FIC: Naming Boundaries 2/2

Feb 20, 2010 22:21


TITLE: Naming Boundaries 2/2

AUTHOR: Electric Light Shadowboxer

RATING: NC17

CATEGORY: Slash

PAIRING: Nate/Eliot

DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor am I associated with Leverage. No copyright infringement intended. This little piece of insanity was written for fun, not profit. I make no money. Literally.

SUMMARY: The eleventh in The Unnamed Series. Picks up after The Beantown Bailout Job. Nate is sober and the crew is back together, but adjustments must be made. How is all of this going to affect Nate and Eliot’s lives?

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The first story in season 2! Takes place after The Beantown Bailout Job and contains slight spoilers. This story depicts grown adult males in a consensual, loving, relationship. If that bothers you, don’t read.

Part 1

It was one of those rare times when he was actually asleep; Nathan curled up in his arms, their legs intertwined. But no matter how comfortable he was, sound would wake him. His brain never completely shut down to leave him helpless; hypervigilance was a byproduct of the life he lived. So when he heard the soft sounds of someone moving around downstairs his eyes opened wide and he held his breath, instantly alert, muscles tightening in his arms and back.

There it was again, the soft rustle of someone trying to move around quietly. Eliot slid out from underneath Nathan’s arm and pulled on a pair of boxers and some sweats. With a last look back at Nathan to make sure that he was still sleeping, Eliot left the bedroom and made his way to the top of the stairs.

He paused there to listen some more and scowled when he heard a crunch. What the hell? He heard the clink of glass as he started down the stairs, careful to place his bare feet just so.

In the light coming through the windows he could make out a slim figure standing at the kitchen counter. He came further down, careful about his weight distribution, not wanting the stairs to creak. He made it to the bottom without the figure turning around and seeing him. He paused at the bottom, raking the hair out of his face and looking around for more intruders. It wasn’t until he was almost right on top of her that he recognized the figure.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Parker, what the hell are you doing here?” He flipped on the light and blinked in the sudden brightness.

Parker raised her eyebrows at Eliot’s naked chest and crunched on another spoonful of cereal, clearly aware he’d been coming down the stairs the whole time. “I was hungry and I wanted cereal.”

Eliot winced as she spoke around a mouthful of half chewed grain and milk. He glared, voice dropping several octaves. “You broke in here to steal cereal?”

Parker frowned, confusion making her brows furrow over her eyes. “I didn’t break in. And it’s not stealing. These are our offices. I was hungry so I came for cereal.”

“You came for cereal. What, you don’t keep cereal at your place?” Eliot shook his head and waved away her answer. He rubbed at his forehead before putting his hands on his hips. “This is also somebody’s house, Parker. You can’t just come in whenever you feel like it.”

“Eliot? What’s going on?”

Eliot sighed and looked toward the stairs. “Nothing, Nate. Go back to bed. I’ll be up in a minute.”

When he brought his attention back to Parker she had her bowl in the sink and was smirking at him. “Did I interrupt you two?”

“Yeah, sleeping. Now get out of here.”

Parker grinned at the flush crawling over his cheeks and stepped around the island. “Which one of you is the girl?”

Eliot took a step back. “What? Neither of us, we’re both men.”

“I mean . . .”

Eliot grabbed her by the arm and started ushering her to the door. “I don’t care what you meant. Good night, Parker.”

Parker tried to drag her feet. “But I didn’t come in this way.”

Eliot opened the door and escorted her through. “I don’t care. It’s the way you’re leaving.”

Parker stood on the other side of the door, looking a little hurt. Eliot sighed and hung his head a moment. “Parker, don’t worry about it. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Parker nodded and started down the hallway. Eliot closed the door and checked the lock and the security alarm. He was starting to think ‘wrong’ was too mild of a description for her.

Back upstairs he found Nate waiting in bed for him, sitting up and frowning. Eliot stripped off his pants and sighed as he slid between the sheets and took the other man in his arms.

“What was all that?”

He helped Nate get situated back down, molding his body around him. “Parker decided she wanted some cereal so she thought she’d come by and help herself to some of ours.”

Nate pulled out of Eliot’s arms and looked at the other man. “What?”

Eliot couldn’t help but smirk. “She figured since this was also the office it was okay. I think you’re going to have to lay down a few ground rules, establish some boundaries.”

Nathan ran a hand down his face. “Yeah, no kidding.” He yawned, jaw cracking, before sighing and pressing himself back against the other man. “But tomorrow, it’s two in the morning.”

