Fic: The Life That Was (4/4), Crossover Leverage/A:tS, PG-13

[elebridith]

Title: The Life That Was

Author: elebridith

Rating: NC-17 overall, this part is PG-13

Disclaimer: Not mine. Nothing, no one. Just playing.

Genre: slash, crossover

Pairings: Lindsey/Eliot

Other characters: Nathan Ford, Angel, Spike. Brief appearances by the rest of Team Leverage.

Summary: Lindsey has to face his past - Los Angeles, old enemies, contract issues. Part of the Face Value!Verse.

Beta'd and southernified by the incomparable havenward . *tacklehugs* Also thanks to cyphersushi  for giving it another pair of eyes and honeyjojames  for the steady muse feeding!

Part Three is here.


Lindsey stirred as he felt Eliot stretching like a cat next to him. Still sleep-dazed, he cracked an eye open and saw Eliot already swinging his legs out of the bed. Lindsey yawned. "Morning." He blinked sleepily, and suddenly remembered the day before. His eyes flew open and he was almost bolting upwards. "Was I dreamin'?" His eyes were wide, almost panicking.

Eliot turned around, already half-dressed and reached out to cup his cheek. "No. No, you didn't. You're free." He smiled reassuringly.

Lindsey smiled back, relieved and still astonished. "Good. I thought for a moment…" Then he remembered something else. "Did we…?" He tried to sit up and winced suddenly. "Oh. Yeah. Yeah, we did." He started to laugh, a little embarrassed, as he noticed the messy sheets around him. "Uh... yeah. Looks real."

Eliot answered his laugh while he put on his shirt. "It was. Don' worry." He kissed him quickly, but then went all business-like. "Gotta get ready. I still got time 'til the rendezvous, but I'd like to get there early. Make sure he doesn't get away. And no, you don't come with me this time."

Lindsey snorted. "As if I would ask." He grinned as Eliot pointedly raised his eyebrows. "Okay, I would. But, yeah, I know. Not this time." He propped himself up on his elbows and frowned as he looked around the room and common sense began working again. " I'd better fix the room while you're gone."

Eliot followed his gaze to the second bed which was still unused and smooth. "Yeah. It'd look slightly better if your brother slept in his own bed while you had sex with some girl. Sorta." He snorted. "Too bad we bumped into housekeeping yesterday. If they didn't know we're brothers, then we wouldn't need this. Oh well, it will give them somethin' to gossip about, but we'll be back in Chicago by that, I hope." He got up and dressed quickly. "I'll be back as soon as possible. The meeting is planned around eleven, so I should be back at a quarter to twelve latest. And then we'll go home with the next flight."

Lindsey nodded. "Sounds good." He gave Eliot a tender look. "Be careful."

"I always am." Eliot looked like he wanted to kiss him again, but just settled for quick cradling of Lindsey's nape and then he was out of the door.

Lindsey stared after him for a few moments, not moving but his smile broadened happily as he remembered whispered words in his ear. Finally he slowly got up and took a quick shower before putting his boxers on. He stood in the middle of the room, scanning it and then started to work. He crumpled up the sheets and covers of the second bed, flopped on the mattress a few times and tossed one of the pillows to the floor. Satisfied with that, he placed a half-full glass of water and a book about the newest computer software on the nightstand. He pondered the scene a bit, then dug through the various props Hardison had put together for them.

"There you go. Always a good cover story ready, huh Hardison?" He pulled out a bra and some panties of the very lace-y kind and placed them strategically around his bed. He hid Eliot's come-covered shirt and put the lube back in the bag but left the ripped condom wrapper along with a sealed one on his nightstand. He even found a small bottle of perfume that made him sneeze as he sprayed a bit of it in the air. Jesus, Hardison, where did you get this one? Eau de brothel? Another search in his supplies earned him something that made his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. He shook his head in mock surprise. "Hardison. Hardison. You'll have to answer about this one for sure." He stared at the offending item and grinned. Hell yeah, why not. He found another place for it. Housekeeping would certainly get some gossip about the brothers Thompson.

Finally satisfied with the scenery, he flopped back on his bed and closed his eyes again. There were a lot of things to process now - good ones, bad ones and just amazing ones. He re-lived Angel's outburst and checked his entire conclusions twice and then again. He knew Eliot would want answers and he wanted to be completely sure about them before delivering.

