#ot3: 'til my dying day | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

patchesofuniverse · 2 months

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I found this in my drafts - I wrote it after I finished Leverage: Redemption S1 and then most of the original series. Posting it now with the caveat that I never got around to watching the rest of Leverage: Redemption so I do not know what happened from there.

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It still amazes me that people who've lived through

- Sherlock, where the creators outright deny that their two male leads could ever get together, while throwing out constant M/M fanservice.

- FIFTEEN seasons of Supernatural, where women can't survive for very long because they'd threaten the fan-preferred M/M pairings, and one of the actors for the pairing straight up denies that his character could even be gay, shot down questions about it, and finally just "didn't want to put him in a box" following an outcry near the very end of the series.

- She-who-shall-not-be-named, who never so much as hinted that any character might not be straight, but then declared one gay when the series was basically done.

- and however many more queerbaiting shows

can look at Leverage and think the creators are trying to pull one over on us.

- "That means I would be thinking about you and Parker, which I never do!" in the least convincing tone, after lamenting the suave thief Parker is out with that night.

- Watching them kiss and nodding

- "'til my dying day" and "but you never, never need anything" "Yeah, I did" looks over at Parker and Hardison for a moment before looking back "And thanks to you, I don’t have to search anymore."

- Confirmation from the creator that the OT3 is canon.

- "Even numbers only baby" and "Age of the geek, babe"

- The hints in the show (Hardison being aware of how Eliot wakes up, "we built vents in the house", etc) and then confirmation that the three of them live together.

- The necklaces

- Hardison talks to Eliot AND Parker before making the decision to step away from the team. Parker's scene is more dramatic, sure - but Hardison checks in with Eliot too, and Eliot confirms his support before Parker drags Hardison off for their chat.

They haven't given us a kiss or the exact words, sure. Polyamory still isn't widely accepted in the US - it's very possible that they can't give us a big flashy display on screen because of executive meddling, or just that they have to consider ratings.

But what they've given us is in line with the characters they've created. They also never make it into a joke, aside from Hardison's "We're together" bit in The 12 Steps Job (which was season one). They don't make flashy fanservice out of scenes with Hardison and Eliot together, or with the three of them.

The Leverage PTB haven't queerbaited us with the OT3. They queercoded them. And then confirmed that they intended the things we saw on screen.

Part of me wonders if the idea that the OT3 are queerbait is the fact that Eliot's relationship with Hardison and Parker is more subdued than their relationship with each other. I think there may be folks who want to see them as a perfect, exclusive triangle where they all share the exact same relationship style. But that's not how polyamorous relationships have to work - and indeed, it's not how most of them work. Parker and Eliot have always had a different kind of relationship than Parker and Hardison. It's not unreasonable to think that, even in a committed romantic threesome, the three sides of the triangle would represent different types of relationships.

#leverage #leverage ot3 #eliot x parker x hardison #leverage: redemption #Some folks also clearly dislike that Eliot still flirts with other women #and I think that feeds into the idea that the OT3 are queerbait or not canon #but polyamorous relationships don't have to be exclusive #a friend of mine has two commited romantic partners #but still goes out on dates and has casual sex partners too #Eliot clearly enjoys flirting and the company of women throughout the original series #it's completely possible that Eliot is committed to Parker and Hardison without needing to be exclusive #it's been 8 years I think Parker's had time to work on her jealousy stuff #or to at least be able to roll with it out of love and respect for Eliot #that same friend above sometimes gets anxious and needs their partners to reaffirm that they love them and want to stay together #but they don't stop their partners from seeing other people because that's not the relationship they agreed on #if you want to write polyfidelity then go for it!#I don't actually think we've seen anything on screen that truly contradicts it #(flirting isn't cheating)#but I also believe the OT3 can be canon without requiring exclusivity #polyamory #ot3

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powerpolyculeshowdown · 1 year

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So I'm pretty sure Tumblr eats asks with links but the most powerful propaganda for the Leverage OT3 is this iconic AMV:

https://youtu.be/RrqWzkoTJGQ

They're the Korrasami of polyships, as close to canon as they could get away with on mainstream TV in 2008-2012.

