Fic: It's the End of the World As We Know It (Part One)
Title: It’s the End of the World As We Know It.
Pairing: Eliot/Sophie, mentions of Sophie/Nate
Rating: R
Beta: whiskyinmind
Word Count: 14,804
Summary: Eliot and Sophie kiss and everything changes as they try to work out what’s going on between them and stop their team - family - from falling apart. Written for a reverse bang at thebigbangjob
Warnings: Not really a warning as such but the fic is AU from the end of season three
A/N: I want to say a HUGE thank you to whiskyinmind who not only inspired me with her brilliant art but also offered to beta this for me - hope this fic is something like what you imagined when we first spoke about it, hon.
With fabulous art: here
Annie Croy stepped out of the car, her eyes already fixed on the man she was about to meet as she made her way across the courtyard, and Eliot Spencer hid a smile. Annie looked dangerous, like she wouldn’t think twice about pulling a gun and shooting, like she wouldn’t take any mistakes lightly. Annie looked like someone who wasn’t Sophie Devereaux.
Eliot walked next to her, the hired muscle; no name necessary. She didn’t look at him at all, not even a side-way glance, and Eliot didn’t mind a bit because it was the professionalism, Sophie’s perfect grifting, that was going to keep them both alive without him needing to punch anyone. Annie Croy was not the type of woman who needed to check that the people she paid did their jobs. They knew that they either did their jobs or they ended up being someone else’s job. And Annie Croy was ruthless.
Even their mark, with all his talk about being the big guy in town, looked nervous to Eliot as they neared him. Flanked by three men - ex-army if the way they were standing was any indicator, all competent but their smirks told Eliot they were over-confident - Nick Gelding stepped forwards, reaching out to shake Annie’s hand.
“Glad you could be here personally, Miss Croy.” The way he looked down at the ground as he spoke the words said otherwise. Gelding was nervous.
“I don’t trust you, Gelding.” Annie paused, sweeping her eyes around the surroundings. “Especially not when we’re at a meeting point that you specified. Which means I’m handling everything to do with this deal myself. Don’t take it as a compliment because it isn’t one.”
Gelding swallowed and nodded, reaching for the briefcase that was at his feet without another word. He held it out to her and Eliot took one step closer, shaking his head. The briefcase, when Gelding passed it to him, felt light and he glanced at Sophie before opening it.
“It’s bloody empty,” Annie raised her voice. “Why is it bloody empty, Gelding?”
Eliot moved at the same time as Gelding’s men. Eliot was faster. Fist to jaw. Knee to solar plexus. One man down. Foot to shin, twice, hard. Fingers to pressure point. Two men down. The sound of the briefcase cracking against the head of the third man, Annie Croy’s boot connecting with a stomach. Three men down. Only Gelding left standing out of the four threats.
Cracking his knuckles, Eliot took another step towards Gelding.
“No.” The man shook his head, hands held out in front of him and Eliot knew just how fast the guy’s pulse would be going. “Don’t. Please - I’ll get you the money.”
Annie Croy tilted her head to the side, scrutinising Gelding. “That’s what you were meant to be doing today, remember? You tried to double-cross me. I don’t take that kind of thing lightly.”
“I’ll get you more. Double the amount we agreed on.” Gelding glanced at Eliot and the pitch of his voice increased slightly. “Triple, even. Whatever you want, by tomorrow.”
“You’d say that and then disappear. No, this happens now or not at all.”
On cue, Eliot reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the phone Hardison had given him earlier. He handed it to Annie then crossed his arms, eyes fixed on Gelding in case he was reckless enough to try anything stupid. Even electronic transfers could go wrong sometimes. It didn’t this time. Annie typed in the bank details and let Gelding do the same with his. One stupid man and thirty seconds later, Gelding’s money - and his accounts - were theirs. The man wouldn’t realise just how much he’d given away until later and by then it’d be too late; they’d be back in Boston, untraceable, no longer Annie Croy and her security.
It took Gelding a few minutes to rouse his men but, once he had, Eliot watched as they walked back to their own cars, taking some satisfaction from seeing them limping. He didn’t like liars. Not at all.
