Fic: Losing Ground [8]
Fic: Losing Ground [8]
Author: LMX
Fandom: Leverage
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Nate/Sophie
AN: See parts [2] and [3].
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]
[8]
"It's all about communication, Nate, all of it. I act and grift with what I can see..." Sophie stumbled over the word and Nate looked up from the bed sheets at the pacing woman, trying to judge when she would be ready for him to reach out for her. "With what I can see." she repeated with effort. "I'm a con artist, it's what I do. I use people's personalities and emotions against them. I use what they show me to read them." Sophie whirled around and sank into a chair. Nate took that as his sign, unfolding himself from the bed and walking to her side. "Fuck." Sophie said with feeling, sliding down until her head touched the wall over the back of the chair, the move pulling her thin silk slip high up her thigh. Nate settled on the chair beside her, putting a hand on that exposed thigh and the other in the middle of her back.
"Tell me what this is really about." he asked. "It's not about the con."
"They're family." Sophie sobbed, holding herself together too tightly to reach for Nate, not yet. "We're not a team any more, Nate. We haven't been for years."
"And they'll stand by you." Nate frowned. "We all will, we've said that already."
"It's not..." Sophie laughed wetly, snuffling into her wrist as she wiped away tears. "I know. It's terrible, and it's arrogant, but I know you will because we're family. God, I'm so much more selfish than that." Sophie rolled into Nate's arms and he hitched her gently into his lap, holding her as tightly as he dared.
"Say it. I won't judge you." Nate urged.
"I want to hear their voices, Nate. I want to know that they'll always be able to tell me how they're feeling, even when I can't read the signs or their body language. I don't want to lose them because I can't see what they're saying to me."
"That's not selfish." Nate chided. "That's not selfish at all."
"How do I fix it?" she asked desperately. "What do I do?"
"I'll talk to Hardison in the morning. There will be things we can do. Technologies I'm sure he will be more than happy to play with."
"I don't..." Sophie stopped.
Nate shook his head at her, "Tell me."
"I know, I can't have it both ways." she sighed, breath hiccuping in her chest. "But Alec doesn't want to talk for a reason. I don't want this to become a demand that he talks to me. I don't want to put that on him, Nate. How ever selfish I might be, I don't want to force that on him."
"We'll talk to him in the morning." Nate assured her. "Now will you come back to bed?"
-
"He's on your right." Alec's voice came across the earbuds. Sophie physically jumped, eyes wide and startled. Eliot stepped up beside her and put a settling hand on her shoulder before moving away again. She was aware of his hands in motion as he stepped back towards his mark, but couldn't tell if he was aiming it at a camera for Alec or at someone in the room. Parker was already on the roof and Nate was sweet talking politicians in another state.
"Keep that up and I will give you a Stephen Hawkings voice, asshole." Alec's voice said again, distorting around the name and the swearword. Sophie's chest clenched as the computer was given away. It was a very good impersonation, but not perfect.
"I'm a beautiful girl, pet my beautiful hair." Eliot's voice said, dry and gravelly and *too* perfect and Sophie didn't know if she was holding back tears or laughter. Eliot's growl - no computer could generate that noise - rolled across the comm. links and Sophie smiled.
"Sophie. Mark on your right." Alec's computer-generated voice added, reminding her what they were supposed to be doing.
-
Sophie was exhausted when she wandered back towards the van, her part of the con complete and, as far as she knew, the mark on the hook. She'd expected to be walking back with Eliot, but he'd already left when she'd finished. She couldn't bring herself to care, though. She'd been on an emotional high since Alec had used his new piece of speaking software at the start of the evening, and still felt a bit like dancing around. She held it back to a wide grin and counted cars to find the van.
Her good humour toppled as she climbed inside, awkward in her heels, to find Alec holding an icepack to his jaw. The tension was almost vibrating out of him, and he jumped as she stepped inside as if he was expecting someone else.
On seeing Sophie he slammed the icepack into the desk, showing off a split lip and bruising jaw. [He hit me.] he declared, his signs short and sharp and contained.
[Who?] she asked, sure that Alec had been safe in the van, out of the way of any backlash from their actions inside. She looked around the van, suddenly sure there were people she couldn't see in the corners waiting. Alec caught hold of her wrist to call her attention back to him.
[He's gone.] Alec told her.
[Who?] she repeated with a little more force.
[Eliot.] Alec spelled out, forgoing the affectionate sign-name Parker had given the hitter. [He's crazy!]
[Eliot? Our Eliot hit you?] Sophie asked, astonished. [Is he alright?]
[Eliot alright?] Alec repeated. [What about Alec?] He threw his hands in the air and turned his back on Sophie.
"Hardison, don't turn your back on me, please." Sophie said to herself. She picked up the icepack from the side, pulling at Hardison's chair to turn him back around and moving closer so that she could hold the pack against the bruise on his jaw. She settled her other hand under his chin, holding him still. Hardison flinched at her touch, or perhaps at the cold, but he seemed to relax when she didn't pull away.
"You know what you did, right?" she asked slowly, not willing to give up her grip on Alec to free her hands.
[Me? Nothing.] Alec answered. [Eliot hit me.]
"It was his voice." she said sadly.
Alec looked confused, and Sophie was thinking about repeating herself when Alec asked, [On the computer?], thumbing the set-up beside him. [Eliot said it sounded wrong. Wasn't finished.]
Sophie shook her head, contradicting him. "It doesn't. It's perfect."
[I don't understand.] Alec said simply.
Unable to explain, Sophie just shook her head. Forcing herself not to look away or down and break Hardison's line of sight to her lips, she shut her eyes instead. "I do."