Parker and Hardison are dating; Eliot swears to protect them "Til my dying day," Parker calls the two of them "My boys," and when they faked their deaths to the federal government they were all 3 holding hands as they "died." They're poly and in love!! Most iconic OT3 of all time!!!

idk if it was u but someone who nominated them called them korrasami of polyam for the same reason which is so valid 💖 i was looking up images and they were always together, they were one of the easiest to find pics for lmao Do Not Separate Them

cant watch the mv rn but for anyone interested go check it out!!! ill look later if i dont forget i promise!!!

#polyasks

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smallblueandloud · 2 years

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‘Til my dying day (a clintnatlaura fic) OR traitor baby (a leverage ot3 fic) (I’m very funny)

send me a title and a pairing and i will give you the summary of a fic i will never write!

you ARE very funny, sara!!

'till my dying day (clint/nat/laura, 7k, rated m for violence)

laura's last mission as a SHIELD agent -- she, clint, and natasha have to heist out information from a french millionaire's house while he's holding a masquerade. [is anyone surprised?] emotions are had.

Laura ducks behind the column, shedding her waiter's pants and letting the hem of her dress fall to the ground. She reaches into her apron to find the clutch, only to find Natasha holding it out for her, already changed. Her demeanor's different, of course -- always the chameleon, that woman.

"She's got our backs," says Clint over comms.

"And she always will," Laura says, holding Natasha's gaze. Natasha grins.

Well. Natasha never changes what counts.

#sb and l rambles #sb and l answers #paperairplanesopenwindows #clintnatlaura #mcu #ot3: just come home safe #mcu ideas #SARA WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME #i didn't have a snippet come to mind for traitor baby but it's probably hardison and parker run the brewpub for eliot one day #he'd thought it was just going to be closed that day cause he had a doctor's appt but. nope. there they are! making sure his customers #get the lunches they rely on to go about their days!#he bitches about them going behind his back but secretly he is very in love #sb and l writes

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mythandmagicmuses · 2 years

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Eliot Spencer

"Overconfidence will kill you faster than a bullet any day. Fear is good."

Name: Eliot Spencer Age: Unknown Canon: Leverage + Leverage: Redemption Sexuality: Bisexual, Polyam in a canon OT3 Key Skills: Multiple fighting styles, hand to hand and with weaponry. Highly skilled marksman though no longer uses guns. Impressive memory and observation skills i.e can recognise a former navy seal from their shoes, an SAS paratrooper from the haircut and the precise military grade helicopter simply from what kind of 'whoompha whoompha' is heard over the mics. Excellent chef, great with horses, can sing and play guitar. Multiple languages, excellent strategist. Backstory: (TW murder, wetwork, military) Eliot is incredibly private about his past. What is for certain is he comes from Oklahoma and his father ran a mom and pop type DIY store that he expected Eliot to help at after graduation. Eliot wanted more and when he turned 18 he enlisted instead. The night before he left, he and his father fought leaving them estranged. His time in the military is highly classified. Eliot's skill level, the ability to take down an elite navy seal in 20 seconds flat, all suggests he was in a similiar highly skill unit. He was black ops and most of it he can barely acknowledge happened though occasionally he'll let details slip. For instance, when pressed on what he was doing when high school sweetheart Aimee gave up on his return and married another man, he responded "What did I do? I liberated Croatia." Outlandish claims perhaps but he has the skills and knowledge to back it up. Several from his past refer to him as 'Commander' which suggests we wasn't just part of a covert black ops unit but that he headed it. After leaving the military, Eliot did not struggle to find work. A man with his talents soon has employees and he took on retrieval, protecting, assassination jobs and more. Eliot works so well because he is able to sell himself as assuming and not a threat, this is often the reason why he comes out on top. He found himself working for one of the worst criminal, Damian Moreau. He was into everything. Arms deals, financing multiple mafias world wide (he was often referred to as the 'Central Bank of International Crime') , meddling in elections, smuggling, and more. Eliot lost himself completely in the service of Damian. It's heavily implied that there was far more than an employer/employee relationship between them, Eliot has since admitted the worst thing he had ever done was in the service of Damian Moreau, a crime which he will never be clean of. He has never revealed what this was but it seems to have been a breaking point after which he broke from Moreau's crime family and has not used guns or taken. This giving up guns may have happened later however, with Eliot it's almost impossible to pin down a time frame. At some point, he fell into a culinary apprenticeship and for a time became a chef. It helped him find a way to use weapons, and his hands, to create and provide and not just for destruction and death. Eliot credit's this period to saving him from the darkness. He continued to take hitter and retrieval jobs and then he agree on a job with a team that was only meant to last for a night. Instead they become Leverage Inc. using their con artist skills to help those in need and only screwing over the greedy and immoral rich. Robin Hooding doesn't trick Eliot into thinking he is absolved of his past, however. He wakes each day with the attitude that he has not done enough, he needs to do and help more. There is never going to be a deed that cleans the blood from his past but he can resolve to do better in the future. Leverage also brought him Parker and Alec Hardison. His true family. They swore that if they were going to change, they'd change together and they have. They now run an international network of vigilante con artists, operating all over the globe.