***

Eliot reached Gary's with no problems. He was able to see through the perception spell pretty well now, and was also sure nobody had followed him. As he entered the bar it was still empty except for the bartender, the same one - don't forget his claws -  as last night. He obviously recognized him because his eyes widened slightly at Eliot's casual greeting when he ordered a drink, and delivered it quickly. The guy gave him nervous looks and couldn't wait to retreat again. Eliot didn't mind. He looked around the room, checked the exits again, the windows, the way to the other tables. He registered that someone then sat down on the chair next to him, and knew who it was by the distinctive smell of a certain cigarette brand and by the fact that he hadn't heard him sneaking up. "Hello Spike."  He turned around and gave the blond vampire a greeting smile.

Spike looked impressed for a split second and then covered it up by grinning smugly. "Already missed us, pet?"

Eliot glared at the use of the endearment, but then sighed inwardly and added Spike mentally to the very short list of people who were allowed to call him nicknames. Guess we owe him. An' it's not like we'll meet again soon. He looked innocently. "How's Angel's nose?"

Spike grinned even broader and very gleefully. "Stopped bleeding. Barely." His grin faded. "How's the cowboy?"

Eliot was a little surprised at the honest-sounding concern in Spike's voice, but he was careful not to let it show on his face. But he couldn't help a fond smile at the memory of Lindsey's laugh. "Good. Tired, but good."

Spike nodded appreciatively. "Thought so. Tough one, him."

Eliot raised his eyebrows and eyed him curiously. "No hard feelings?"

"Nah." Spike shook his head and smirked. "Played me, yeah, but - everyone who pisses Angel off that much is a friend of mine." He chuckled. "And - he had the guts to apologize. So don't worry, dearie, your lover's safe from me."

Eliot rolled his eyes at the new nickname, but chose not to answer. Spike gave him a smug smile and ordered another drink. "So, what brings you here again? If you don't mind a little small talk, that is."

Eliot accepted the drink with a nod. "Got a job here. Data retrieval. Guy should show up in a few." He looked at the vampire. Might as well ask him. "Spike - what did Lindsey mean, 'he knew'?"

Spike tilted his head, curious look on his face. "Don't you think you should ask him that?"

Eliot shrugged. "He doesn't wanna talk about it yet. And I got some time to kill."

Spike hesitated, but then nodded. "Just my two cents on it. Mind you, it's only a theory, but it fits all bits 'n pieces Angel gave away after the alley battle so I guess I'm not totally wrong." He looked up questioningly. "What do you know about the Senior Partners?"

Eliot snorted. "Not much. Wouldn't like to meet them. Pure evil, soul-selling contracts, perpetuity clauses, zombies, that's about it."

Spike grinned again. "Good description. So - usually, you sign a contract, you're in. Forever. No getting out, eternal service."

Eliot narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, that much I knew. How could Angel cancel the contract then?"

Spike looked uncomfortable. "Only one explanation and it's not pretty. Lindsey left for good, right? Decided to go against them, teamed up with us. Standard procedure? He dies, comes back, goes to special hell for traitors, stays there. Easy. You're with me so far?"

Eliot just confirmed with a nod, taking it all in. Spike continued. He obviously had thought this over a lot, and seemed to be glad to have someone he could talk to about it with. "So for having the contract canceled, Angel must have offered them something that was more valuable than an unuseful ex-employee stashed away in hell. In fact, he didn't even have to offer anything - the fact that he wanted Lindsey dead must have been enough. Can you guess the reason, luv?" He looked expectantly at Eliot who shook his head. "I give you a clue. Souled vampire, pivotal for the outcome of the apocalypse."

Eliot pushed aside his annoyance about the fact that Spike obviously tried to provoke him by giving him the wildest nicknames possible. He tried to process everything. Pivotal for the apocalypse. He knew. Unuseful ex-employee. Another sentence showed itself in his memory. How does it feel, champ, to know that you're at least partly responsible for the state of L.A. as it is now? And then it clicked. Eliot paled and had to swallow before he could answer. "Angel knew that the Partners never would cancel a contract unless the person in question isn't useful to them anymore and they'd get something in return. Means that… the very moment they agreed he must have known that Lindsey had changed sides for good." He hesitated, looking at Spike who motioned at him to continue. He searched for the right words. "So - 'he knew' means that Angel knew Lindsey was on his side but he wanted him dead anyway. And knowingly killing an ally ain't somethin' a Champion should do."

Spike nodded again. "Dark Side deed. And it could very well have been the last reason why the apocalypse didn't turn out in our favor."