“That was easy.” Sophie turned to look at him, the smile on her face one hundred per cent the grifter that Eliot knew. “That was fun.”
“You could say that.” He smirked as he took his comm out, instantly enjoying the lack of rambling from Hardison. “Nice touch with the briefcase.”
“Thought you’d enjoy that. Annie Croy’s a formidable woman.” That smile was still there, reaching all the way to her eyes as she pulled her own comm out of her ear.
“You’re pretty formidable yourself, Sophie.”
Moving his hand on instinct, he tucked a stray bit of Sophie’s hair behind her ear and then, realising that the motion hadn’t been nearly as casual as he’d meant it to be, went to pull it away. Sophie stopped him, her smaller hand covering his own and then they were both surging forwards, lips pressing against lips, Sophie’s hip warm under his other hand. Even kissing like this - urgent and forbidden - Sophie still felt gentle, soft and Eliot just stopped himself from groaning when they both pulled back to gasp for breath. His fingers were still tangled in her hair, pulling a little, and he loosened his hold; he didn’t want to hurt her.
“Well.” Sophie’s tongue traced her upper lip. “That was unexpected.”
Nodding, he took a step back, no longer touching her. “Sorry.”
“Why? It was nice.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Just nice?”
“Better.” Sophie exhaled slowly and ran a hand across her hair, tidying it up. “Much better.”
“I’m still sorry. We shouldn’t have - Nate.”
He’d done it again, done something else that was going to disappoint Nate. As if the guy had needed another reason not to trust him after everything that had happened with Moreau. As if there needed to be another reason for Nate to throw him out of the team.
“All right. You’re clearly already feeling guilty about what just happened and I’m - well, there’s Nate.” Sophie sighed. “Should we chalk it up to the adrenalin of the con and never speak of this again?”
“Yeah.” No-one would have to know, Nate wouldn’t need to find out. “That sounds like it might be a good idea.”
“To the car?”
“Lead on.” He stared at her back as they walked and tried not to think about the feel of her lips on his. He wouldn’t be experiencing it again; it was best just to forget. Adrenalin seemed like a good explanation for what had just happened; it wasn’t like he and Sophie would work in a relationship together anyway. It wasn’t like he’d really ever thought of her that way before, not seriously.
And there was Nate.
It’d be just one more thing that didn’t get mentioned; like the way he and Nate never mentioned the warehouse, the way he and Hardison never admitted they actually liked each other. Just another thing left unsaid.
~~
Eliot watched the screen on the wall as Hardison completed the last stage of the con, shutting down Gelding’s accounts now that they’d cleared all of his money out, distributing it amongst people who’d been hurt as a result of his crooked deals. Sophie sat next to him and he could feel her arm pressing against his own, warm and steady. It was no different to plenty of other times they’d sat next to each other at a debriefing except that, suddenly, it was completely different. He stood up, crossed over to the kitchen to get a beer.
“Gelding’s going to get a surprise next time he tries to check his accounts.” Hardison laughed, patting the top of his laptop. “It’s going to hit him hard.”
“It’s no more than he deserves.” Sophie glanced towards the empty space next to her as she took a sip of water. “And he tried to double cross us.”
“Wasn’t that the plan?” Parker looked up from where she was fixing a rig.
“Still, it’s the principle of the thing.”
“Take the rest of the weekend for yourselves, guys.” Nate stepped away from the front of the room and took the stool that Eliot had just vacated. “We’ll start our next job on Monday. Good work, all of you.”
Eliot brought the bottle up to his lips, looking steadfastly at Hardison instead of at the way Nate’s body twisted unconsciously towards Sophie’s. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t any of his business until it started to affect him on a professional level.
“Dinner?”
Parker’s suggestion wasn’t unusual, was really just confirming a post-con ritual that had developed lately, but Eliot shook his head. “I’m giving it a miss this time - things to do.”
“Like what?” Hardison shrugged. “People to punch?”
“No. I’ve been away for a week, Hardison. I have stuff to do.”