Eliot swore that he would protect them 'til my dying day'. He would kill to protect them, he would die to protect them. Whilst Parker and Hardison are the obvious couple to a casual observer there is no question to them that Eliot's place is ultimately with them even when he dates others. No one will ever understand them as well as the other two do. The trio are a confirmed OT3 from the showrunners.

Open for: Pretty much anything goes. He can fit in many situations and aus, he's got a ladies man rep and enjoys projecting that image. He's far more discreet about any men he's seeing after growing up and then working in multiple environments where same sex attraction could be seen as a weakness or worse. He's a fighter, a lover, a thief, a con man, a wandering soul. Open to doing plots from all points of his life too. His darker days would be trigger warning heavy, no doubt.

#muse #Eliot #multi muse rp #indie rp #muse profile #tw murder #tw death #tw wetwork

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words-writ-in-starlight · 3 years

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Hello! Leverage OT3 + there was only one bed/cuddling?

Eliot's getting used to the way they handle him getting real hurt, although taking two bullets is, y'know, a little more intense than his usual bumps and bruises. He's prepared for Hardison's hovering and Parker's silent delivery of--whatever she's decided will be good for him under the circumstances. One time he broke four ribs and she brought him tea every hour on the hour for two days until he made her stop. This time it's been crackers. Sure.

He's not prepared for Parker to invite herself onto the foot of his bed around day six, when Eliot's getting restless and thinking about going and seeing if he can get anything done around the kitchen. She pops off his vent cover from the inside--that part is normal--and does an elegant dismount that any gymnast would envy, and then she flops down on the bed in a dramatic flourish that manages to not even jostle the recently shot leg three inches from her shoulder.

"Here," she says, reaching out and snatching the remote straight out of his damn hand. She tucks her cheek against his hip--careful of his thigh--while she starts to flick rapidly through the movies onscreen. "Hardison said he'll be here in like, three minutes, so we can get it set up while we wait."

Eliot makes an inarticulate noise of--exasperation, maybe a little performative outrage, and Parker reaches back blindly to put a hand over his mouth. He doesn't break her wrist, because...

Because.

"We were going to play Spot The Inaccuracy with Ocean's Eleven," Parker goes on, like this is normal. "Winner picks the takeout place."

"Takeout--" Eliot says in genuine offense from under her palm, and then Hardison comes in and settles on Eliot's other side, careful not to aggravate his shoulder, and--

And then they're watching a movie, apparently.

#leverage #leverage ot3 #eliot spencer #alec hardison #parker #ot3: til my dying day #starlight writes stuff #ask meme #this would have more detailed dialog if i wasn't trying to keep it KINDA SHORTISH #i straight up almost accidentally wrote like. a couple thousand words of this.#and it would have been exactly the same in every way except eliot and parker and hardison would have bickered more #and eliot would have tried to make a break for it upon hearing that they have been subsisting on TAKEOUT in his absence #anyway anon you are a-ok this ask was not brusque at all! please take care of yourself!#asked and answered #anonymous

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dykerory · 3 years

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ok watching leverage season 5 again and i am OBSESSED with how eliot just inserts himself into the middle of parker and hardison’s relationship. he’s like retirement? oh i’ve always wanted to run a restaurant but i guess i’ll run hardison’s brewery. while i’m at it i’ll subtly give them both relationship advice to make sure they’re long term. i’m beginning to think this guy is in love or something

#leverage #leverage ot3 #alec hardison #eliot spencer #parker #creo #'til my dying day' wasn't a declaration of love it was a cumilnation of at least a years worth of love declarations

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faejilly · 4 years

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Let’s Go Steal Some... Magic?

This is entirely the fault of a prompt from the Hunter's Moon Discord: “A Leverage Shadowhunter crossover where Alec gets desperate enough to hire a band of good thieves who’re known for being able to steal back ANYTHING to steal back Magnus’ magic.”