Partly responsible for the state of L.A. as it is now. Eliot shuddered. He almost felt a little pity. What a burden to bear. He looked up again. "Then why did he become human? That was supposed to be a reward, wasn't it?"

Spike snorted. "That's why I think it's more a punishment than a reward. We all thought the shanshu would happen to Angel after we defeated evil and everything's hearts and flowers. But now? The battle still goes on, Angel still feels the need to fight against evil, idealistic poof that he is, but he doesn't even have vampire powers anymore. Pisses him off big time, you can believe me." He grinned almost wolfishly. "And he will be all the more pissed if he finally realizes that he actually did the cowboy a favor."

Eliot started to laugh. "Yeah. Imagine his face." He narrowed his eyes, laugh suddenly gone as an unsettling thought came up. "Will he go after him again once he does realize this?"

Spike straightened, completely earnest now. "No. He won't. I will see to that."

Eliot studied the vampire's face. A small knowing smile curled his lips. And you have more power here in this city than you admit now, right? He's the new leader of the group, 'm sure.

Spike looked like he could read Eliot's thoughts and winked at him, confirming Eliot's suspicion. Then he was back to being the cheerful sarcastic player, grinning wickedly and raising his glass. "To you, pet. And the cowboy. So - what's that job that brought you here?"

Eliot looked up as the door opened. A small fat guy in a neatly tailored grey suit entered, accompanied by four almost identical looking broad-shouldered guys. Eliot grinned at the not very convincing way the guys tried to act casually. "He just arrived."

Spike followed his glance and raised his eyebrows. "Him? That's Sparky Johnson, mate. Big target. And you do see that he has four bodyguards with him?"

Eliot's lips twitched with amusement. "Yeah, I noticed. Humans or demons?

Spike's eyes wandered over the group who had now settled down at a table in the back of the bar. "Human. All of them."

Eliot took off his glasses, flashed him a smile and got up. "See you in a few." He walked over to the table in question, looking completely relaxed and confident. "I'm here to collect the data."

The fat guy looked up. "You're earlier than I expected."

Eliot smirked. "Ain't the one you're waitin' for."

Sparky Johnson looked surprised. His mouth opened and closed twice without making a sound, and Eliot could see the bartender making a small move like he wanted to grab a hidden weapon. He prepared for an attack from that side, but then he saw Spike make a small hand signal and the bartender relaxed again. Eliot grinned inwardly. Knew it.

In the meantime, the fat guy had found his voice, even if it was squeaky and indignant. "You're not…"

Eliot smiled innocently. "No. But I want it anyway." He paused and added "Please." Sparky made some incoherent unintelligible noises that Eliot suspected to contain some insults. His smile widened. "I beg your pardon?"

Sparky's mouth fell open again. He stared at Eliot for a moment and then gestured furiously to his bodyguards. "Kill him."

Spike took another sip from his drink and watched. He liked the Lindsey look-alike, but wouldn't help him further - that job was none of his business. He already knew that this human was exceptionally fast, but still hadn't expected what followed. He abruptly set his glass down on the table and just stared with rapidly growing admiration at the sight of Eliot Spencer taking out four of the best human bodyguards money could buy in L.A.. And not only defeating them but disarming and knocking them down with enough speed and precision that none of them even got a chance to throw a punch at him. Spike counted to eleven while he absently downed his drink and made a disappointed noise as the fight was over.

Eliot just stood there again, completely relaxed. Spike could hear that he wasn't even breathing faster. Eliot tilted his head and held out his hand. "I'll take that now, thank you."

Sparky Johnson had lost his color. And his voice. He just very slowly pulled a small parcel out of his pocket and handed it over, hands shaking a bit. Eliot nodded a thanks, stowed it behind his belt and returned to his place at the bar, putting his glasses back on and frowning at some blood stains on his shirt.

Spike stared at him, truly impressed. He clapped his hands in an only half-mocking applause. "Not bad, luv, not bad. If you ever need a new job, call me."

Eliot finished his drink and laughed. "Don't think it will be necessary, but thanks anyway. And thanks for your help."

Spike's cocky grin was back in place. "Don't know what you're talkin' about, but you're welcome. Heading out now?"

Eliot nodded. "Next flight back." He got up again and offered his hand. "Was a pleasure to meet you, Spike."

Spike's expression was a mixture of smugness and appreciation. He gave Eliot's hand a quick squeeze. "Any time, pet. And take care of the cowboy."

