know, I haven't gotten one answer I was looking for today. What is it that you're doing? What's going on?

Eliot: I'm cutting onion, deveining shrimp, uh, pan-searing some scallops. I've got 200 people I got to feed, all right? Back off.

Nate: Okay, okay. Hmm.

Eliot: What, you think the only thing I know how to do is bust heads?

Nate: No, well, yeah.

Eliot (demonstrating): Look, hold a knife like this, cuts through an onion. Hold a knife like this, cuts through, like, eight yakuza in 4 seconds. Screams, carnage. People are like knives. Everything is in context.

Heather (enters): Okay, hors d'oeuvres.

Eliot: Yes, ma'am. Stuffed mushrooms, pine nuts, kiss of basil, some sun-dried tomatoes, and the finishing touch, lemon juice. (gives her bite)

Heather (spits it out): Does this look like a food court? Does it? I want high-End food - High-End! What are you— (walks out)

(Eliot starts to go after her with the knife, Nate stops him)

Eliot: I know.

NEVER GET BETWEEN ELIOT AND HIS FOOD

also, eliot only becoming murderous when someone insults his food? iconic

- - - - - 

Sophie (to bridesmaid): You look lovely.

Cindy: You don't think it makes me look fat?

Parker: Oh, definitely. I mean, why do you think I had to let out the waist? To make you look less skinny?

Sophie: She... she didn't mean that.

Heather: Oh, suck it up, Cindy. You'll be fine.

if someone did this to me I would c r y and that’s the truth lmfao

- - - - - 

the ot3 eating pizza and laughing as nate verbally fucks himself over with sophie lmao

- - - - - 

Hardison: Yo. No way in hell I could ever imagine getting married. I mean, it's just - It's just a piece of paper.

(Eliot, eating an apple, looks at Hardison)

Hardison: I take it you've never been married.

Eliot: No.

Hardison: Ever come close?

Eliot: No.

Hardison: What was her name?

Eliot: It was a girl I grew up with. But anyway, she married somebody else, so...

Hardison: Hot-hot damn, what did you do?

Eliot: What did I do? I liberated Croatia. (leaves)

Hardison: Oh, see, now, me, I would have just got fat and started up a comic-Book shop. That's you and me right there.

relationship foreshadowing in s1 we love to see it

- - - - - 

Hardison: Now, I know that you're in charge of the bridesmaids' dresses, but why are you wearing one?

Parker: A bridesmaid's dress is like an all-access pass at a wedding. Plus, I kind of said something, and the maid of honor cried. And Sophie said I should make it up to her. 

Hardison: By looking much, much better in the same dress? Yeah, you let me know how that goes.

Parker: Hmm, you really think I look good?

Hardison (pinning flowers on her dress): And now you're perfect

they’re BABIES your honor

- - - - - 

(of course the trashy mom wears a sparkly white dress to her daughter’s wedding) 

- - - - - 

(Eliot walks up to the rest of the team)

Eliot: What is it? I got bacon on.

Parker: The Butcher is here.

Eliot: Does he have the baby lamb chops?

Hardison: No. The butcher of Kiev.

Nate: Think he'll recognize you?

[Flashback]

(flames surrounding them, the Butcher has Eliot by the neck and is trying to cut him with a meat cleaver. Eliot is barely holding him off)

Butcher: I kill you!

[Exterior House]

Eliot: Yeah, I think he'd remember me

I live for wacky eliot flashbacks

- - - - - 

Nate: You're staying? Sophie, Sophie, it's the Butcher of Kiev.

Hardison: Have you ever been to Kiev? The cake-maker of Kiev would whup all our ass. This is the butcher.

Sophie: Uh-Huh.

this isn’t that notable, but it’s funny

- - - - - 

parker smushed up against the glass door ,,, just imagine if anyone saw that lmao

- - - - - 

eliot using a frying pan to fight the butcher of kiev,,, iconique

- - - - - 

we need to start making a list of things that are Specifically Not Weapons™ that eliot uses as weapons:

for this episode, a frying pan, a whisk, an appetizer platter, the platter itself 

- - - - - 

Hardison (eating appetizer): This is pretty good, man.

Eliot: Thanks, man. I squeeze, like, fresh lemon juice on it.

Hardison: Cool. Cool.

(they follow Nate out of the kitchen)

eliot is so genuinely happy when someone finally appreciates his food, you can see it in his face ,,, he starts to love hardison just a little bit for that

- - - - - 

Nate: Did you clear out Moscone’s accounts?

Hardison: I left him five dollars for socks

we love the team being petty

- - - - - 

the girl immediately jumped into parker’s lap at the restaurant I’m soft

- - - - - 

soft chef eliot serving his -friends- family is everything 

- - - - - 

I understand that this was technically supposed to be the third episode, so this would have been their first meal as a family and I stan them so hard for it

#eliot spencer #alec hardison #parker #leverage ot3 #leverage #leverage meta #nate ford #sophie deveraux #the wedding job #leverage 1.07 #leverage 1x07 #meta #leverage season 1 #season 1 #notable moments

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Hi hello, new follower here. I've read all your Leverage meta and am in great need of more! But I don't know what to ask for...So, any headcanons floating around that you'd like to share?

First of all hello darling! I love your icon, it’s beautiful, and I hope that you’re having a great day. ❤️

Second of all, I don’t have anything lengthy and specific at the moment, so here is a dump of headcanons that I hold near and dear to my heart. I’m so glad you’ve liked my other meta and if there’s anything here you’d like me to further elaborate on, please let me know!

_______________________________________________________________________

1. Hardison definitely has this elaborate proposal planned out, and it’s perfect. It’s going to be subtle, nothing too over the top, because Eliot and Parker hate over the top. It sends them running in the other direction if you’re conventionally romantic in any way. But it is definitely well-thought out, planned down to the smallest detail, and tailored to their interests.

But the day of a bunch of shit definitely goes down, it’s related to the job of course, and Eliot and Hardison are getting on each other’s last nerve and Parker is just Not Getting It and in a burst of frustration Hardison goes on one of his little rants that are really to himself that he doesn’t expect anyone to listen to.

“And here I was going to make this all nice for y’all I had a plan and everything and it was going to be amazing I didn’t have balloons because those scare Parker, because I listen, yes I do, unlike some people around here, see if I propose to either of you now, y’all are just gonna have to wait another month, I was gonna have that takeout coming that Eliot likes so goddamn much and I had a bunch of fortune cookies stacked into the shape of a cake for Parker but oh no, noooooo, we just had to do this today...”

And he only realizes towards the end that Eliot and Parker are listening to everything because Eliot says “you were going to propose!? DAMMIT HARDISON!” and Parker’s just sitting there with this Look on her face and says, “wait, but aren’t we already married?” and it just explodes into a loving three-way argument over what exactly is going on how did Parker think they were already married what the actual hell...

It is eventually all sorted out (Hardison possibly goes to sulk in Lucille 6.0 for a bit) and there is much rejoicing.

_______________________________________________________________________

2. I talked about this in private but it’s my headcanon that Nate and Sophie would end up having a child at some point, probably biological because I imagine that it would be an accident that Sophie got pregnant. Having a kid is right up Sophie’s alley, seeing how well she took to mothering the OT3 and how she loves directing and guiding her acting students. And Nate loves kids. He has a hangup about them because of his son and that loss, but he loved being a father and I think he would want to be a father again. But it was a nebulous, “at some point” kind of thing, and they’re talking about adopting versus biological, and then bam, Sophie’s pregnant.

And I think that would be a really beautiful thing to explore because I think it would really affect the OT3 because Nate was a father figure to them in a lot of ways. Eliot would especially hate to admit that, but given that he openly, to Nate’s face compares Nate to Toby, the other father figure we see in Eliot’s life (and who gave Eliot back his sense of self and a passion other than his job as a hitman) and Eliot’s relationship with his father being one of argument and distance (and possibly no reconciliation, although Eliot tries--the episode cuts out before you can see for certain if Eliot’s father eventually answers the door or if Eliot leaves)... yeah, Eliot sees Nate as a father figure. Hardison has a positive mothering figure in his life, Nana, but we don’t hear anything about a father figure, and Parker--we see very clearly how her father figure failed her and it’s all framed to show how Nate is a better father figure to her and how Nate realizes in meeting Archie that he does in fact see Parker as his daughter/protege.