I take no responsibility whatsoever for any of this, but man, I had a great time writing it, so I hope you enjoyed reading it, too 😅 (With an extra thanks to @greentealycheejelly for double-checking it at least sort of made sense.)

Alec knows more about the mundane world than most people realize. He may, in fact, have helped encourage the impression that he's ignorant; it's not like he's been impressed by most of what he knows, so it's easier to just... not deal with it when he doesn't have to.

But there's nothing anyone in the Shadow World can do about this, so maybe... maybe it's time to try something else.

Only he's not sure where to start. He's going to have to ask for help.

Not his favorite thing, but. This is for Magnus. He'd do worse for Magnus.

Lindsay's probably his best bet, she's the one who tracks the bots and AIs that the Clave has keeping as much of an eye on the internet as anyone can manage, hoping to catch those mundanes who might cross the line from figuring out that what they're seeing is because of the Sight, into trying to do something like summoning demons or playing with dark magic.

Her reports on some of the conclusions their machine learning algorithms come up with are sometimes the highlight of his week. He liked the one that tried to figure out which folk songs were based on real adventures with the Seelie and Unseelie Courts versus the ones written by people who'd drank too much or gotten stuck in a cabin in the middle of nowhere for a longer than usual winter.

So he asks her to come see him. She looks, unsurprisingly, deeply nervous when he closes his office door behind her, and he sighs as he sits down in one of the armchairs rather than behind his desk. "I need your help, please."

She doesn't look any comforted by that comment, but she sits across from him, and refrains from either glaring or babbling, so that's something.

"I need." He stops. He's not sure what he needs. "I need to think outside the box, and as the current box is Edom and the entire Shadow World is pretty convinced that that's an impossible box to open—" Alec stops, realizing his metaphors got slightly more tangled than he'd intended. "I think I need someone who is in the know but still mostly mundane, so they're not stuck on the same preconceptions the rest of us are?"

Linday blinks at him. She clearly didn't follow that.

He frowns, but she doesn't get more tense, so at least she figured out he's frowning at himself rather than her.

Clary might have given him multiple migraines and almost as many heart attacks, but she'd barrelled through things he'd thought inviolable just because she didn't know any better, and he could use some of that, right about now.

"Magnus traded his magic to a Greater Demon in order to banish Lilith's demon, and..." He trails off again. And I have to do something about it, but the only thing I can think of is trying to negotiate with said Greater Demon myself and that's a clusterfuck of epic proportions just waiting to happen.

He'll do it, if he has to, he knows this, but that should probably be a last resort, not the first attempt.

"You want to steal it back?" Lindsay's voice cracks half way through the words, and he doesn't blame her, that sounds more insane than anything even Clary would attempt, but...

He hadn't actually framed it that way himself, and he should have. She's probably right, and that is exactly the sort of thinking he needs.

"Do you think that's possible?" He tilts his head, spreads his hands in something that's almost a shrug. "I know there are Sighted thieves, and there's a thriving grey area of mundane and Downworlder interactions with magic that don't usually end up with dead bodies or demons so we don't do anything about them."

Lindsay frowns back at him, but she looks like she's thinking, so he waits.

"Well." She starts, stops again. "There is this hacker..."

Alec blinks. "I don't think the Prince of Edom keeps his stolen magic in a server."

Lindsay snorts, and rolls her eyes at him. "Ha, ha. Sir."

Alec shrugs, and waits.

"There's a warlock, Edda White. She fosters mundane children, usually ones that lost their parents to the Shadow World, or who have the Sight."

"And she's a hacker?" That's an odd combination of jobs, but he supposes it's something one could do from home while keeping an eye on a bunch of presumably traumatized children.

He wonders if there's anything they could do to help her out. Unofficially. Or officially? The Clave really should stop pretending the Shadow World's completely separate from the mundane world, no one believes that.

"No." Lindsay shakes her head. Pauses. "Well, yes, but she's not the hacker I was thinking of, I meant one of her kids."

"If said kid's already in the Shadow World, that's defeating my outside of the box request." He's not really trying to argue with her, he's just not sure where she's going.

"Sir." Lindsay levels a stare at him. It's not as good as the ones his mother or sister can pull off, but it's not half bad.

"Sorry."

Lindsay nods, and adjusts her glasses. "He's Sighted, and he's active on some of the forums the Clave tracks, helps people find resources or contacts, which is how I know about him, but he works in the mundane world. With a team of thieves who have pulled off some really impossible jobs."

