Title: Watching
Set after Ocean's 12, Livingston watches some of his team members.
Watching
Livingston sat in the darkest corner of the bar. It wasn’t the nicest bar in the area, but it didn’t have any cameras; that’s why he liked it. He was used to being behind the scenes (especially where cameras where concerned) and hated to be in the spotlight, to watch but not be watched. Right now he was watching Linus and Rusty at the bar.
After their poker game a few days ago he thought everyone had split up and gone their own ways (including the Malloys he had noted with interest), except apparently these two. Livingston had stuck around as he really had no where else to be, he figured he’d probably go back to work with the feds till he could get his own place, judging by the looks that everyone gave him living your parents at 40 really was frowned upon.
Apparently he had been wrong though, these two were still here. Livingston had figured Rusty would be off with Isabelle, and just assumed Linus would go back to Chicago. However both the guys in question were presently at the bar messing with two girls across the room that were not so subtly checking them out, well Rusty was at least Linus only joined in occasionally.
Livingston didn’t get it, if a girl half as pretty as those two as much as looked at him he’d go for it, wouldn’t hang out at a bar and run the chance of loosing her, but that was the difference between being someone like Rusty, and someone like himself. Livingston was pretty sure Linus fit in somewhere towards Rusty’s end of the scale, just lacking either the confidence, or the constant need to flirt with everything in a skirt.
Livingston wasn’t even too sure about that though, was it only skirt? There had always been rumours about Danny and Rusty, however Livingston thought (Basher disagreed) that the fact that Danny was married and wanted his wife back enough to get her to marry him again, proved them wrong.
Rusty he had wondered about though, and both during and after Vegas he had wondered about Rusty and Linus (not that he knew about Linus either), and he knew that the display he was seeing now should either prove his suspicions without doubt, or make him throw them out the window.
For one thing they were still here, together, less then a week since they had been on death row, and Isabelle was no where in sight. Of course she could have just been off visiting her father.
Also Livingston had noticed even back in Vegas Rusty was one of the few people Linus was really comfortable speaking to (the others being Danny and Saul). That was saying something Linus was quiet, almost shy, and no-one like that (including himself) was really comfortable talking to Rusty (at least not at first).
Livingston watched them for a few more minutes but still couldn’t draw a firm conclusion, every now and then Rusty would touch the kid’s arm as if trying to prove a point and then send a look at the girls across the bar. Livingston considered going over and saying hi, but was beaten to it when over at the bar the other two (apparently having gotten bored of the girls) got up and left.
Livingston finished his drink and headed towards the door. Stepping out into the cold he noticed two men standing to his left, and even in the dark it was easy to tell they were the same two he had been watching by the bar just a moment ago.
“Hey,” Rusty said calmly walking over to him “how was your drink?” He seemed calm, friendly but Livingston was use to watching people, he could see the laughter in Rusty’s eyes.
“Okay,” Livingston stumbled, trying to get over the embarrassment of being caught watching them.
Seeing Livingston’s discomfort Linus offered him a small, almost reassuring, smile. Rusty just smirked and grabbed Livingston by the shoulder leading him down the street, “Want to grab a burger?” Rusty asked.
Livingston paused for a second glancing between Rusty pulling him along on his left, to Linus walking calmly to his right “Sure.” He said.
Livingston noticed as Linus and Rusty exchanged a quick glance over his head, he tried to work out what they had exchanged in it, but as Rusty led him across the street and Linus looked up at the tall building, seemingly to admire the architecture, Livingston decided it really didn’t matter. He could always work it out tomorrow.