“Like?”
He sighed and placed the bottle down on the counter. “Like watering my plants and catching up with my neighbours and sleeping.”
“You don’t sleep.” Parker shifted on the couch, moving from one end to the other. “You said so.”
“No. I said I don’t sleep much. There’s a difference.” His jacket was draped over the back of the seat that Sophie was now sitting on and he drank the rest of his beer back in one before going to retrieve it. She turned her head ever so slightly as he neared and Eliot pulled it on quickly, headed towards the door. “I’ll see you all Monday.”
Eliot heard vague mutterings of goodbye, silence from Sophie, as he pulled the door closed behind him. It was the first time he’d ducked out of dinner in a long time but that didn’t mean anything; he was tired, they’d done a lot of travelling, a lot of fighting, over the last week in order to get Gelding’s attention. Besides, he didn’t need a reason not to have dinner with them. They didn’t have to do everything together. No matter what Parker seemed to think.
He left by the back entrance so he didn’t have to deal with the polite conversation in McRory’s. And that didn’t mean anything, either.
“Wait.” Sophie never needed to raise her voice to be heard.
Eliot stopped but didn’t turn around. “What?”
“Can you drive me home?”
“What about dinner?”
She stepped up next to him, rested a hand on his arm. “I think we need to talk. Please?”
Ever since they’d met, Eliot had found it difficult to say no to Sophie.
~~
Sophie’s place wasn’t that far away from Eliot’s own, he realised, as he pulled up outside the house she had directed him to. He saw the irony in that they were closer than he’d thought in other ways, too. He killed the engine and glanced sideways at the house. It wasn’t what he’d expected. He’d pictured Sophie in an apartment - maybe because the rest of them lived in apartments, maybe because he didn’t like to picture Sophie being on her own in a big house like this one.
“It’s not as big as it looks.” Sophie pushed open the passenger door. “Besides, it’s not like I’m here much, anyway.”
“I’ll see you Monday.”
“No.” Sophie twisted in her seat. “You said we could talk. We need to talk about this, Eliot.”
“We said we weren’t going to mention it again.” He stared straight ahead through the windscreen; the car in front of his truck belonged to a family, kids toys visible on the back seat. Maybe Sophie knew the kids names.
“Yes, we did. But I think we’ve both realised that’s not going to work.”
“Okay.” He sighed. “All right, I’ll come in.”
Eliot was just as surprised by the inside of Sophie’s house as he had been by the outside. He’d been expecting a modern décor, maybe open plan. Instead, he walked into a cosy place that was almost like a home, save for the lack of photos and the thin layer of dust that covered the furniture. He waited as she walked around the room, pulling open the curtains and turning on lamps.
“Sit down wherever you like.” Sophie walked towards the door. “I’ll get us some coffee.”
Left alone in the room, Eliot felt as though he was intruding on a part of Sophie’s life that he was never meant to see. It wasn’t that he didn’t consider Sophie a friend - he considered her a very good one - but things had always been on a more professional level between them than with the others. This…this felt very personal. From his spot on the couch, he could see that his initial assessment of the place had been slightly wrong; there were a few photos. One of Sophie with a man he didn’t know; he looked British, rich and he had his arm around Sophie in a way that made Eliot want to punch him. Another one of the team, all five of them; Eliot could remember the day it was taken by Bonano, the way Sophie had taken her camera back from the Lieutenant with a small smile playing around her lips.
“Do you want something to eat?” Sophie leaned in the doorway, looking unfairly comfortable with the whole situation. “I’m making something for myself anyway.”
Eliot shook his head.
“Okay, then. I won’t be long.”
She left again and he looked out the window; this was what Sophie saw when she was sitting in her house, relaxing after a con or getting ready for a briefing. This ordinary street with ordinary people. He wondered whether she knew the guy who was coming out of the house opposite or whether she was a mystery to the doctor across the street, the neighbour that everyone speculated about. Sophie would like to be a mystery, Eliot thought.