"Edom impossible?"

"No, but you said you needed some creative thieves, and they're arguably the best in this world." That is something the Clave would know, just because the few truly occult artifacts the mundane world knows about tend to be expensive, so they attract the attention of the worst sorts of people and the best sorts of thieves... who then attract the attention of the Clave, to make sure no one actually tries to use the things they've stolen. "It's a place to start."

Alec nods. It is, and that's all he asked for; he hopes it's enough. "What's his name?"

Lindsay shrugs. "No idea, but I do know how to get a message to his team. They've an open call out for people who need help and don't have anywhere else to turn."

Alec feels his lips twitch with reluctant amusement. "That certainly fits this situation, doesn't it."

Lindsay concedes with a small nod. "I'll reach out, and let you know what they say."

"Thank you."

She nods again, slightly less smoothly, as if she's not sure what to do with gratitude, though he's not sure if it's because it's him personally or the Head of her Institute in general, and slips away to get to work.

Alec closes his eyes, and lets out a sigh, and tries to hold onto the flicker of hope in his chest.

Maybe. Maybe. Maybe this is what he needs; maybe this is what Magnus needs.

Please.

***

Hardison blinks at the email he just opened.

He double checks the sender's address, and IP, and everything else he can think of to confirm it's not somehow a joke or a scam or something, but as far as he can tell by every test he can think up, it's genuine.

Leverage just got a fucking email from a Nephilim. On behalf of the goddamned Head of the New York Institute.

He pokes his computer screen, as if that'll make it disappear or something.

It doesn't.

Which is probably good, he's Sighted, not a warlock, if he started making the world change outside of a computer, he'd be in deep shit.

The email's surprisingly straightforward, in contrast to their usual potential clients, the Shadow World in general, and everything he's ever heard about Shadowhunters in particular. Shadow Hunters? Shadowhunters? He's not sure he's ever had to write that word out, he wonders which is considered proper grammar.

Holy shit, he's distracting himself with grammar.

He calls his Nana.

"I got an email about Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane."

"Fuck."

Hardison pulls his phone away from his head and stares at it for a moment before he can handle that. "Did you just swear at me?"

"Not at you, baby." He can practically hear her roll her eyes at him. "I was old enough to swear before your grandma was a gleam in her daddy's eyes, and you know it."

Yes, but you don't, Hardison almost says out loud, not around your babies, you don't, but he swallows it down. "Some Nephilim is asking for help from us, from my team. Do you think it's legit?"

She hums, some melody he's never been able to track down or place, never heard from anywhere or anyone else, and he's glad that that's normal at least. Nana's thinking noise is exactly what he hears in his head whenever he's trying to crack a particularly tough system.

"I do. New York's gone through some shit, and I've heard some rumours about Magnus..." She trails off. "Lightwood's reputation is pretty solid, I think he'd stretch those Nephilim Laws as far as he could, if he thought it was worth it."

"Should I take the meeting then?"

Nana pauses, but she doesn't hum this time. She's not thinking, she wants to make sure he is. "You'd have to tell your team what sort of meeting it really is."

Hardison's whole body tenses up along with his face as he scrunches his eyes as closed as he can get them. He wonders if Parker and Eliot really are part-fae, like he's always thought. They've both got more than a touch of the other when he looks at them out of the corner of his eyes, and it would certainly explain how hard they are to injure, how easily they lean into each other's space, as if they've never before found someone that makes some weird sixth sense relax.

Then again, he loves them enough it might just be his own aura sparking in the way.

He wonders, if they are just a little magic, if either of them know, and just don't think they can tell him.

He wonders if they'll be mad to realize he's kept a secret from them all these years, or if they'll be hurt.

"Yeah," he sighs, and opens his eyes back up. "Don't suppose I could get a family dinner to help uh... illustrate my point?"

Nana laughs, but it's sharper sounding than usual. "If New York's as messed up as I've heard you don't have much time. Tonight good?"

Damn.

This is clearly more serious than he'd thought, and he wonders what he's missed, busy focusing on his mundane life rather than the Shadow World.

"I guess it has to be. Thanks."

Nana doesn't bother to say anything else before she hangs up on him.

He turns around, and no he does not scream, that was just a gasp, and Parker and Eliot are in the doorway, both of them staring at him.

Check mark in the supernatural column.

He smiles at them.

They don't smile back.