But Nate has a lot of hang-ups from the loss of his son and so that keeps him from showing the OT3 as much affection as he would otherwise. Eliot accepts it but doesn’t like it, Hardison doesn’t like it and doesn’t accept it, and Parker is I think too used to a lack of praise and affection to notice, it’s par for the course for her. But it means that all three have issues with him and have times where they feel used by him, no matter how much they know that Nate does care about them and is loyal to them.

Sophie being pregnant and having a kid would not only force Nate to confront his issues but would force the OT3 to confront their issues about their relationship with him. I think there would be some arguing and tears--hell I think Nate wouldn’t even tell them at first, they’d find out through Sophie--but I like to think that eventually Nate would introduce his kid to their “three big siblings.” And the OT3 and Nate would finally be open and honest about their relationship with one another and what they mean to each other.

_______________________________________________________________________

3. I have zero evidence to back this up but I am 1000% convinced that if the show had kept going Moreau would’ve shown up again at some point. We had that whole season four arc with their very first enemy coming back to get even, and Moreau was repeatedly pointed out in season three to be the biggest fish they’ve ever fried. He’s jailed but in a country that he once ruled, there must be some people there still loyal to him or that he could blackmail. Zero proof, but you can pry this conviction from my cold dead hands, Moreau would’ve come back at some point.

_______________________________________________________________________

4. Sophie and Tara definitely were friends with benefits at some point. The way they talk to each other is, if you ask me, very flirtatious. Tara owes Sophie a massive favor but it’s never specified what the favor is. The entire nature of their relationship is in fact rather ambiguous, and despite both being grifters, it’s not until The Girl’s Night Out Job that they see each other grifting and learn about each other’s methods. And Sophie would never trust anyone with her team, her family, except for the one other person she could trust 100%. Tara makes a big deal about how she’s just here because she owes Sophie and that she’s here to take a personal cut of all their jobs, but she also looks out for the team and keeps tabs on them for Sophie. That shows a lot of trust on Sophie’s part.

Ergo, I think it makes sense that they were ones friends with benefits who actually by some miracle managed to stay friends after the benefits part had ended.

Also I make everything LGBT+ because why not.

_______________________________________________________________________

5. If you ask me, season two was where the OT3 really realized they had deep feelings for one another.

At the end of season one, Hardison asks Parker where she’s going and she says for him to try and find her, and at the beginning of season two he remarks that he tried to find her but failed. I think that that point in their relationship we can safely say we’re at a plateau, a pause. This is the turning point. Hardison can decide that Parker is playing too hard to get and he can walk away. Parker can decide that Hardison isn’t going to be patient and be what she needs and she can walk away.

Instead, we see the both of them develop deeper feelings. We see Parker feel jealousy when Hardison is getting cozy with another woman. We see Hardison reaching out more and more to Parker in a way he seemed scared to in the first season.

Season two is where we see Eliot and Hardison really kick up the banter. It’s where we see Eliot go out of his way to protect Parker and Hardison--and it’s where in The Future Job we see Eliot make his greatest declaration of love: he offers to murder someone for Parker, no question.

We don’t learn that this is precisely a declaration of love until season three, when we learn of Eliot’s past with Moreau. It’s only then that we look back and go, “oh shit.” And Eliot probably knows that Parker and Hardison won’t realize that’s what it is, which is why he feels safe saying it. But in season three, Eliot, who we have learned never kills when he can subdue, never subdues when he can placate and avoid the fight altogether, Eliot who hates guns--Eliot admits that he did a bunch of awful, horrible stuff for Moreau. That the worst thing he ever did, the thing that haunts him, was for Moreau. And Moreau asks Eliot to kill again, confident that Eliot will carry it out.

It becomes clear, then, that if Eliot who hates murdering did all those horrible things for Moreau, and he was willing to do a horrible thing, willing to murder, for Parker when that fake psychic hurt her...

The math is simple.

Season three we see the OT3 as a cohesive unit, one in which relationships are deepening. But season two is where we go from the first blush of “oh I like this person” to “oh shit I’m in love with this person.”

It clearly terrifies Parker. It also terrifies Eliot, although he’s better at hiding it underneath layers of crankiness and bluster. Only Hardison doesn’t shrink from it. And honestly I think Tara’s presence helped them to realize their feelings. Sophie was in a lot of ways a security blanket for the team, and now that she’s gone, the team is forced to rely on each other more than before and that means examine how they feel about each other.

Season one is the crush. Season two is the fall. Season three is the pining. Season four is the test drive. And by season five, they’re all in together, the badass cohesive OT3 that we cheer and love in The Rundown Job.

_______________________________________________________________________

6. Last but not least, I have a lot of feelings about Sophie and her relationship with the OT3.

Sophie mothers the OT3 a bit but it’s very different with each of them and it’s not the same as with Nate. All members of the threesome are lacking a strong healthy father figure and so they end up in this complicated dance with Nate, who has his own hangups about his son’s death and his less-than-ideal father.

But with the mother, it’s different.

Hardison has his Nana, who’s like a mother but not quite, more like a grandmother. Parker’s mother was a nonentity, and it’s implied her mother died in the explosion that Parker set off in her house. Parker probably saw her mother not defending her from her father, and felt her mother was just as guilty as a result. Eliot’s mother is never mentioned but he had a very close relationship with his father until his teenage years when they had a string of rough arguments and disagreements, which implies to me that he never had a mother--she died or left--which compounded his relationship with his father.

Eliot, however, is also the oldest. There isn’t a very large age gap between himself and Sophie. So his relationship with her is rather like that of an older sibling with a parent (a much older sibling). Sophie relies on Eliot to help Hardison and Parker, and she doesn’t hold his hand as much as she does with them. Their conversation in the boxing ring about Eliot’s violence, where Eliot assures Sophie that he has a handle on it and she doesn’t have to worry about him, is I think an excellent model for their entire relationship. Sophie doesn’t have to worry about Eliot, Eliot’s got himself under control, she can therefore spend more time on the other two.

Eliot and Sophie are also often on the same wavelength about things. Eliot’s the second-best grifter in the group, only Sophie is better than he is, and they approach people in a similar manner although Eliot is much more like an encyclopedia about it with rules in his head while Sophie’s more relaxed and instinctive (I know I’ve ranted about this before but Eliot is autistic and nobody can take that headcanon from me). Sophie’s there if Eliot needs her, but he often doesn’t, he’s grown up without a mom and at this point he’s old enough that he’s kind of past the point where he wants one. More often you miss what you had that was bad or abusive (like Eliot’s father or Parker’s father) than you miss what you never had.

Hardison and Sophie, on the other hand, have the biggest age gap, but Hardison also has the positive woman in his life raising him, his Nana. So Sophie is a mother figure to Hardison in the sense that she looks out for him the way Nate tends to forget to. She’s his mother figure because Nate won’t be Hardison’s father figure the way that he could be if Nate would just get over himself. Half the time you can see Hardison looking at Sophie silently going Mom, what the fuck is up with Dad again, and so that’s how Sophie fills that roll for Hardison.

And then finally with Parker, Sophie is the most traditionally maternal. Parker is in between Hardison and Eliot in age, so still an full grown adult, but also a bit young, she’s only thirty when the show starts, and clearly needs a guiding hand most of all. Eliot helps Parker to understand the world around her because he sees the world the same way that she does (“people like us,” he consistently says) and Hardison helps Parker to feel accepted for who she is and Nate helps her to hone her natural skills and become all that she can be in her profession but Sophie helps Parker learn how to handle people. How to present herself. How to pretend, because Parker sorely needs to know how to pretend, because she’s so raw and open and honest and herself and that makes her vulnerable.

Sophie teaches Parker things, especially social and traditionally feminine things, not with the aim of getting Parker to change herself but so that Parker can imitate those behaviors when she needs them, can pick them up and use them to her advantage. As we see by season five, Parker has mastered this. Parker’s honesty makes her a bad grifter but makes her excellent at convincing marks. Look at the episodes where Parker convinces the mark and pulls off the job--it’s when Parker is honest and raw and just tells it like it is.