“I’m going to be completely honest.” Sophie walked back into the room carrying a tray with coffee and a sandwich. “I think it’s the best way forward.”
Eliot took the cup that she indicated and sat back on the settee, watching Sophie as she added sugar to her own drink. Her hand shook slightly but there was no other sign that she was nervous.
“What I said after we kissed - I’m not so sure I can just forget about it like that.”
He took a sip of scalding black coffee and nodded. “I know. Me neither.”
“I slept with Nate.”
He managed not to drop the cup he was holding, leaned forward to put it down on the table. It wasn’t like he had a reason to be surprised; he’d known about Nate and Sophie’s connection from the very beginning. But they’d been dancing around each other for so long that a part of him had thought it’d never happen.
“Eliot?”
“When?”
“In San Lorenzo , after - the night before we flew back.”
He’d been in Nate’s hotel room the next morning. Nate had made some excuse about not being up yet because he’d been drinking.
“Eliot?”
“Okay.” He remembered the way Nate had filled the empty space next to Sophie earlier. “So Nate thinks-”
“I don’t know what Nate thinks but I know what I think.”
“And what’s that?”
“I think that sleeping with Nate made me realise that the reality wasn’t what I thought it would be.” Sophie sighed. “Nate and I circled around each other for years and then it just - it didn’t feel any different, felt like we were still just friends. Nate’s always going to be important to me but he’s my best friend, nothing more.”
Her voice sounded honest - she certainly wasn’t using the girfter’s voice that had almost split the team up when they’d gone after IYS - but Eliot needed to know for certain. He looked into her eyes and then leaned forwards, taking her hand and brushing his fingers against her wrist. A person’s pulse couldn’t lie.
Sophie squeezed his hand before pulling her own away. “The passion wasn’t there. I thought it was when it started but it was just the adrenalin, just the excitement of stealing a country and finally taking down Moreau.”
“Does Nate know that? Because he still seems pretty set on you, Sophie.”
“I know. I am going to talk to him about it. I was just waiting for the right moment.”
“It’s going to hurt him.”
“It’d hurt him more if I let him keep thinking we had a chance.”
He couldn’t argue with that. “Just don’t tell him in the middle of a con.”
“I won’t.” Sophie shifted on the couch, bringing her feet up under her knees. “Eliot, where does this leave us?”
“We kissed once, Sophie. I don’t really think-”
“You know what I mean.”
Eliot stood up and walked over to the window. “I don’t know what you want. Hell, I don’t know what I want. You said what happened in San Lorenzo was because of the adrenalin of the con, and that you and Nate aren’t going to work that way. It’s the same thing you talked about after…after we kissed. How do you know in a few days, a few weeks you’re not going to think the same about us?”
“When we kissed, I felt it. And I felt it during the whole journey back to Boston, too. Sitting next to you in the debriefing. Right now.”
The doctor from across the road was back; the guy glanced up at Sophie’s house before entering his own and Eliot smiled. At least he wasn’t the only one who thought Sophie was a mystery.
“Eliot?”
“We’re very different people.” He closed his eyes as he felt Sophie brush up next to him. “I’m not like Nate.”
“No. You’re not. I don’t want you to be him.”
“What do you want?”
“I have no idea.” Sophie ran a finger along the glass, tracing patterns that Eliot couldn’t see. “I’m attracted to you, Eliot.”
“But?”
“You’re right - there are a lot of things about us that are different. And even if we could deal with that, there are so many other issues we’d have to deal with.”
“It would split up the team.”
“Probably.”
He turned to look at her. “Not ‘probably.’ Definitely.”
“I know.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t want that but-”
“We’d hurt each other, too.”
“What?”
It was an inevitable truth that he’d been thinking about ever since they’d kissed. “We’d end up hurting each other, Sophie. I’d do something that - that you wouldn’t like.” He looked down, and added softly. “Or you’d do something to hurt me.”
Moving back to the couch, Sophie bit her lip for a moment before speaking. “We’ve just spent the last couple of minutes trying to convince each other why us being together wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“I know. Sophie, there’d be a lot of positives, too. And I’m tempted, really tempted, but-”
“The others.” She nodded. “They mean a lot to me, too. We - me and you - we work well as friends.”