Hey guys, want to meet my Nana, the centuries old warlock who taught me how to see demons so they wouldn't eat me?

Yeah. That's gonna go over well.

"Don't suppose either of you believe in magic?"

Eliot does that thing where he's not frowning but is really obvious about how he's refraining from frowning so it actually feels worse than if he'd just scowled at you. "You mean science we can't explain yet, or actual magic?"

Hardison tilts his head and hands with an eh maneuver. "Vampires and werewolves and fairies, oh my?"

Parker shrugs. "Archie always said he thought I was a changeling, does that count?"

Hardison shakes his head, and sees Eliot frown for real, and knows they both wish they'd been harder on Archie when they had him in their sights. "Yes, but that's a terrible thing for him to have said."

"Why?" Parker comes into the room proper to perch on the edge of the table extending out from his desk. "If it's the truth?"

"Because he didn't think it was true," Eliot answers, his voice low and rough. "He was using it to pretend it was okay for him not to take care of you."

Parker rolls her eyes; they've had this argument before. "But if he'd tried, I wouldn't have realized how much better at it you are."

Eliot jerks, like his whole body just tried to shut-down. Hardison can't even appreciate how remarkable that is, because he's too busy feeling his brain stutter right in sync.

"What?" Parker did that are you being stupid or did I make less sense than usual? face of hers, eyes a little squinty and shoulders just starting to hunch.

"Thank you, baby girl." Hardison manages, before she thinks it's the second. "I'm still gonna be mad at him for not trying though."

She frowns, as if she thinks that's dumb, but shrugs, clearly having decided that that's just the way it is. "So does that mean you think he was right, even though he didn't know it?"

"Uh." Hardison does a whole body shrug, because he's not sure why he ever thinks his conversations with these two are gonna go the way he intends. "I have no idea, but it wouldn't surprise me? You're uh. Better at things than most humans. You both are."

"Huh." Eliot says, but not like he disagrees. "But neither of us have a problem with steel or cold iron or whatever it is."

Hardison stares at him.

"What." Eliot stares back, and Hardison can't tell if he's fucking with him on purpose or not. Damn Eliot and his poker face.

"Did you say that because you know things, or because you read fairy tales when you can't sleep?"

Eliot's face looks like he wants to say damnit Hardison but doesn't want to give Hardison the satisfaction.

"Second one, got it."

"Kindaalwaysthoughtitwasaliensanyways." Eliot mutters.*

Hardison is pleased to note that Parker joins him in giving Eliot the look.

Eliot crosses his arms in front of his chest, and looks back, and Hardison sighs. He's right, they don't have time for that right now. "We are revisiting this," Hardison says, pointing at Eliot. "But first we're going to Nana's for dinner."

Parker actually literally squeaks, and he can't tell if she's excited or nervous. "Is she a fairy too?"

"No, and they prefer Seelie or Unseelie, depending on which Court they were born into, but you know, that's a whole separate thing we also don't have time for right now. Nana is a warlock which means she can do magic and she's immortal which I know sounds like more fairy things because they are practically immortal and also do magic, but I swear it's not."

It's his turn to be getting the look from both of them, and he stops. Starts again. "So. Uh. Demons? Totally a thing?"

Eliot sighs, and finally stops lurking as his shoulders relax into something more like at-home-Eliot rather than working-Eliot. "You made a multi-media presentation, didn't you?"

Hardison opens his mouth, and shuts it again. He did, like three different times, and he keeps deleting it and starting over, but he supposes that might be one way to go in order without thinking about Nana swearing and the email and trying to jump to angels are real and angel-blooded people kill demons and the Head of the New York Institute wants our help! before that means anything to anyone.

"Ooh." Parker sits up straighter. "Should I go get some popcorn?"

"Why not." Hardison can't help the smile, doesn't even try. "We'll have a proper briefing in five."

***

Magnus is not entirely sure why Alec invited him to his office, it's not like I can help with missions anymore, and seeing Alec sitting on the edge of his desk wringing his hands when he walks in the door doesn't calm his nerves any.

"Magnus!" Alec looks up, and his smile's not any more comforting than the wringing hands were.

"You're here."

"You asked me to be here." Magnus offers, and makes himself walk further into the office. He's not sure what else to say, and just lifts an eyebrow in Alec's general direction.

Alec shrugs, and bites his lip as he shifts his weight, and then suddenly his tension melts away and he's standing at parade rest and oh, whatever this is, it's clearly important. "I did."