Eliot grinned. "Will do." He gave him another nod and left the bar.

Back at the hotel Eliot waited until the receptionist was occupied, snuck in and stepped out of the elevator on his floor seconds later. He looked around and reflexively ducked into the room with the ice machine as he saw one of the young ladies from housekeeping staff approach. Better if she doesn't see me in a bloodstained outfit. Better not to raise questions. His gaze followed her down the hallway and his eyes widened as he realized that the girl was headed for their room. Shit. I forgot to put up the Do Not Disturb sign. And if Lindsey fell asleep again... He looked expectantly as she opened the door and despite his worry had to stifle a laugh at her surprised squeal as she entered the room. He snuck up closer to hear the conversation. The laundry cart had prevented the door from closing, so he could even get a quick glance in the room before he hid again.

Lindsey sat in the bed, looking like he had just woken up, hair ruffled, only wearing boxers. The girl clutched to the fresh towels and looked as if she couldn't decide if she should run or stare a little more, but then Lindsey's cheerful voice chimed in.

"Hello, sweetie, sorry I'm not quite presentable yet, must have overslept. That girl last night really tired me out a bit. Say, you haven't happen to see her around, have you? Tall, red-head, Reenie? Rosie? Something like that. No? Pity. She forgot some of her stuff here, see? Don't know why she left so suddenly. My brother really wasn't paying attention, when he's lost in his books, he'd miss the apocalypse. And you should think a big girl in this city would not freak out over handcuffs, right?"

Eliot could hear a soft metallic clink and another weak noise from the girl who now stepped back slowly while she managed to say "I… really don't know, sir…"

Lindsey started babbling again. "Aw, anyway, she got her money in advance, so I guess she can afford some new underwear. Do you do a lost and found or should I just leave it here in case she comes back?"

The girl was now almost out of the door again. She nodded frantically. "Sure, sir. Anything you want, sir. I'll just… come back later, all right? When you're… good-bye."

She turned around and fled to the next room, not even noticing Eliot who had to bite on his fingers to prevent himself from laughing. When she was out of sight, Eliot stepped into the room. He stared at Lindsey on the bed who was grinning madly, at the bra and panties dangling from the bed's edge and off a chair and finally at the source of the metallic clink - the pair of handcuffs Lindsey had mentioned, lying on the floor. His lips twitched and then finally he started to laugh. It took a few minutes until he could speak. "Lindsey, Lindsey." He shook his head in mocked disappointment. "The poor girl, I think you scarred her for life. And... handcuffs?"

Lindsey joined his laughter. "Provided by Hardison. No idea why he thought we'd use them."

"I... might have." Eliot's laughter faded. "I forgot to put the sign up. Sorry."

Lindsey got up and started to dress, getting more serious now. "'S okay. I had a few seconds before she came in. Actually, I asked myself how Hardison would talk himself out of this..." He looked very amused. "Can't wait to tell him how it worked out."

Eliot groaned. "It worked for now, I give ya that. But don' tell him. It'll go straight to his head."

Lindsey chuckled as he slipped into his shoes. "If ya say so." He looked up, curious. "C'mon, tell me. How did it go?"

Eliot made a smug face and held the parcel up. "Got it."

Lindsey returned the grin, looking very pleased. "Thought so. Anything happen that I need to know about?"

Eliot's smug smile faded. He wasn't sure if Lindsey was ready yet to talk about that subject. He exhaled slowly. "I talked to Spike."

Lindsey stilled for a second and then finished buttoning his shirt, not looking up. "What… did he say?"

"Told me his take on the whole thing." Eliot's voice was soft. He waited patiently for Lindsey to answer.

Lindsey sighed and fidgeted with his clothes some more. Finally he looked at Eliot, small smile forming on his lips. "And knowing Spike, he got it right. He's smarter than everyone thinks, including Angel."

Eliot's lips curled into a quick grin. "Yeah. He is. And I think he's the new leader of the gang now."

Lindsey snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised about that."

He hesitated, and Eliot looked at him, concerned, shaking his head. "Linds… ain't no need to talk about it now. I think I get the picture. Spike was kinda eager to get his theory out and it all made sense to me."

Lindsey smiled involuntarily. "Spike can get very talky if he's upset about something. Did he at least buy you a drink?"

Eliot chuckled. "Yep. And tried to piss me off by using every nickname he could think of. But he was kinda impressed about how I did the retrieval. He offered me a job."