“Yeah.”
“We should keep it that way.”
He kept his gaze fixed on the wall above her head because this was the right thing to do but he wasn’t sure he could agree to it if he looked at her. “All right. Friends.”
“I’m going to tell Nate, though. About San Lorenzo.”
“He deserves to know now instead of later.”
“Yes. Are you sure you don’t want something to eat?”
Eliot shook his head. “No. I’m going to head home. I’ve got things to do, remember?”
Sophie nodded and didn’t try to stop him from leaving. Eliot didn’t look back at the house as he drove away.
~~
Nate paced across the floor in front of Eliot, hands together behind his back. He’d been getting more and more agitated as the briefing had gone from being ten minutes late starting to twenty to a full half hour. Looking towards the door one more time, Nate shook his head and then gestured at Hardison.
“You want me to start without her?”
“Yes, Hardison. That’s why I asked you to.”
Parker coughed and then shrugged when everyone looked at her. “What if something’s happened to her?”
“Nothing’s happened to her.” Nate sighed. “She’s just being Sophie.”
Eliot had been wondering whether Sophie had talked to Nate yet, now he had his answer.
“I’ll start, then.” Hardison stood up and then sat back down again as the apartment door swung open and Sophie walked in.
“You’re late.”
Eliot kept his gaze fixed on Nate. “We’ve all been late at some point, man. Give her a break.”
“Stay out of this, Eliot.”
“I got held up.” Sophie crossed over the room and took the free seat next to Parker. “There’s no need to make a fuss.”
Nate snorted. “Yeah. Held up.”
If this was what happened when he wasn’t even in the equation, Eliot was sure that he and Sophie had made the right decision, no matter how hard it had been.
Hardison cleared his throat and pointed at the screen. “This is Patrick Jackson; he’s a bad, bad guy. Really bad. The nicest thing he does is launder money. The worst…” he trailed off.
“Our client is Kris Hawkins.” Nate pointed at another image on the screen. “Now, he signed up for an investment scheme that Jackson was running, thinking he was legit. Lost all his money and when he confronted Jackson about it, he took a bad beating. Cops didn’t think there was enough evidence to pursue his complaint.”
“What’s our angle?” Eliot took a drink of his water.
“We’re going to go into partnership with Jackson - or at least as far as he’s concerned, that’s what we want. Hardison needs a few days to build up a convincing enough trail for our aliases so take another couple of days, all of you, and we’ll call you back in when we’re ready.”
“You called us in for that?” Sophie sounded irritated, tired.
Nate nodded. “Some of us like to keep everyone informed of what’s going on.”
Eliot watched as Sophie stood up and stalked back out of the apartment. He wasn’t used to her reacting so badly to Nate’s moods; whatever had been said between Nate and Sophie had changed things and Eliot wondered whether it was all worth it just because of one kiss.
~~
Eliot liked his apartment; it was the most comfortable place he’d lived in since he’d first let home because it was the first time he’d let himself become settled. Instead of bare walls and minimal possessions, his apartment in Boston had character. The kitchen was fully stocked; herbs growing in pots on the windowsill and everything he needed to make a decent meal in the cupboards. The bookcase in the living room was no longer empty - in fact, he’d had to buy a second one - and the couch was worn in. Eliot really liked his apartment.
But, after almost three days inside, he needed to get out for a change of scenery. Giving Nate and Sophie space was something he’d had to do but the boredom was an unfortunate by-product. He was sick of ignoring everyone -it wasn’t as though he’d done anything wrong - but he wasn’t going to go back to Nate’s apartment until he got called in. In the long run, he thought it was doing him good to get some space, some perspective, away from Sophie.
She was his friend. Thoughtful, smart, good to talk to. But anything else with her would be reckless; he’d rather be her friend and have a team than try something that didn’t work out and be left with nothing.