But she can’t have gotten there without Sophie’s tools. And to survive in a world of invisible rules that Parker doesn’t know or understand, she needs a guide to explain those rules and point them out, and that’s where Sophie comes in. She is the most hands-on with Parker and the most openly encouraging, without ever making Parker feel demeaned or like a child.

I just have a lot of thoughts about Sophie and the OT3 mmmkay!?

So those are my random sporadic headcanons/metas! I hope that you enjoyed them my dear, wow this got long, oh my, um, join your local union, always tip your server, and pay your hitmen in cash!

#mads answers things #leverage #leverage meta #nathan ford #sophie devereaux #alec hardison #parker #eliot spencer #theproxyfront

[kaniacqueen]

Leverage International: The Diner Job Ch. 17 Flash Bang

As they began to pull apart, the mirth was destroyed by something crashing through the front window followed by the sound of squealing tires. Eliot looked down to see a canister shape that looked familiar. All he could register was that it was most likely explosive. He quickly started herding everyone in the kitchen. “Get down!” He was the last one to make it past the door. Something registered as he shoved the last of the heads under counters. “Cover your ears!” He grabbed dishtowels and tossed them around. He demonstrated pressing one against his ears as additional protection against the impending blast. He pushed every head down in a final effort of shielding before it detonated. 

They all sat painfully still as the acrid smoke cleared. When they could all finally see each other, Parker asked aloud, “Why a flash bang? Why not just blow us up?”

Nate shook his head vigorously, as if to dispel the disorientation. “Didn’t want to damage the place. It was a scare tactic. Had Eliot not recognized it, it would have at the very least put you all out of work for a few days, if not in the hospital.”

Hardison wiggled “They just wanted us out of commission long enough to give them another chance to pull the place out from under us. This isn’t over.”

Parker rubbed her head.“We...we just need to regroup. And...attack them...directly.” It was obvious she was still very disoriented. 

Hardison reached for her. “Baby, you okay?”

Nate squinted at her, examining her. “Hers and Eliot’s ears are a little more sensitive than the rest of us. Eliot was just a little more prepared to protect himself.”

Parker argued, “I’ve been through explosions before, though.” Her speech was slurred. 

Eliot crawled over to her and pulled a pen light out of his back pocket. He started flashing it in her eyes and ears, looking closely. “Doesn’t look like there’s any severe damage, no concussion, no bleeding.”

“You have been under a lot of stress, Parker,” Sophie added. 

Eliot put the light back in his pocket. “You’re right. Let’s take a night to regroup.”

“They’re going to come here tonight, Yavetz and whatever lackeys he can pay to come along.” Savannah said pointedly. 

“Lock the doors,” Hardison posed. “He won’t cause any damage to the place. It means something to him too, as selfish as he is.”

Nods of agreement bobbed around the room and they all got up to lock up and leave. 

Eliot laid in bed next to Savannah, listening intently. It appeared she was finally asleep, deep enough for him to slip out of bed. So he did, put on his jeans, and headed to the diner. No. He shouldn’t be confronting Yavetz on his own, not by team protocol, but he was the one that had a rapport with Yavetz. He was going to be the one to end it. He and Yavetz exchanged messages to meet at the diner.

"Paul," Eliot heard the familiar voice behind him as he leaned against the diner's back door. He also heard the additional footsteps.

"Kilmer," he answered, not turning around. "You brought friends."

"Eh?" the man responded like he didn't hear him. Eliot heard the clank of metal hitting gravel and everything went black.

Eliot peeled his eyes open as he registered that his head was pounding. And he was tied to a chair. And there were four people in the room with him, a man on every side of him, the one in front was facing him. It was Yavetz. He exhaled slowly as he calculated the events that lead up to his current predicament. Yavetz caught him off guard with a flashbang. He had been captured, and he was on his own. If he didn't get himself out of this quietly, and the team found out what he'd done, he was in for it. Savannah might never forgive him. 

Slowly, he looked up until he was staring Yavetz in the face. "What's the problem, Kilmer?" he asked, being deliberately obtuse. 

Yavetz stood with his fingers interlaced in front of him. He gave a kind of shrug. "I don't know how the Orsinis hired you or why they're playing this game where they hand my restaurant off to you fraudulent strangers, but the game ends now."

"What do you mean 'fraudulent'? The Orsinis felt it was time to retire and wanted to hand off their legacy. They liked us. So we got it."

Yavetz gave a signal and the man on Eliot's left shocked him in the jaw. He had a hook, but Eliot had been popped with far worse. He hardly blinked as his head snapped to the side. 

Yavetz spoke as Eliot turned to look at him again. "Do not insult me. I do not know who you are. But I believe you are not who you say." 

Eliot rolled his eyes. Okay. They were blown. But there was still time to out. "What do you want, Kilmer?"

Yavetz started to pace the short space in front of him. "I want my restaurant. With the Orsinis getting well past their prime, you cannot keep it from me. They sold it to you, you claim. You must have papers. You will give them to me. Where are they?"

Eliot rolled his eyes again and shook his head. "Why would I give you the papers?"

Yavetz gestured towards him. "Look at where you are."

"So? Tyin' me up doesn't force me to hand over the diner."

Yavetz narrowed his eyes. "The restaurant still opens in the morning, yes? And your cagna of a wife will come looking for you, won't she? I bet the first place she checks is there. Maybe I will have some friends waiting for her. Unless she is not your wife."

The chair shook as Eliot tried to lunge at him while still restrained. "You stay the hell away from her, you sorry son of a bitch!"

"Good," the malicious man replied. "I think I will head there now. It is probably where you are keeping my documents. Maybe if she comes in and gives me what I want, she stays unharmed. But I am certain I have time to ransack the place before she comes looking for you."

Did he? It finally occurred to Eliot that without dehim there, Savannah could wake up at any moment, and when she did, she'd come looking for him. How long had it been? Was she looking already? What if she had woken up with a panic attack, and it got worse because he was gone. What was he thinking. 

His mind was pulled back into his own predicament as Yavetz began to leave the room. Before he closed the door, he told his cohorts, "Keep him alive, and coherent if you can. But maybe teach him a lesson."

The door clicked closed, and hands flew. The blows weren't hard. Eliot didn't fight back; he wasn't focused on the pain. He was lost in the concern for Savannah and how much trouble he was in when everyone found out he decided to confront Yavetz on his own. Time passed and he began to feel the pain. He started trying to dodgethe blows and get out of the restraints. They were getting angrier at his struggles. He wasn't quite as young as he used to be, and it wasn't easy to take blows while weaseling out of restraints. 

With no warning, the door flew out of the frame with a bang and nearly hit him and the goon next to him and kicking up an impossible amount of debris. He saw her through the settling dust, leg still up from kicking the door in. It was Savannah, and she was furious.

#Leverage International #Leverage #leverage fan fiction #leverage fan fic #Eliot Spencer #Nate Ford #Sophie Devereaux #Parker #Alec Hardison

[rebaobsessivelywrites]

Lies an Ties that Bind Us

You can find this series here on AO3.

Fandom: Leverage (TV) and Highlander: the Series (TV)

Series Description: A series that will be five or more one-shots about one or more of the Leverage members being immortal. They will stand alone.

Series Warnings: cannon-typical violence, temporary character death, character death, original characters

One-shot word count: 6,328

One-shot warnings: nothing I can think of... (no OCs seen in this one)

Summary: Nate and Jim have been friends for a very long time. They just don't always know how to show it. Now, they're each neck deep in their own form of trouble, but they can only help each other so much.

Please read the fic! Masks and Pasts that Haunt Us, more to come, master list. And let me know if you want to be tagged.

Nate jogged through the lobby of the impressive sky scraper, trusting Eliot to handle the terrorist goons, focused on a single goal. A steady buzz rattled just behind his eyes, guiding him as he exited a final door to the sight of a black sedan pulling away with purpose. As far as Nate was concerned, the car could be a minivan and he’d still know that it was that car that he needed to follow.