Magnus holds up one finger, turns around to close and lock the door behind him, and faces Alec again.

Alec offers him a crooked almost smile, much more sincere than the last one, and the tension between Magnus' shoulder-blades eases a little, though it definitely doesn't go away. "I have a potentially terrible idea, but it's for you, so it's your choice to make, not mine."

Oh.

Magnus considers that, nods to himself, and goes to sit on the couch. He lifts his head, and makes himself meet Alec's eyes. "All right."

"I want to hire some... consultants, to see if there's a way to get your magic back without having to try and make another deal with Asmodeus."

Magnus doesn't move. He doesn't even blink. If he had his magic he'd probably blow up the chair next to him. "No."

Alec's shoulders slump. "Magnus."

"No." Magnus stands up, his hands clenched and his jaw too tight and he wants to scream, but he doesn't. "Asmodeus is too dangerous."

"And he's going to be less dangerous later if with your magic he can overthrow Lilith while she's still weak from the Mark of Cain?" Alec's voice is quiet, but even so Magnus can barely hold in the wince. "Do you really think he'll be more inclined to stay quietly in his own Realm without interfering with the rest of us if she's no longer there to keep him in check?"

Magnus swallows, refuses to think about the things he did at his father's side the last time Asmodeus freely wandered around Earth. "You said this was for me."

"It is!" Alec's voice and hands lift, and then he stops, his arms drop. He's holding himself so tightly it looks like he's a breath away from shattering. "I would sacrifice anything to help you Magnus, just like you did to stop Lilith, to save Jace, but that doesn't mean helping you isn't also doing my job."

Magnus can't move, can barely breathe.

He exhales, long and slow, and closes his eyes.

He can't argue that, because if he did, it would make everything he'd done to save Jace, to stop Lilith, all of it, for nothing. They can't let either Lilith or Asmodeus take over Edom without the other, can't afford the risk of that much power being concentrated in one person. Demon.

Monster.

Magnus opens his eyes again, and somehow Alec can tell, Alec can always tell, and he's right there, reaching out to cup Magnus' jaw in his warm hands before kissing him, soft and sweet. "Thank you."

Magnus huffs out a breath, and leans in to rest against the warmth of Alec's chest. "Thank you. So who are these... consultants then?"

"Um." Magnus tilts his head enough to look at Alec, who's looking at the ceiling as if too embarrassed to meet Magnus' gaze. He rolls his lips in tight, then pops his mouth open and sighs. "Thieves?"

"What." Magnus steps back, so he can glare properly. And also enjoy the way Alec's squirming, because it's not often Alexander gets tongue-tied around him anymore, and if he's going to go through with this insanity, he might as well try and get some enjoyment out of it. "You. Want to steal my magic back?"

"I mean, that seems slightly more likely than negotiating it out of a Greater Demon?" Alec shrugs, and rubs the back of his neck, and his mouth twists before his whole body sags with a sigh. "I don't know, but I certainly don't know how to get it back without risking Asmodeus pulling one over on us, do you?"

"But you think your thieves might?" Magnus can't help it, his voice cracks.

"Not my thieves." Alec shrugs again. "Lindsay found them, and Edda White said she could portal them to us whenever we come to an agreement on a meeting time and place."

"Edda?" He stops again. Edda, who fosters mundane children and likes to play with computers and has the weirdest running bet with Catarina about the stupid excuses they've used to convince mundanes that the magic they just saw wasn't really magic... "Mundane thieves?"

"Well, anyone in the Shadow World would start already convinced that it was impossible, wouldn't they?"

Magnus can't argue with that, either, and this is the weirdest conversation he's possibly ever had, and that's saying something, considering the number of times he's been high or drunk and determined to not let it stop him from doing... well. Anything. "Huh," is all he manages. "That. Almost makes sense."

Alec grins. "I know, weird, huh."

Magnus' chest aches, because oh, he hasn't seen that sort of look on Alec's face since they found out about Jace, before Magnus went to Edom, before he lost...

Before they lost so much.

Magnus laughs, and Alec's grin widens, a glint in his eyes as if he's as delighted and surprised as Magnus is to realize they're both actually looking forward to this. "Let's go meet some thieves."

#shadowhunters #leverage #jilly writes #hmdiscord #malec #ot3: 'til my dying day #my sh fic #* Eliot was on a stargate team #that's practically canon!

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