He pulled the door to his apartment building shut behind him and took a deep breath, inhaling air that was as fresh as you could get in Boston. Sticking his hands into his pockets, he began to walk in the direction of the local park. It was a good twenty minute walk to get there; plenty of time to sort out the rest of the thoughts that were bugging him.
Eliot got halfway down his street before his cell rang.
“Yeah?”
“We’re meeting back at Nate’s in an hour.” Hardison chuckled. “I’ve laid a trail so detailed that Jackson’s not going to know what’s hit him even after we’ve sucker-punched him right where it hurts.”
“An hour?”
“Yeah.”
Eliot sighed and turned, walking back towards his apartment building. “Okay. I’ll be there.”
~~
Sophie was already there, looking at him as though nothing had changed from her seat next to Parker on the couch when Eliot walked into Nate’s apartment an hour and ten minutes later. He nodded at Nate as he crossed the room and stood behind Parker. From where he was standing, he could see Sophie clearly and he was pleased to see that there were no dark circles under her eyes, no tell-tale frown as she realised he was there. She looked like she usually did and he was relieved; he’d not realised until he’d been standing outside the apartment, palms sweaty, just how much he needed Sophie to be okay.
“Okay, guys, here’s the plan. I’m going to go in as a money launderer tomorrow, with Eliot as back-up. Sophie and Hardison are on FBI duty and Parker, you’re going to break into Jackson’s office and make sure the evidence we need is there. If it isn’t, we’re going to plant it.”
Eliot looked Nate up and down as he spoke. He seemed less stressed than he had when Eliot had last seen him, less anger in his eyes when he looked at Sophie.
“Shouldn’t Parker have back-up?” Hardison glanced at Eliot as he spoke.
Nate nodded, “She will. Eliot and I will be there meeting with Jackson. We’ll make sure there’s a reason for us all to leave the office and we’ll be close enough where Eliot can help her out if she gets caught.”
“I won’t get caught.” Parker turned to look at Eliot, shaking her head.
“Probably not. If you do, I’ll be there.” He glanced towards Nate. “We both will.”
“Exactly. Anyone have any questions?”
Once everyone had shaken their heads, Nate nodded at Hardison and the hacker started to hand out files. Eliot opened his and started reading through the information on Jackson; if this guy was as nasty as Hardison had made out earlier in the week, he needed to know everything he could about him so he could protect the team.
He looked up briefly as Sophie made her way over to Nate and spoke in a low voice. He couldn’t catch what she said but whatever it was caused Nate’s eyes to widen ever so slightly and it almost looked as if she’d just flirted with him except for the way he didn’t smile like he used to as she walked away. But Nate turned to talk to Parker as if nothing had happened and Eliot smiled. Maybe things weren’t going to change that much after all. He hoped so; he wouldn’t want to be the reason everything was ruined for Parker and Hardison. And Nate, too; he knew how much what Nate did meant to the man now.
“You okay, man?” Hardison dropped down into the seat next to him, fiddling with the buttons on his phone. “We didn’t see you over the last couple of days.”
“I’m fine. I told you I had things to do.”
“Watering your plants took you three days? Really? Because I got to say-”
“Look, I’ve got other friends I had to see.” He closed the file in front of him.
Hardison clasped at his chest, smirking. “You see other friends?”
“Stop being an idiot, Hardison.” But he let his lips quirk. “I really am all right, man. Just needed a few days to recharge.”
“And it’s worked?”
“It’s worked.”
“Good. Because otherwise I’d have to kick your ass into gear.”
“I’d like to see you try.” He shook his head as Hardison shoved him in the shoulder. This - having a team and friends who took the time to ask if he was okay - was what he hadn’t wanted to lose. He only hoped he could keep it.
Sophie laughed and he twisted automatically to look at her, clenched his fists when he realised what he’d done. He needed to start acting like normal again, keep his distance from Sophie until he got control of this impulse he had to keep checking on her. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if Nate realised what was going on.
None of them could afford to lose what they had.
~~
“Do you think this is going to work?” Parker glanced up from her lock picks, looking first at Eliot then Hardison.
Hardison shrugged, “No reason why it shouldn’t.”