Thinking on his feet, Nate slipped past the valet and into a newly parked, and rather elegant, red sports car. It would do. Once he was speeding down the road, he spared a thought for the con.

“Ok, we’re done; everyone out,” Nate ordered, certain his com would pick it up, “Hardison, Eliot’s here— ground floor —find him, free Sophie. Everyone’s in the extraction points.”

“Woah, woah, Eliot’s here?” Hardison’s voice echoed in his ear.

“Yeah, just follow the trail of terrorists, you won’t miss him,” the mastermind assured his hacker.

“Where you going?” the hacker moved on to the next issue.

Nate allowed himself a shadow of a smile, “I’m going after Sterling.”

“Where’s he going?” Hardison persisted.

“Well, he’s escaping with the target.”

“How’d Sterling get the weight?” Parker pitched in, sounding out of breath.

“No. The real target.” Satisfied his team had the situation under control, he didn’t wait for any sort of response. He simply pulled his earpiece out with one hand a stuffed it in his pocket, before refocusing on the task at hand and the humming in his head. He didn’t need an audience for this.

There. A black sedan—that was the one. Nate hit the gas, in hot pursuit. As though sensing his renewed pursuit, the sedan whirled around a corner. Unperturbed, the mastermind hit the break and spun the wheel, hurling around the corner at break-neck speed, tires screeching as they slid across the pavement underneath him. Ahead he could see the black sedan accelerating and swerving, paying no mind to the yellow lines. Tongue pressed against his teeth in concentration, Nate gunned the gas and shifted the stick, rapidly gaining in his (stolen) flashy red sports car.

The two cars toyed with each other, swerving back and forth as the black sedan repeatedly blocked the sports car from slipping past. Finally, though, Nate saw and opening and hit the gas with all he was worth, speeding past the larger car in a blur. For two heart beats Nate continued straight, before hitting the break with even more gusto than he had the gas, swerving to a stop directly in the path of the sedan. Calmly, the thief turned in his seat to observe his quarry grind to a stop mere feet from where he sat.

With a faint smirk gracing his lips, still riding high on adrenaline, Nate stepped from his car as the other driver mirrored his actions. The scowl on Sterling’s face was legendary. Nate could count on one hand the number of times he had seen this particular flavor of the sour man’s displeasure. See, this flavor was the most real and the most dangerous of them all.

“You going to leave without saying goodbye?” Nate poked, adjusting his suit jacket.

Sterling’s scowl deepened, darkening the harsh lines outlined on his face in the scorching sunlight. “Nate,” the man greeted his old friend with something just short of a growl. This was the most righteous of anger—the anger they only ever showed for family.

But, Nate being Nate, he had no sense of self-preservation (being immortal did that to you), and kept poking, “Honestly, Sterling. I was hoping we were done with this.”

“And what, exactly,” the Interpol agent enunciated in his ever so careful accent, “is ‘this’?”

“The lies, Jim, the lies,” the mastermind leaned back onto his stolen vehicle, easily mimicking relaxation and concealing the slight pang of hurt he hadn’t even known he had been harboring.

“I had to get my informant out,” Sterling argued, eyes narrowing slightly, “When Olivia’s mother died, she turned on Livingston— fed Interpol everything we needed.”

“Stop insulting me, Sterling,” the thief cut in, causing Sterling’s eyebrows to shoot up.  “I knew she was the informant as soon as I found the source of the buzz.” Nate paused and searched his friend’s face, “Did you really think I wouldn’t figure out she was your daughter?”

Sterling’s face was suddenly and completely blank. “You know that’s not true,” the other immortal murmured, uncharacteristically subdued.

Nate shook his head, his heart giving a twang in sympathy, “It’s true in every way that matters,” he argued just as softly.

Sterling said nothing, his face still painfully blank.

After a beat of silence, Nate sighed, “But, why? You used us, you manipulated the team. You lied to me. Again. Was it too soon to hope for honest friendship? Did last time even qualify?”

Sterling’s jaw ticked. “Would you have come to Dubai if I had told you?” he asked pointedly, trying to redirect the conversation.

“No. No, you know I would have, but that’s not what this is about, Jim.” Once again, Nate emphasized the name. This time, Sterling flinched. It was almost imperceptible, but it was there.

“No. I’m talking about before that,” Nate continued, “Back when we were last friends—this most recent time, when we worked together, drank together, watched each other’s backs….” Nate shut his eyes for a split second, “You had a wife and daughter, and I didn’t know. Why?”

“Because it was my fault they left,” Sterling offered, voice quiet once more, “And I knew it.”

Nate nodded in understanding. “They found out about the Game.” It wasn’t a question.

“Sharron thought it was safer they move on,” Sterling shrugged, “I didn’t argue.”

“Not even for Olivia?”

“She deserved to have a normal life, Nate. I wouldn’t take that from her.”

“What changed?” Nate asked with an honest curiosity, “Besides Livingston being dirty, that is.”

Sterling shrugged, “Sharron died; Olivia reached out.”

“And?” he pushed off the car to stand straight once more.

Sterling’s gaze snapped up to meet his. “And what?”

“We both know you’d need more than that, Greg,” Nate veiled the old barb against the MacGregor clan with a jovial tone.

“Don’t call me that,” he hissed and took a step forward, a brogue slipping into his voice as he continued, “I will’na allow you to insult ma’ clan ev’n now—”

“Easy, Jim,” Nate interrupted, “Just tell me what has you spooked.”

Sterling’s lips thinned.

Nate scowled, “I just want to help, you stubborn bastard! You have a new pre-immortal student—you can’t be looking over your shoulder and fielding challenges right now!”

“This does not concern you, Neil,” the other man growled, carefully enunciating once again.

Nate huffed angrily, “Be logical, Jim! You can’t—”

Their slowly escalating argument was effectively cut short by a car door opening and slamming shut.

Sterling whirled around, “No, get back in the car—”

“He didn’t have a choice! You can’t challenge him—he didn’t have a choice!” Olivia interjected, attempting to diffuse the situation she perceived, “It’s not safe here. I was in danger and he’s my dad. I don’t care what you people say; he’s my dad and I need him. What wouldn’t you do to save your kid?!”

“Olivia!” Sterling admonished her, likely knowing how hard that barb hit Nate, how it skewered him like a hot rod, bringing the all too recent death of Sam back to the fore-front of his awareness.

Olivia glared at her father, tears glistening in her eyes, “No! This isn’t ok, dad. You were just protecting me from Livingston and Maycher!”

“Charles Maycher?” Nate asked sharply. The man was a well-known headhunter who went after pre-Immortals, capturing, torturing, killing, and finally—sometimes after years—beheading them. The only reason he was still in the Game was because he had no honor, using guns and poison indiscriminately, and was unnaturally slippery and good at disappearing.

Olivia and Sterling’s reactions were telling; Olivia blanched, and Sterling instinctually moved closer to her.

Nate let out a colorful curse in old Irish Gaelic. “James bloody MacGregor,” he hissed, “I will not allow you to do this by yourself.”

“And I told you, Neil,” the other immortal hissed right back, “This does not concern you!”

“Of course this concerns me!” Nate snapped, “I will not allow my oldest friend to be stabbed in the back by a snake!”

“And how, exactly, would you explain it to you little team?” Sterling sneered.

Nate threw his hands up, “I’ll figure out something, Jim, just let me help you.”

“You don’t train new immortals.”

“I helped train you.”

“And you were a shit teacher.”

“Then… let me help provide protection.”

“No, Neil, you aren’t up for that—we both know you’re not.”

“Bullshit.”

“You won’t leave your team, and you know it.”

“I’ve left them before.”

“They won’t let you go.”

“I’ll make them.”

“You still wouldn’t be ready.”

“To hell I wouldn’t!”

“What about Sam?!”

Olivia’s eyes had gone wide, her eyes bouncing between the two immortals like she was watching a tennis match. As a deafening silence descended between the two, she took in a deep shocked breath.

Nate’s jaw was clenched tight and he was glaring a hole in his friend’s forehead, eyes beginning to moisten. Sterling swallowed hard, and carefully collected himself before continuing.

“Can you honestly tell me, Nate,” Sterling emphasized his friend’s current identity, “that you’d be ready to fully get back into the Game so soon after Sam died?”