Eliot nodded and settled back down into bed with Nathan. He wouldn’t go back to sleep now, but it was nice to just lie here and hold his lover. He could feel Nathan’s warm breath ghost over his neck, the hair on his thigh where it was tucked between his own. Eliot could feel himself start to stir to life and he buried his nose into Nathan’s neck. He smelled so good.

Without the patina of whiskey masking his scent, Eliot had discovered that Nathan smelled of apples and musk. It was one of the most erotic scents he’d ever smelled, rich and deep. He took a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes.

He tried to relax into Nathan’s warmth, but his mind kept going over everything he wanted to do with the new space. He knew exactly where he was going to place everything. He even knew a place that he could get all the stuff they’d need. “I’m going to turn that extra space off the living room into a gym. I want to train the others in some basic hand to hand.”

Nathan grunted, but didn’t offer any other comment.

Eliot rubbed a hand up and down Nathan’s back. “I want you to train with me as well.”

That got Nathan’s attention. He picked up his head and frowned. “What? Why?”

Eliot looked into the sleep addled face of the man beside him and couldn’t help the small smile that stole over his lips. Nate did not do well if his sleep was interrupted. “I want you to be able to protect yourself. I want to know that I’m not all that’s standing between you and a solid ass whooping.”

Nathan snorted and buried his head in the pillow.

Eliot sat there a while longer before sighing and giving up in defeat. “I want to get started on the gym. You need me for anything?”

Nate groaned, his voice muffled by the pillows. “No. Go away and let me get some sleep.”

Eliot chuckled and smacked Nathan’s ass as he climbed out of the bed. “Sleep tight.”

Nathan flipped him off and then buried himself in both pillows, stretching out over Eliot’s side of the bed.

* * *

It was still early in the morning when Nathan was pulled from the bed by the smell of brewing coffee. Eliot heard him on the metal stairs and couldn’t help but grin at him as he padded down in his bare feet. Nathan was squinting in the bright morning light, stubble covering his cheeks and chin, and his dark curls were sticking up in all directions from a serious case of bed head. When the look wasn’t caused by the overindulgence of alcohol it was actually quite adorable.

Nathan stopped at the bottom of the stairs and cocked his head, scowling at Eliot’s cheerful mood. “What are you grinning at?”

Eliot smirked and turned around to grab a cup and pour some coffee. He’d found only one way to cure Nathan of his usually sour morning mood. Unfortunately, this morning he’d been too occupied to greet him when he woke. When he turned back around Nathan was sitting at the counter and Eliot placed the cup in front of him.

Nathan scowled and rubbed at his face, wincing in the sunlight. “Whoever decided the sun should come up so damn early ought to be shot.”

Eliot placed his hands on the counter and studied him a moment. “I didn’t really think it possible, but you’re actually grumpier than usual this morning.”

Nate eyed him as he picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip of the hot liquid. “Yeah, well, it’s not like I got a good night’s sleep or anything.”

Eliot pulled a stool around the counter so he could sit facing Nathan, watching as he rubbed at his head and tried to wake up a little more. “Did you have problems going back to sleep after I got up?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have, but someone was making an awful lot of noise down here.” He threw a piercing look at Eliot. “What the hell were you doing down here at three in the morning?”

Eliot leaned across the bar to give Nate a kiss as he stood from the stool. Then, turning back to the kitchen, he started gathering stuff to make some breakfast. “Sorry. I wanted to get the gym set up. I’ve missed having a place at home to work out. And I want to get started on training you guys as soon as possible.”

Nathan set his cup down. “You’re serious?”

Eliot looked away from chopping green onion for an omelet and smiled. “Yeah, I’m serious. Not only will you be better prepared, but it’ll be good for you. Help get you in shape.” Eliot grinned at the incredulous look that spread over Nathan’s face.

When Nathan saw the delight that Eliot was getting out of his reaction Nathan narrowed his eyes and frowned. “You saying I’m fat?”

Eliot snorted and turned back to the chopping board. “No. I’m saying it’ll be good to be a little more physically active.” He glanced over at Nathan, turning serious. “You haven’t been the kindest to your body, Nate, and let’s face it, you aren’t getting any younger. You need to start taking better care of yourself.”

Nathan set his coffee cup down on the countertop and stared at Eliot, a crease appearing between his brows. “So, I’m not fat. I’m old. Is that it?”

Eliot shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You know what I meant. Stop being difficult.”