Lindsey had to laugh. "Then he was impressed." He stood up and poured two glasses of water. Then he got very serious. "Tell me what he said. An' I'm gonna tell you my take on it. I need to... sort it through, y'know? Before we're back and have to tell the others."

Eliot nodded. He took the offered water and began to talk.

An hour later, Lindsey had confirmed everything Spike had said and Eliot's conclusions from it, and had added some of his own feelings. "I still can't get over the fact that he risked losing his champion status. He said he didn't believe the Partners that I changed sides, and when he found out that the contract was really off, it was too late. I hope that's really what it is. That he really just… misjudged them." Lindsey stopped pacing around, dropped sitting on the bed and raked his fingers through his hair. He shuddered. "I'm... clutchin' at straws here, I know. Because the other option… is simply that he hated me so much that he didn't care about anything else." His voice broke. "And that means that this… all this mess… wouldn't have happened if I hadn't come back."

Eliot's head jerked up. "Don't." He crouched down in front of Lindsey, grabbed his shoulders and shook him a bit. His voice was harsh. "Don't go there, Linds. Don't you dare take the blame for it."

"But…"

Eliot didn't let go of Lindsey's shoulders. He firmly looked in his eyes. "You wanted to help."

Lindsey gave a little guilty laugh. "Yeah. And kick Angel's ass a bit on the way there. Don't go makin' me a saint."

Eliot didn't smile. "I won't," he said, voice softening now. "I ain't saying you didn't make mistakes. But - Angel wanted you dead. Out of sheer hate or maybe..." Eliot snorted sarcastically. "...because he thought it would be for the greater good." He now grabbed Lindsey's chin with one hand and forced him to look into his eyes. "It doesn't matter, y'hear me? In the end he knew that you were finally on his side and he ignored that. On purpose. But - " He hesitated a moment. His voice lost the sharp edge and got an almost pitiful tone. "I think Spike was right. Him becoming human is not a reward."

Lindsey nodded, almost sad himself. "I… don't know, I can't help thinkin' - when he lost Cordelia, he lost his anchor. Maybe…" He closed his eyes and shivered. "I should just hate him, right? But... I don't. Not anymore." He curled his lips into a humorless smile. "Of course he'd prefer hate to pity from me. Good thing that he'll never know." He opened his eyes again and caught Eliot's gaze. "And I can't believe how lucky I was." His voice broke, and his hands clutched on Eliot's shoulders as he tried to regain his self-control. Eliot cradled his face and brushed his thumbs soothingly over Lindsey's cheekbones. Then he decided that the mood had been dark long enough and nudged Lindsey's chin.

"Lucky, huh? Don't call yourself that yet. You ain't been in the team that long - in a year or two you might wanna resign, who knows?"

Lindsey's eyes flew wide open with surprise. He choked out a shaky laugh but was grateful for the attempt of cheering him up. He tried a grin that wasn't completely convincing but at least a start. "You don't wanna get rid of me, do you?"

Eliot gave him a deadpan look. "You got it. Too much trouble with you. Vampires, spells, how you treat innocent housekeepers - "

Lindsey broke into genuine laughter and shoved Eliot's shoulder. "Then I'd better book a single flight back, because this sounds like you're taking Spike's offer." He reached for his cell phone, but Eliot was faster. His hand grabbed Lindsey's wrist while he wrapped his free arm around Lindsey's waist and then Eliot stood up, pulling Lindsey up with him. Eliot changed his hold, now gripping Lindsey's upper arms, holding him as close as possible.

"No way, boy. Ain't that easy to get out." His voice was raw, and before Lindsey could answer Eliot's lips were on his, rough at first but then changing to something tender. Lindsey slid his arms around Eliot, kissing back until he could feel some of the tension melt, drawing it out until they both needed to breathe. He pulled back a little, leaning his forehead on Eliot's, closing his eyes and just staying there. He felt Eliot's hand caressing his neck and slowly exhaled.

"Eliot…"

He felt the hand on his neck pausing just a little bit. He pressed another kiss to Eliot's lips and then stepped back, looking at Eliot's puzzled face which also showed a small trace of hesitance.

"What?" Eliot's voice was only a very little defensive. Lindsey could practically hear his thoughts - Don't say it. Please, not now. Can't.

Lindsey smiled, accepting silently. I meant what I said. And I heard you. I know. And one day you'll tell me. I can wait. "Nothing. Let's get ready, okay? Just… let's go home."

FIN.