Nate’s voice was flat, “Fine. You win.” He took a deep breath, regaining some of his fire, “But I still won’t let you do this by yourself.”

Sterling rolled his eyes. “What, exactly, do you suggest?”

“Call Mac.”

“What? I most certainly will not!”

Nate was not surprised by Sterling’s knee-jerk reaction. “I’m not arguing with you about this, Jim. Either you call MacLeod, or I will.”

Sterling narrowed his eyes. “Which one are you talking about?” he ventured cautiously.

Nate rolled his eyes, “Duncan.”

“No.”

“Jim…”

“No.”

“Dad…” Olivia surprised them both; they had forgotten she was there. “If this Duncan can help us, shouldn’t we ask?”

Sterling looked like he had sucked a lemon.

“Look, I know you and MacLeod have had problems for centuries, but I know for a fact that he considers you a friend. He’s a great teacher, and an even better swordsman. He can watch your back.”

Sterling clamped his eyes shut, and Nate was certain he had heard what was unspoken: because I can’t.

“Fine,” he growled, echoing Nate, “You win.” He opened his eyes and glared at his old friend, “Tell the Highlander Olivia and I are headed to Paris.”

“Thank you, Jim.”

“Save it, Byrne.”

Nate wrinkled his nose at that, but let it slide. “Listen, can you do one thing for me?”

“I thought I already was,” Sterling snarked back.

Nate stepped forward and held out a folded piece of paper. Sterling quirked and eyebrow, but accepted it. “What’s this?”

“It’s a name. Give me everything you got on him. Everything.”

Something in his voice must have tipped the other immortal off, because he narrowed his eyes in concern. “What sort of mess have you gotten yourself into, Neil?”

Nate gave a wry chuckle and turned to leave, “A mess that’s a great deal less permanent than yours. Watch your head, MacGregor.”

“Always, Byrne.” Sterling promised his friend’s retreating back, “Always.”

Nate didn’t hear; his mind was already on to the next problem. He needed to go wrangle his team back home and track down a highlander’s phone number. After that, well… then he’d worry about that name.

#leverage #fanfic #highlander the series #reba's fanfic #leverage immortals

[shadowsong26fic]

Let’s Go Steal A Crossover: Part 1

No real plot here, this is mostly the background/backstory details.

Note/Disclaimer: this particular outline features an OC of mine and as a result is fairly self-indulgent. Because what else are crack outlines for?

That out of the way, here we go!

For the Leverage crew:

This is more or less in a S3 sort of environment--they may or may not be chasing Space Damien Moreau, but in terms of their team dynamic, etc., that’s where they are.

(Let’s be real, though, they are TOTALLY chasing Space Damien Moreau.)

(Who is, as in Leverage canon, very much a power-behind-the-throne kind of guy.)

(I.e., he is not a Moff or an Admiral or a planetary ruler or a sector governor or anything like that.)

(He just happens to have quite a few of them in his pocket.)

(He’s not affiliated with Black Sun or any of the Hutts or any other established syndicate, either. He’s his own thing.)

Nate--

He’s from a fairly prosperous Mid Rim world, went to a Core World university (probably either Coruscant or Alderaan).

The Clone Wars started right around when he graduated, if I’m parsing the timelines and ages right.

So, granted I’m making this up on the fly based on things I half-remembered, but while there are non-clone non-Jedi military officers, they’re mostly High Command types.

However, Nate does not have the background, experience, or connections for that kind of work.

He spends the War working for his home sector/planet's senator, as an investigator/learning about security/etc.

(How he manages to pull this off, despite his father’s legit Shady Past, is probably a Story in and of itself.)

Postwar, he goes into the private sector, working for an insurance company.

(Where he meets Sterling.)

(And Maggie.)

(And Sophie.)

Incidentally, while he doesn’t have the inside information to really disbelieve the late-stage propaganda, he’s a little Perturbed by exactly how quick and bloody the end of the war and the transition to the Empire was.

Something Is Not Right here, but he’s not sure exactly what, and is not yet so disillusioned to do anything about that doubt. But it remains, in the back of his mind, to resurface when everything falls apart.

This is, however, a large part of why he leaves public service.

From here, Nate’s backstory is more or less the same as in canon.

(I did toy with having Sam dead of Inquisitors instead for a while, but that would not translate right and, more importantly, is too mean to Maggie.)

(I love Maggie, have I mentioned that?)

Sophie--

What can one say about Space Sophie Devereaux.

...about as much as one can say about the canon version, honestly.

She’s Kuati, that much everyone knows for sure.

Whether she’s actually of the minor nobility is up for some debate.

(Yes, there was an equivalent of the King George Job)

She was in her early/mid-teens when the Clone War happened. Kuat itself seems to have been mostly untouched, but under heavy military guard because of the valuable shipyards.

She left Kuat three or four years postwar, and began creating her various aliases and legend.

(And occasionally working as an actress, of course.)

...yep, that’s pretty much what I have here.

Hardison--

Also pretty similar to his canon backstory, except that he’s slightly younger--probably closer to Jyn Erso’s age/two or three years older than the Skytwins.

Like Nate, he’s from the Mid Rim, but he’s from a planet that was heavily contested during the War.

(i.e., it ended up pretty bombed to hell)

(his parents died towards the end of the war, which is how he ended up with Nana)

His particular brand of invention/cleverness is particularly useful in a slowly-recovering warzone, though.

Parker--

Parker is actually from Coruscant.

The underlevels.

One of the kids who consistently slipped through the cracks, under both the Republic and the Empire.

Until Archie Leach found her.

And then unleashed her on the Galaxy.

And now, the fun part--Eliot!

Eliot is, in fact, a clone.

He was part of the so-called Last Batch; born (decanted?) about six months before the end of the war, so he never saw action during that conflict.

There were whispers, among the older cadets--the ones who were mature enough to hear echoes of a voice in their heads, who knew at least bits and pieces what the adult clones had done and why.

(The whispers are carefully, carefully encouraged by some of the adults who were able to fight through the compulsion. Not well enough, or fast enough, to save their Jedi, but damned if they wouldn’t protect their little brothers. Who will grow up to be men, not weapons. Which means that most of the Last Batch and varying proportions of the older cadets had their chips removed before leaving Kamino.)

(....and now I’m going to have to do something completely unrelated with the Last Batch and their relationships with their various older brothers at some point, aren’t they.)

Eliot, like most of his generation, goes into the Stormtrooper corps when he’s mature enough.

He stays in for a while--a good couple of years. He’s separated from his brothers, for the most part, but a few are with him. One by one, they die or desert--he covers for the ones who get away.

He’s the last. He bonded with a few of the non-clone troopers, and it isn’t until there’s no one in his unit he feels like he needs to stay for that he leaves.

(He promises himself, when he leaves that armor behind, that he’s not going to find himself in that situation again. He has only himself to look after now, and he is damn sure going to stay that way.)

He starts wandering, working as a bounty hunter/assassin for hire.

(He does have one brief, slightly surreal encounter with Boba Fett.)

(Who is Not Thrilled that one of the millions of men with his face is trying to do his job.)

Occasionally, he’s even hired by the Empire.

(Any jobs he does for them, he of course does from safely behind a mask.)

He spends some time on Mandalore, carefully connecting with his roots and finding plenty of work in that planet’s increasing unrest.

(There is a Story to tell here, I’m sure, possibly one involving Bo-Katan and/or Korkie Kryze...)

And, of course, he spends about six months working for Space Damien Moreau.

He occasionally, in his travels, has come across his brothers--ranging decommissioned Clone Wars vets, to older cadets, to others of the Last Batch.

He tends not to seek them out, though, and to avoid interacting when he can.

There’s too much baggage, positive and negative, with all his brothers of every generation.

Besides. He promised himself he wouldn’t put down roots with a unit or a team again.

Miscellania--

Their first job together runs much as in canon, and they settle in as a team and loosely follow the same overall storyline as in canon.

Nate knows damn well that Eliot is a clone, though he didn’t until they met in person.

(While he didn’t work directly with the GAR and never met any Jedi, he did meet several clone soldiers. It’s a hard face to forget, when you’ve seen it several times over the course of three years.)