Nathan grinned the first time that morning and Eliot counted it a small win. Anytime he could get Nate to loosen up a little, get out of his head, was a good thing. The easy banter between them was more common now that Nathan wasn’t drinking. Eliot didn’t know if Nathan would ever be the man he’d once been. He highly doubted it. But there was something of the man he’d met all those years ago. It was nice to see him smile every once in a while, to see him joke around a little.

Silence fell over the apartment except for the sound of the food cooking on the stove and Eliot’s prattling around the kitchen. Eliot couldn’t help but smile a little. The very thought that Nathan might actually be worried about his body was ridiculous. You couldn’t see it now because of the baggy clothes he was wearing, but Nate actually had a great body. It was different from his own, much more streamlined. Where he was all hard muscle and bulk, Nathan was all wiry sinew. Nathan’s was a swimmer’s body, lean, and built for speed. The weight he’d gained since quitting drinking was healthy weight and only served to make him more attractive. It filled in his face and stomach so he didn’t look quite so much like a famine victim.

Eliot set a plate with an omelet and a piece of toast down in front of Nathan and eyed the black tee and grey sweats his lover had on. “You eat that. I’m going to go upstairs and change, and then I want to show you something.” He took off up the stairs before Nathan could object.

He came back down just as Nathan was finishing up the last of his omelet and toast. Eliot couldn’t help the little thrill he felt as he watched Nathan eat. It’d been a fight for so long to get him to eat anything. Now it was a pleasure to cook for him and see that Nathan enjoyed his food.

Once the breakfast dishes were in the sink he took Nathan into the newly renovated area.

Nathan looked around, blinking in surprise. The décor that had been in place last night was gone. The hard wood floors were cleaned and blue matting was laid down over a good portion of it. A heavy bag hung in one corner from an exposed rafter. That would explain the noise of machine tools he’d heard this morning. “How’d you get all this done in one morning?”

Eliot surveyed the area. There was a lot still to be done, but he had a basic training area fixed up and was really liking the way it was shaping up. He wanted to get some more equipment, some padding for training, and a couple of training dummies. “It’s not finished yet, but it should be good enough to get a start on working with you guys.”

Nathan looked at Eliot, at the gleam in his eyes, and started to back away. “It looks good. I’m sure the team will appreciate it.”

Eliot stepped forward, confused. “Where are you going? I’m not done yet.”

Nathan held up a hand and started for the door. “Yeah, you’re not supposed to work out right after you eat. I’m going to go see what kind of damage Hardison’s done to the wiring in here.”

Eliot snorted and came forward, grabbing Nathan by the arm and bringing him back into the room. “That’s swimming, Nate. Come on, I want to show you some things.”

Nathan was still looking somewhat dubious. “I’m not letting you beat the shit out of me, Eliot.”

Eliot rolled his eyes and dropped Nathan’s arm, turning to face him. “Have I ever hurt you?”

Nathan eyed him, still wary. “Not yet.”

Eliot tried not to mind what was implied. On one level, Nathan knew Eliot wouldn’t hurt him, but his brain didn’t always listen to it. It was a slow process, but Nathan was slowly learning to trust him. It was just taking some time. “Okay, I’m going to show you some basic moves, called katas, and then some holds. Don’t worry, we’re going to take it nice and slow.”

He stepped behind Nathan, going slow and easy as Nathan tensed up. Eliot put his hands on Nathan’s hips and helped him position his feet, had him bend his knees a little. He made sure that Nathan kept his back straight and aligned and then came around to stand in front of him.

They started slow, but Nathan surprised him by how easily he picked it up. They moved through the basic motions, Eliot throwing slow hits and instructing Nathan how to block. They’d been going at it for almost thirty minutes when Eliot stepped back a moment and eyed Nathan. “You’ve done some fighting before.”

Nathan stood, hands on his hips, a little more out of breath and a lot sweatier than Eliot. “Yeah, well, nothing formal.” At Eliot’s raised brow he blew out a breath. “Come on, I grew up in the streets of Boston. You think I never had to defend myself from anyone?”

Eliot nodded, smiling. He could imagine Nate as a young boy. He’d bet a thousand he’d been a hand full. “Point taken. Let’s move on to something else.”

Eliot started to show Nathan a few basic holds and some grappling techniques. He had Nathan down on his back and was showing him how to wrap his legs around his neck in a choke hold.

“Okay, now, I want you to lock this leg around this one, yeah, use the knee like that. Careful, not too much pressure or you’ll end up putting me out.”

Eliot’s cheek was warm pressed against his thigh. The workout had Eliot pleasantly flushed, a fine sheen on his skin. His hair was coming loose from the hair band and Nathan felt his groin stir. He widened his legs so Eliot ended up closer and shifted his hips, brushing against Eliot’s cheek with his burgeoning erection.