-
Masterpost
Author: LMX
Fandom: Leverage
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Nate/Sophie
AN: See parts [2] and [3].
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]
[8]
"It's all about communication, Nate, all of it. I act and grift with what I can see..." Sophie stumbled over the word and Nate looked up from the bed sheets at the pacing woman, trying to judge when she would be ready for him to reach out for her. "With what I can see." she repeated with effort. "I'm a con artist, it's what I do. I use people's personalities and emotions against them. I use what they show me to read them." Sophie whirled around and sank into a chair. Nate took that as his sign, unfolding himself from the bed and walking to her side. "Fuck." Sophie said with feeling, sliding down until her head touched the wall over the back of the chair, the move pulling her thin silk slip high up her thigh. Nate settled on the chair beside her, putting a hand on that exposed thigh and the other in the middle of her back.
"Tell me what this is really about." he asked. "It's not about the con."
"They're family." Sophie sobbed, holding herself together too tightly to reach for Nate, not yet. "We're not a team any more, Nate. We haven't been for years."
"And they'll stand by you." Nate frowned. "We all will, we've said that already."
"It's not..." Sophie laughed wetly, snuffling into her wrist as she wiped away tears. "I know. It's terrible, and it's arrogant, but I know you will because we're family. God, I'm so much more selfish than that." Sophie rolled into Nate's arms and he hitched her gently into his lap, holding her as tightly as he dared.
"Say it. I won't judge you." Nate urged.
"I want to hear their voices, Nate. I want to know that they'll always be able to tell me how they're feeling, even when I can't read the signs or their body language. I don't want to lose them because I can't see what they're saying to me."
"That's not selfish." Nate chided. "That's not selfish at all."
"How do I fix it?" she asked desperately. "What do I do?"
"I'll talk to Hardison in the morning. There will be things we can do. Technologies I'm sure he will be more than happy to play with."
"I don't..." Sophie stopped.
Nate shook his head at her, "Tell me."
"I know, I can't have it both ways." she sighed, breath hiccuping in her chest. "But Alec doesn't want to talk for a reason. I don't want this to become a demand that he talks to me. I don't want to put that on him, Nate. How ever selfish I might be, I don't want to force that on him."
"We'll talk to him in the morning." Nate assured her. "Now will you come back to bed?"
-
"He's on your right." Alec's voice came across the earbuds. Sophie physically jumped, eyes wide and startled. Eliot stepped up beside her and put a settling hand on her shoulder before moving away again. She was aware of his hands in motion as he stepped back towards his mark, but couldn't tell if he was aiming it at a camera for Alec or at someone in the room. Parker was already on the roof and Nate was sweet talking politicians in another state.
"Keep that up and I will give you a Stephen Hawkings voice, asshole." Alec's voice said again, distorting around the name and the swearword. Sophie's chest clenched as the computer was given away. It was a very good impersonation, but not perfect.
"I'm a beautiful girl, pet my beautiful hair." Eliot's voice said, dry and gravelly and *too* perfect and Sophie didn't know if she was holding back tears or laughter. Eliot's growl - no computer could generate that noise - rolled across the comm. links and Sophie smiled.
"Sophie. Mark on your right." Alec's computer-generated voice added, reminding her what they were supposed to be doing.
-
Sophie was exhausted when she wandered back towards the van, her part of the con complete and, as far as she knew, the mark on the hook. She'd expected to be walking back with Eliot, but he'd already left when she'd finished. She couldn't bring herself to care, though. She'd been on an emotional high since Alec had used his new piece of speaking software at the start of the evening, and still felt a bit like dancing around. She held it back to a wide grin and counted cars to find the van.
Her good humour toppled as she climbed inside, awkward in her heels, to find Alec holding an icepack to his jaw. The tension was almost vibrating out of him, and he jumped as she stepped inside as if he was expecting someone else.
On seeing Sophie he slammed the icepack into the desk, showing off a split lip and bruising jaw. [He hit me.] he declared, his signs short and sharp and contained.
[Who?] she asked, sure that Alec had been safe in the van, out of the way of any backlash from their actions inside. She looked around the van, suddenly sure there were people she couldn't see in the corners waiting. Alec caught hold of her wrist to call her attention back to him.
[He's gone.] Alec told her.
[Who?] she repeated with a little more force.
[Eliot.] Alec spelled out, forgoing the affectionate sign-name Parker had given the hitter. [He's crazy!]
[Eliot? Our Eliot hit you?] Sophie asked, astonished. [Is he alright?]
[Eliot alright?] Alec repeated. [What about Alec?] He threw his hands in the air and turned his back on Sophie.
"Hardison, don't turn your back on me, please." Sophie said to herself. She picked up the icepack from the side, pulling at Hardison's chair to turn him back around and moving closer so that she could hold the pack against the bruise on his jaw. She settled her other hand under his chin, holding him still. Hardison flinched at her touch, or perhaps at the cold, but he seemed to relax when she didn't pull away.
"You know what you did, right?" she asked slowly, not willing to give up her grip on Alec to free her hands.
[Me? Nothing.] Alec answered. [Eliot hit me.]
"It was his voice." she said sadly.
Alec looked confused, and Sophie was thinking about repeating herself when Alec asked, [On the computer?], thumbing the set-up beside him. [Eliot said it sounded wrong. Wasn't finished.]
Sophie shook her head, contradicting him. "It doesn't. It's perfect."
[I don't understand.] Alec said simply.
Unable to explain, Sophie just shook her head. Forcing herself not to look away or down and break Hardison's line of sight to her lips, she shut her eyes instead. "I do."
-
Masterpost