Sophie figures it out, too--she met several soldiers assigned to guard the shipyards.

Their marks generally don’t figure it out, actually.

Not a lot is known about the Last Batch.

I mean, sure, if any of these industry/corporate titans actually thought things through, they’d remember that the clones were in production up through the very end of the war, so obviously something must have been done to the ones who were too young for combat at that point.

But, honestly, even if some part of you is aware/acknowledges that there are younger clones running around, are you really going to expect one to wander through your door pretending to be a chef/caterer or a pro baseball player or a country music star or an IT tech or...

(Parker and Hardison figure it out when one of their marks actually does identify Eliot as a clone.)

(They don’t particularly care, except Hardison remembers/learns about the rapid aging factor and starts using his downtime to try and find a fix for that.)

(When he’s not playing Space WoW, anyway.)

(Or helping Nate with whatever sketchy and underhanded Long-Term Scheme he’s got in mind right now.)

(They’re not on the black box yet, of course, but probably right now most of Hardison’s not-active-job time is spent on tracking Moreau.)

(He and Parker have probably been tossing ideas back and forth about robbing Kamino to try and find a fix, though...)

(Or at least the Last Batch’s records.)

(But that is a plot for another fic. And possibly one of the things they end up doing during the six-month break between S4 and S5.)

The Skytwins’ Team:

Here’s where the super self-indulgent part comes in.

So, this is technically an offshoot of an offshoot of Masks!Verse, which is a very near-canon AU (what I call an In Spite of a Nail AU) where Lavinia exists. Essentially, in Masks!Verse, nothing we see onscreen during the OT happens any differently, but there’s some Interesting Stuff happening elsewhere that sets up a different post-ROTJ timeline. Nothing at all changes until three years after ROTS, when Lavinia is born, and after that only things she’s Directly Involved In change, and most of that is internal Imperial power plays, at least through ROTJ.

(TFA more or less happens because I like it, but the road there is a little bit different and the canon I was operating from is locked there. I.e., due to what Lavinia and her daughter in this timeline end up doing, things go much more AU starting with the opening sequence of TLJ.)

Masks!verse, incidentally, is technically Lavinia’s core timeline, in that it’s the first one I created of the three base timelines I have for her (Masks, Precipice, and PT-generation), but that’s a whole separate conversation. It does probably explain why Masks!Verse has like a million variants/offshoots, though...

Anyway. Digression aside, this crossover actually draws from a Masks!Verse offshoot that I call the Lavinia Organa AU.

(You can probably guess where this is going.)

(It’s very much an Exactly What It Says On The Tin type thing.)

(And, honestly, could do with its own outline for the rewrite of ANH alone...)

But the Cliff Notes version:

When Lavinia is born/announced, Breha goes to Bail and says “we managed to successfully rescue/kidnap one Sith Lord’s baby daughter, we should rescue this one, too.”

They had never really decided on only having one kid, after all. Just at least one, and they wanted a daughter.

(It just ended up not happening in canon because of the need for secrecy/not wanting to complicate things and put Leia at risk.)

(I saw a meta post the other day that points out that Bail was clearly ready to take both Skytwins, but then Yoda said to separate them.)

(This may or may not have come up in primary Masks!Verse, incidentally, but there, they decided it was too risky and they had to focus on protecting the daughter they already had.)

(It’s arguable how much kidnapping was technically involved in adopting Leia. But they do just straight-up kidnap Lavinia. They also fudge some records and release carefully-timed photos and do not make any in-person appearances with her so they can claim she’s three months younger than she actually is.)

How do they pull this off? ...IDK, magic? Handwave for now, it is out of the scope of this project.

Leia and Lavinia grow up pretty close.

(Not that they never fight--they bicker constantly, especially in the years before Leia starts taking a more active role in the Rebellion and a more official role in Alderaan’s government.)

(Lavinia, at thirteen, isn’t really allowed to do much at that point, but she backs Leia in everything and helps a lot with the background research/legwork.)

A couple notable details: Bail and Breha decided pretty early on that they wanted to tell each of their daughters a shell of their bioparents’ stories, leaving out the key details but sticking more or less to the truth as best they could without putting their girls at risk.

So, Leia knows basically what she was told in canon--that her birth mother was a close friend of her parents, they didn’t know her birth father well, and both her bioparents died at the end of the Clone War.

That’s enough for her. She knows who her real parents are, and doesn’t especially care about her bioparents at this point. She has other things to worry about/deal with.

Lavinia is told that her birth mother died shortly after she was born, and her birth father was Not A Good Person and lost custody of her.

So, the thing about Lavinia--it’s less prominent in this AU because she had a functional childhood and parents who treated her like a person and not a spy/asset, but she’s very...the way she puts it in Precipice!Verse is that she doesn’t like walking into a room unprepared. And this shell of a story about her birth parents feels like the kind of thing that could bite her actual parents and her sister (and her) in the ass in a major way.

So, very quietly, around the time Leia starts working as an active Rebel agent, she starts digging into it, trying to identify her bioparents.

She doesn’t find any stories around her official age that match what her parents told her, and she doesn’t think they would lie.

But, she reasons, they might have skewed things or lied about her age to protect her from her biofather.

And then she learns Emperor Palpatine had a daughter, who died, who’s approximately the right age.

When she asks her parents about this, they don’t lie. They confirm it for her

(They would have done the same for Leia, if she had done the legwork and asked them point-blank, but like I said it’s not something she particularly cares about at this point.)

Lavinia then asks if she can tell Leia--they’ve actually been getting closer since Leia suddenly developed all these Adult Responsibilities, and the events of the Princess Leia novel happened.

This pretty much cements their relationship. While they still bicker a fair amount--they’re both pretty strong personalities, and not always compatible ones; Leia being a Soldier and Lavinia being a Spy, plus they’re teenage sisters who are fairly close in age--but they are Ride Or Die Full Stop from this point out.

By the time ANH actually rolls around, they’re both active Rebel agents--Lavinia works mostly with Intelligence and to a point with supply/other support forces, because she’s good at reading people and mapping interpersonal networks and figuring out who to approach, while Leia does more or less what she does in canon.

Again, the actually rewrite of ANH would be its own outline, so the important bits (with minimal detail in case I do end up doing this one properly at some point):

Lavinia and Leia are both on the Tantive.

Lavinia takes a shuttle/tender ship/something and separates, hoping to act as an additional decoy, that Vader will assume that the big ship is the Obvious Decoy and focus on her instead so Leia can get the plans to Kenobi safely.

Vader, of course, has the resources to track both of them so this doesn’t work.

Lavinia ends up tagging along on the Falcon and ending up on the Death Star with the others.

Everyone, including Obi-Wan, actually makes it off the station alive.

Lavinia was running around in the air vents for a while, and left behind a blood sample. On impulse, Vader runs it--he wants to identify all of Obi-Wan’s co-conspirators as quickly as possible and while there are no clear shots of her face on the surveillance footage he has, this is an available resource he can use.

Obi-Wan tells Luke and Leia who they are to each other (though sticks to the Certain Point Of View story about their biodad for the time being).

They have a moment of “...well, that explains a lot” and just accept it and move on.

So, at this point, there are some Key Secrets going on:

One, that Luke and Leia are the twin children, biologically, of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Naberrie Amidala.

People who know this: Obi-Wan, Luke, Leia, and Lavinia (they tell each other pretty much everything of this level of importance.)

Two, that Anakin Skywalker is now Darth Vader.

People who know this: Obi-Wan, Vader, Palpatine.

Three, that Lavinia Organa is Palpatine’s biological daughter.

People who know this: Lavinia, Leia, Vader, Mon Mothma (who they told in a “so this might be a Thing and we want to make sure Someone in High Command is prepared JUST IN CASE).

(They probably tell Luke before too much longer, but they do not share this detail with Obi-Wan.)

Right, so. Those are the Most Important Details for the purposes of understanding Let’s Go Steal A Crossover, I think.

Anyway, I’m drawing from this AU for two reasons:

(Or, three, if we include the fact that I Like It And I Can.)

First, it’s an easy way to get the Skytwins’ team connected/integrated with a minimum of Drama.