Eliot paused as he felt Nathan shift under him again. The unexpected movement caused him to slide forward and he felt his lover, hard and warm through his sweat pants. Eliot felt warmth pool into his own stomach and groin, a smile growing across his face. “Something about this you like?”

Nate shifted again, lowering his legs to wrap lower around Eliot’s torso, trying to pull him up his body. “I missed you this morning.”

“Yeah?” Eliot was quiet a moment, libido battling with his desire to finish the workout. Usually, he didn’t mix pleasure with business. And this was work, this was important. But they’d been going at it over thirty minutes now and he could tell Nathan was tiring. So he relaxed a little and moved up Nathan’s body, pressing his own erection down on Nathan’s. “You sure you’re not just trying to distract me?”

He watched as Nathan let loose a cocky grin. “Is it working?”

Eliot smiled before he grabbed Nathan and flipped his lover onto his stomach, pinning him with his body, and grinding his hips into Nate’s ass. “Well, I hadn’t planned on this,” He paused and bit down on the back of Nathan’s neck, licking at his salty skin. He pressed his lips into the sensitive skin behind Nate’s ear. “But there are cardiovascular benefits to this as well.”

Nathan tried to squirm out from under Eliot, trying to get the upper hand, but all the shifting did was grind his cock into the mat below him, and his ass against Eliot’s erection. He stopped, panting. “Eliot . . .” He had to break off because Eliot chose that minute to reach his hand into his pants and squeeze his ass. Nathan dug his fingers into the mat and bucked up against the hard shaft running along the line of his ass.

Eliot felt his groin throb as Nathan squirmed and groaned beneath him. Maybe Nate would be more motivated if there was a reward after each workout session. He backed off just enough to turn Nathan over, and then descended on his lips, eating hungrily at his mouth. Nathan wrapped his legs around Eliot’s hips and Eliot ground down, rubbing their cocks together. He lowered himself so he could bite at Nathan’s neck. When he came away Nathan’s pupils were blown and his neck marked.

He ran his fingers under the band of Nathan’s sweatpants, fingers brushing against the trail of hair that ran from his stomach to his groin before he yanked the pants down, freeing Nathan from the cotton material. Eliot paused a moment, to savor the sight of Nathan bared before him, heavy and full. Nathan’s chest was still heaving, his eyes glazed. A drop of precum beaded at the head and Eliot went down, tongue starting at the base, working his way up to swirl around the tip. He caught the salty fluid on his tongue and closed his eyes before closing his mouth over Nathan and sucking.

“Fuck, Eliot!” His voice was hoarse, breathy. Nathan dug his heels into the mat and thrust upwards.

Eliot grasped Nate’s hips and sucked up his shaft before letting loose to lick up Nathan’s stomach. The heat across Nathan’s cheeks was for an entirely different reason now. He looked so beautiful lying there, sweaty and flushed. Eliot was going to take his time, make Nate squirm and beg. He was going to make Nate scream his name.

“Hey guys, I got that . . .” There was a beat of silence. “Oh, hell no! I’ll be back later.”

Eliot looked up in time to see Hardison’s back retreating from the gym area. “Hardison!”

They heard a door a slam and then quiet descended on the apartment. Eliot let his head fall to Nathan’s chest, breath still coming hard, but the mood was gone. Eliot may have been willing to try a lot of things when it came to sex, but exhibitionism just wasn’t something he could get into.

He groaned as he rolled off of Nathan. “I’m gonna kill him.”

Nathan was still panting, taking huge gulps of breath, but he managed to get a few words out. “No, not yet. We still need his technical skills.” He paused, trying to regain his breath. “Maybe put a bell on him though.”

Eliot sat up and helped Nathan up and back into his pants. “Seriously, we’ve got to have that talk about boundaries.”

Nathan nodded and coughed, clearing his throat. “We’re lucky that wasn’t Sophie.”

Eliot snorted and nodded his head. “Now that would’ve been bad.”

Nathan paled a little, his erection softening to become flaccid. “You know, first thing I thought when I realized it had been her that had pulled the trigger? The first thing through my head? It wasn’t that it was part of the con. The first thing I thought was that she’d found out.”

Eliot was quiet a moment, letting Nathan work through his remaining fear. He could be there to support him, but this was something Nate was going to have to come to terms with. “Speaking of which, did she tell you about her boyfriend?”

Nathan nodded. “Yeah, you were right. I invited her out to dinner and she backed off.” He threw a look at Eliot. “How come you knew about that before me?”