Second, because it’s kind of where the whole crossover concept came from. I was babbling at my very patient roommate about the Lavinia Organa AU (specifically about potential ESB/Cloud City plot points), and realized “lol, I could make a religion Leverage team out of this.”

“....WAIT I COULD MAKE A LEVERAGE TEAM OUT OF THIS!”

Here’s how it works:

Hitter: Leia. Who is a tiny ball of rage a lot of the time, and takes after both her bioparents in a large degree. She is definitely, definitely their combat specialist, even if she hasn’t really played that role in her previous work.

Hacker: Han. He’s the one who’s good at improvising tech, etc.

Grifter: Lando. Quick, act shocked.

Thief: Luke. Very different style from Parker, of course, but still.

Mastermind: Lavinia. Who, while not in any way going to use it as he did, inherited her biological father’s aptitude for strategy and manipulation.

The dynamic isn’t 100% the same, of course. For example, Lavinia may be the strategist, but Leia is more the team lead in the field. But it still lines up really great and then I started poking at the Leverage backstories above after the initial concept occurred to me and here we are.

Miscellania:

This crossover takes place in a vague “timelines mean nothing” sort of state. As I said before, the Leverage team is more or less in S3. We’ll say the Skytwins team is somewhere around ESB, though obviously the background leading them there is going to be Very Different.

The actual plot is going to start with The Two Live Crew Job In SPACE and go from there.

(Possibly getting more complicated, as we throw in Sterling and/or Vader and/or Obi-Wan and/or the Ghost crew.)

(In that last case, the Ghost crew never split up/Kanan never died/Ezra never went on a road trip with Thrawn and a bunch of space whales.)

And...that should cover it! Sometime this week (I’m hoping before Solo comes out), I’ll put up Part Two, which will cover the Actual Plot.

#au outlines for the win #masks verse #shadowsong writes star wars #shadowsong26fic

[leverage-secret-santa-exchange]

But wait...there’s one more list.

Here at the Leverage Secret Santa Exchange, our motto is “Give a Little, Get a Lot”. Because one of our mods is clinically insane *koff*, every participant gets an extra gift for successfully completing the challenge!

You’ve already seen the story banners.  Here are the fics written as thank you gifts from the mods to each participant.  Enjoy!

To Look Inside (And See the Truth) - for k3nj1ph1

When circumstances force the team to fake Nate's death for a job, he has to listen to each member of the team eulogize him.

It’s All In The Timing - for Ginipig

When Sterling goes missing, Maggie realizes the person responsible is most likely to be at a local event. Fortunately for her plans to rescue him, the full Leverage team is already planning on being in attendance at the same event.

Nate and Sophie's wedding.

Setting the Dark to Right - for Laughsalot3412

While volunteering at a local community center, Eliot and Hardison discover that the monster who abused Parker as a child isn't as dead and gone as any of them hoped.

Everybody Deserves Someone Who Cares - for hollow_echos

Eliot's perspective on the somewhat unique experience of watching Parker's back - in the field and at the dinner table.

Room for All - for honorat

During one of his routine checks of their former clients, Hardison uncovers a secret Aimee Martin has been keeping - a secret that could potentially end his and Parker's relationship with Eliot just as things are getting really good.

Coming Out of Hell (Into the Light) - for poppetawoppet

Quinn's feelings for Maggie become a point of weakness for him when a cartel he's done business with in the past takes her hostage against his cooperation.

In order to make it right, he brings in a couple of really big guns.

Winning a No Win Scenario - for Ultra

When Eliot is blackmailed into assassinating a state witness in order to save Parker's life, Leverage International's mastermind does not take his decision well. Fortunately for all of them, Eliot isn't the only hitter in the game.

It’s Never Just a Job - for Valawenel

Eliot didn't know Quinn solely by reputation - the two of them served Damien Moreau for a time, until Quinn was nearly killed trying to protect Eliot. Eliot had been forced to leave him behind, so Quinn was the last person he expected to face during the end of The First David Job.

Hauntings, Past & Present - for YanzaDracan

Maggie calls, asking Eliot for a somewhat unique favor. Eliot responds, but in the process long-buried feelings each of them share are dragged into the light.

When the Past Comes Calling...With Automatic Weapons - for V-Vulpes

Trouble follows Quinn around like an overly affectionate dog. He didn't really mean to bring it to the Bridgeport Pub this time.

Plan Q (Or the One Where The Left Hand Doesn’t Know That The Right Hand Totally Knows What It’s Doing) - for Vicky

One romantic night in Tuscany, Nate and Sophie's evening is interrupted when Nate accidentally sniffs out someone in need. Lucky for him, Sophie is understanding (and soft-hearted). Lucky for both of them, Hardison left cloning software on their phones, so they can listen in on what's about to go down.

Lucky for everyone, Hardison doesn't "accidentally" leave his software anywhere.

All of This Has Happened Before - for InklingDancer

While waiting for word on Eliot, Parker thinks over her new responsibilities, and remembers the first time she saw the boy who would become Alec Hardison.

Taking Up the Challenge (Or the Hazards of an Over Protective Boss) - for ladyjax

Mr. Quinn is interested in the pretty waitress at the Bridgeport Pub, and she definitely seems interested in him.

Problem is, the members of Leverage International are interested too - in keeping their favorite waitress well out of Quinn's sphere of influence.

Dance of the Inevitable - for yeoman014

On the night Nate proposed to Sophie, Eliot was free to give his heart to Parker and Hardison. Hacker and thief can't see to all his needs, however.

Luckily jealousy isn't in the Leverage family lexicon.

A Vague Disclaimer is Nobody’s Friend - for BurningTea

While Peggy and Parker go out for drinks, Eliot takes Quinn for "the shovel talk".

Secrets Revealed - for seraphina_snape

Written in an alternate crossover universe where Mr. Quinn is Isaac Lahey's missing older brother. He returns to Beacon Hills, and after assessing the truth of Isaac's situation for himself, decides to call in a favor's he's owed from one Eliot Spencer.

Problem is, there's something Quinn and Eliot haven't told each other. Something werewolves can smell on a human.

Bad Feeling...Happy Ending - for musingmidge77

Eliot offers to help Quinn on what should have been a by-the-book ransom drop. Not surprisingly, things don't go as planned.

When the Dog Goes Rabid - for page_runner

That one time...in Belgrade...

Or one person's take on the moment Eliot Spencer learned to hate the man he'd become.

A Hand Reaching Down (When You’re In Over Your Head) - for Radiolaria

Season 3 AU, in which the team escapes the Italian to go on the run. Their first stop lands them in London, where Parker makes the acquaintance of one Kitty Winter - one of the last people she expects to have an agenda.

Or a past trauma to rival her own.

You Didn’t Call... - for aunt_zelda

Even when he spends the night at a friend's house, Eliot has people who worry about him when he doesn't call...or when he doesn't let them listen in on the sex.

The New Normal - for kawuli

Eliot's life has really changed since making things official with Parker and Hardison. For one thing, you never know who's coming to breakfast.

The Road (and the Shot) Not Taken - for lynne_monstr

Quinn finds the perfect fall guy for a job that draws a little too much attention - if he can get out of his own growing moral code long enough to make it work.

Seems Nate isn't the only one capable of taking a bad guy and breaking him.

#Leverage Secret Santa #leverage fic #new leverage fic #this is a lot of leverage fic

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Juror #6 Job

leverage 1.11

it took them three (3) years to get the vargas case on trial ??? that’s so long, the court system is fucked up

- - - - -

Hardison: You are Alice White. It's one of the aliases I made for you, vegetarian, bookkeeper. She had a pretty wild time at her sister's wedding in Phoenix. You should check out her facebook page.

eliot smiling at that rb if u agree

- - - - -

Nate: No. No. Jury duty - A place where you have to follow instructions.

Sophie: Where you have to consider other people's point of view.

Eliot: There's gonna be normal people there, Nate.

eliot emphasizing that there would be NORMAL people there lmfao

- - - - -

the fam sitting together eating pizza we love to see it

- - - - -

Sophie: you know, she's never done that before.

Nate: What, stormed out? Come on.

Sophie: No, asked for our help. (walks out)

(Nate looks toward Parker, then back at Hardison)

Nate: What? Listen, there is a reason we put her in a jury trial.

(Hardison mutes game)

Hardison: You know, man, when I was a, when I was a kid, I was like 8 years old, I had a foster mom who was Jehovah’s witness. She used to dress me up in a suit and a bow tie and take me door-to-door to spread the word. Black neighborhoods, white neighborhoods, didn't matter. I would kick, I’d scream, or whatever, but she would say "Alec, you need to learn how to talk to people." See, everything I learned about people, I learned ringing doorbells and-and-and being in a bow tie. Parker never had that. I mean, jumping from a skyscraper, she's cool. But making small talk? It’s-it's like pure terror. Just cut her some slack.

(Eliot hurries in with a six pack of beer)

Eliot: How about them Cowboys? What'd I miss? (flips his beer)

Nate: Nothing.

(Nate looks at Parker, who is dialing her phone)

like I love learning about their backstories but I can’t believe someone made hardison be a jehovah’s witness

- - - - -

parker is wearing flannel again

- - - - -

Nate: Not if we steal it first. Who plays chess?

Eliot: I play.

Nate: Yeah, of course you do. A chess game has three stages, right? I mean, you got your opening, middle, and end game. In the opening, you want to take control of the board, and you want to line up your attack and you want to protect the king, which, ironically, is the weakest piece you have

nate isn’t even surprised that eliot plays chess. he’s just like yeah, that adds up.

- - - - -

(Eliot is in a dumpster while Hardison is on the ground looking through garbage bags)

Eliot: It's your turn to be in the dumpster.

Hardison: No, man, no. I-I have-I have peanut allergies. What if somebody threw in some extra crunchy Skippy? Then, you know, it's just a (wheezing) all up in my vocal area, man. Do you want to give me mouth-to-mouth? No, none of us want that. Hell no.

(Eliot throws a trash bag at Hardison’s head. Hardison looks up, angry)

Eliot: Heads up (laughs)

they’re idiots

+ ALSO hardison is always in danger of triggering fake allergies,,, this, the rashomon job,,,

- - - - -

Hardison: Quint's on the hook. He went to Mumbai international limited's website to check out Sophie.

Nate: It's a real company?

Hardison: Cover story's better that way. Just, uh, changed this... (hits button on remote, which changes a picture on a website) to this.

- - - - -

Sophie: Okay, today did not go well, but that's all right. You know, we learn when we fail. We're gonna-we're gonna go back to basics, and we're gonna do a little role-playing. Gonna start with-with persuasion techniques. So, Eliot (tosses him an apple) has an apple. Alice (tosses her an orange) has an orange.

Eliot: I love apples. Apples are my favorite fruit.

Parker: Good for you, sparky.

Eliot (to Sophie): I-I don't have to sit here and take this crap.

Sophie: Go on. Just do it for me.

Eliot (to Parker): You have an orange, all right? Now, convince me that I want the orange, not the apple. I'm gonna take a bite. (slowly brings the apple to his mouth and takes a bite)

Parker: I put a razor blade in that apple.

Eliot (spits out the apple): Are you serious?

Parker: Maybe. But do you know what doesn’t have a razor blade in it? This orange. (smells the orange) Don't you want it? (tosses the orange at Eliot and leaves)

Sophie: You fell for that? (exits room)

CHAOTIC OT3

- - - - -

Hardison: O- Okay. Um... you know, I have photos (places a file on the bench) that I would like to introduce from a vacation, the opposing counsel water-skiing. It's all from his website - very public.

Louis: I object.

Hardison: As well you should. You shouldn't be doing that. Seriously? I mean, he doesn't have the body.

r o a s t e d

- - - - -

Parker: Wait! Wait a second. That was a secret. You just told me a secret, right? That's something friends do.

Peggy: Well, I guess so. You're the nicest one here.

Parker: Really? I mean, thanks.

her S M I L E your honor

- - - - -

Earnshaw: Lunch is almost over. Get back to the trial. (opens folder) Joseph Miller, Georgetown pre-Law, Harvard law with honors! This can't be right. This guy's hourly rate has to be more than what our grieving widow makes in a month.

Assistant: Ma'am, it all checks out. Unless Gloria Vargas found some guy who created a CIA Level cover story and fake identity

hardison is just that good and we love to see it

- - - - -

Earnshaw: Wait. Who's that?

Assistant: The guy talking to the Vargas lawyer?

Earnshaw: No. Her. Raid Quint’s computer, his calendar, his e-mails. Pull out the call logs and the GPS records from his phone. I want to know who that is.

- - - - -

Quint: Earnshaw says if we settle, we open ourselves up to other lawsuits.

Sophie: We don't care about more lawsuits. With a billion people in the work force, a few deaths won't raise an eyebrow.

Quint: Government won't crack down?

Sophie: Mr. Quint, it takes five years to get a parking permit

that’s fucked

- - - - -

(Donnie is standing in front of a green screen)

Nate: Good. He's good.

Eliot (turns off camera): What I tell you? (hugs Donnie) Thank you for coming in on such short notice, Donnie.

Donnie: Ah, dinna fash yersel, laddie. What are friends for?

Eliot: Exactly. Beer's on me soon.

Donnie: Oh, you remember tha. (exits)

Nate: He's very good.

Eliot: What I tell you

we love getting more insight on eliot’s past and who his friends are/used to be

- - - - -

hardison, parker and eliot walking to the door and nate and sophie seeing them off like parents (even parker with her packed lunch!!!)

- - - - -

Hardison: Oh, incident. Okay. (referring to file) Would that happen to be the incident on flight 732 out of St. Louis, where you-you fondled a flight attendant's buttocks? Or would that happen to be the incident on flight 1433 out of Chicago, where you drank 17 tiny margaritas, you took your pants off, you stood up on the drink cart, and you sang, quote, "I'm a sexy monkey"?

Patemkin: I have no recollection of that.

Hardison: I'm not surprised, because it was not one, it wasn't two, but it was 22 incidents of drunk and belligerent, grab-assy behavior that landed you on that list.

Judge: Mr. Miller.

Louis: Objection!

Hardison: No, you know what, your honor? The US Government has determined that this man is not qualified to ride on an airplane, like Osama bin Laden. How is this jury supposed to rely on him to render a sound medical opinion

IM SCREAMING

+

parker looks so proud of him

- - - - -

Parker: Oh, sweet mercy, cooked flesh. (takes a bite of burger) Can we have fast food every time we make the bad guys go away

let parker eat as much meat as she wants 2k20

also, eliot is sitting right next to her and finally got to watch his football 😌 we love to see them sitting together

- - - - -

Nate: Did you realize what you just did? What you did? You won a jury trial without cheating.

Hardison: Without chea--I hacked a government no-fly list and used it to humiliate a witness.

Nate: Excessively. "Cheating excessively" is what I meant. But, I mean, think about it, I mean, if you applied yourself, Hardison, you could be anything you want.

Hardison: You know what? I could. I could. You know, next week, I think I’m gonna be an astronaut.

Nate: Well, that's not really what I meant. I meant if you studied, you’d--

Hardison: Yeah, if I--Who needs to study? You know, I’m gonna be a surgeon. A surgeon – ER. Surgeon.

HARDISON IS A GENIUS AND CAN DO ANYTHING HE WANTS SEND TWEET

- - - - -

(Parker gets a text and checks her phone)

Parker: Hey, it's Peggy from the trial! She wants to have coffee next week. Alice made a friend.

Eliot: I'm gonna tell you one more time. You made a friend, not Alice.

Parker: Oh, cool. Well, think she'd want to steal a painting with me?

Sophie: Start small, Parker. Try coffee.

that’s so cute and means so much that she made a friend that even went as far as REACHING OUT to HER !!!

and she doesn’t reject the idea!!!

okay but also if a girl as pretty as parker asked me to steal a painting with her with that smile on her face, bitch you bet I would,,, I am but a simple bisexual with a weakness for pretty ladies

#leverage 1.11 #leverage 1x11 #the juror 6 job #the juror number 6 job #leverage season 1 #season 1 #notable moments #leverage #mine