“Parker told me. Sophie was worried you’d be upset.” Eliot watched as Nathan shook his head. “You know, now that the team’s been apart for a while, and she has a boyfriend, this would be a good time to tell her.”

Nathan was quiet so he continued. “She already found our toys.” He couldn’t help but grin. “I think she was a little shocked. I wonder what it was that got her.”

Nathan was silent for a moment more before shaking his head. “No. It’s too soon. Remember, we’re supposed to have been apart all this time. If we have a relationship out of nowhere it’ll look suspicious. We’ll have to take it slow.”

Eliot narrowed his eyes. Nathan had been resistant to telling Sophie for obvious reasons in the past. But now it seemed like he was stalling more than anything. “You sure that’s all it is, Nate? I know you guys were close once. Are you sure you don’t still have feelings for her?”

Nathan frowned. “What? No. I told you, I can’t give her what she wants.”

Eliot felt his eyebrows climb toward his hairline. “But you can give it to me?”

Nathan glared and pushed himself up off the floor. “It’s not the same, Eliot. You’re not . . .” He waved his hands, dismissing the conversation and then started out of the room. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

Eliot watched him walk away and felt something stirring in his gut. When he realized what it was he shoved the feeling back down and put a lid on it. He wasn’t going to be jealous of Sophie. Nathan had a hard enough time accepting Eliot inside his boundaries. Having Sophie inside as well would be too much.

Eliot stood and started upstairs to wait for the shower, telling himself he had nothing to worry about.

* * *

Hardison, sitting in the armchair, kept his eyes on the floor, not looking at either Eliot or Nate. Eliot sat in the other arm chair, glaring at Hardison while Parker and Sophie sat on the couch.

Sophie watched as Nathan came over and sat a stool down in front of the monitors before picking up his cup of coffee from the table and taking a seat. “What’s going on, Nate? Have we got another job already?”

Nate looked around the group as he took a sip. “No. Not yet. I called this meeting to lay down a few rules.” He watched as Hardison sank down further into his cushions and Parker nodded and watched on in wide eyed innocence.

“I realize that at the offices you guys could come and go as you wanted. It’s become clear though, that I need to state the obvious. After Hardison barging in unannounced and Parker breaking in to steal cereal . . .”

“You broke in to steal cereal?”

Parker turned to the grifter. “No. I wasn’t stealing and I didn’t mean to break in. But after talking to Eliot . . .” She trailed off, eyes going wide at the look both Eliot and Nate were giving her. “. . . later this morning . . . when I was telling him about it,” She took a deep breath. “I understand why . . . Nate . . . was so upset.”

Eliot huffed and Nate tried not to look as exasperated as he felt. He really needed to get Parker to work on her acting ability.

Sophie cocked her head, looking at the thief. “Huh.”

Nathan waved his hand, as if to erase the last couple of minutes. “As I was saying, you can’t just come in here. I live here, this is my home.” He looked around at each and every one of them. “Now, I don’t mind if you hang out here at times,” He held up his hand. “But please respect my privacy and don’t drop in unannounced.” He paused and looked at Parker. “Parker, that means no coming over for cereal at two in the morning.”

She nodded, arms resting on her crossed legs. “Got it. I think you’re out of cereal anyway.”

Nate sighed and took another sip of his coffee. “Other than that, clean up after yourselves.” He started to stand and realized that everyone was still looking at him. “That’s it. Go, do whatever.”

Hardison was up, out of the chair, and to the door.

Eliot jumped up taking off after him. “Hardison!”

Nate watched, a small bemused smile on his face as Eliot trotted across the living room after the hacker. He’d have to make sure that Eliot didn’t hurt Hardison, but he wasn’t averse to scaring him.

Parker climbed over the back of the couch and headed toward the kitchen, opening the cabinets.

Sophie approached Nate, hands on the small of her back as she watched Parker find a box of crackers to munch on. She turned back to the man on the stool and smiled softly. “Maybe you should’ve included not raiding the pantry on your list of rules.”

Nathan snorted and shook his head. “I think most of it is orange soda and gummy frogs now anyway.”

Sophie was quiet, hand going up to wrap around the back of her neck as she bit her lip. “Listen, Nate, about last night . . .”

Nathan smiled and stood. “It’s okay, Sophie. Really. Don’t worry about it.”

She watched as he walked toward the door where Hardison and Eliot had disappeared, frown on her face.

*The End*

naming boundaries, nate/eliot, fanfic, the unnamed series, leverage

Previous post Next post
Up