Eliot quite determinedly did not look at Sophie or Nate; Nate didn’t know he knew anything and he was meant to be taking a step back from Sophie. Professionalism, focusing on the job at hand and not getting involved in Nate’s problems, was the way forward. But if Nate’s current issues started to affect the con, Eliot was going to have to do something about it. He really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
“It’s a simple con.” Nate pulled open the van door, his eyes flickering towards Sophie. “No complications. You ready, Eliot?”
“Sure.” He followed Nate out of the van and across the parking lot towards the office building. “Are you ready?”
Nate stopped and looked at him for a moment, eyebrow’s quirking. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Eliot forced himself to look away from the dark circles around Nate’s eyes. “I was just - I mean- it doesn’t matter.”
“There something you need to tell me, Eliot?”
“No.”
The last time he’d been the muscle in a con, he’d kissed Sophie. Dammit, he’d kissed Sophie and if he told Nate that then everything was over.
“Are you sure? Because we don’t need a repeat of Moreau.”
Eliot’s fists clenched. That was a low blow from Nate, one he deserved but hadn’t been expecting. It wasn’t like Nate understood everything about that, anyway. “There’s nothing.”
“Good.” Nate adjusted his tie. “Come on then, let’s get this done.”
The security in the reception of the building wasn’t tight and Eliot frowned as they were shown straight to Jackson’s office. From everything he’d read about the man, Jackson wasn’t the type of man to be sloppy with security; if security wasn’t needed in the building, then that meant Jackson was either more ruthless than they’d thought or they were in the wrong place.
“My name’s Lisa Perkins . How can I help you Mr-?”
“Baker.” Nate stood up, holding out his hand. “Tom.”
“Good to meet you.” She shook his hand and took the seat behind the desk, not even glancing at Eliot. “Mr Jackson is out of country at the moment, I’m afraid, and then he’s going straight to New York to settle some important business which means you’re stuck with me.”
Eliot tuned out the complaining from Hardison that was coming through the comm and kept his gaze focused on Nate, wondering what he’d do. This woman hadn’t been mentioned by their client; they had no idea whether she was involved in the dirty deals or not.
Nate shifted in his seat. “Well, if I’m honest Ms. Perkins, we were hoping to talk to Mr. Jackson himself. The business we want to discuss with him is quite sensitive.”
“Well, like I said, he’s out of the country right now. He’s not due back here in Boston for three weeks so-”
“When is he due in New York?”
“Next week, but-”
“Then I’d like you to reschedule this appointment; I have other business in New York, I don’t mind travelling.”
Lisa nodded. “If you’d like to leave your number at the reception, I’ll liaise with the New York office and get back to you.”
“Thank you.” Nate stood up. “I appreciate that.”
Eliot followed behind when Nate gestured to him, rolling his eyes at the woman just so she didn’t get suspicious. He should have known, after the way his luck had gone recently, that the simple con wasn’t going to be simple at all.
~~
Eliot stirred the tomato sauce in front of him and added some more seasoning, trying to ignore the way Parker was looking over his right shoulder. It wasn’t that he really minded her watching him as he cooked; he just wished she’d stand far enough away where he couldn’t feel her breath on his neck. Even with the unwanted distraction, though, it had been a while since he’d cooked for someone other than himself and he was enjoying it.
“What are you making?” Hardison wandered over the room and pulled open the fridge to get another bottle of his drink.
“I’m making my tomato, spinach and mozzarella roulade with the spicy tomato sauce.”
“Great.” Sophie looked up from the magazine she was reading. “That’s my favourite.”
Eliot almost dropped the spoon that he was holding and he turned back to his pans so that no-one would see him flush - he never flushed. It didn’t mean anything anyway. He hadn’t known that it was Sophie’s favourite; everyone liked the meal he’d chosen to make, even Bonano had praised it.
“How long until it’s ready?” Parker pushed herself up onto the counter.
“Twenty minutes or so.” He smiled as an idea hit him. “Actually, can you go and find Nate, let him know?”
“Sure.” She jumped back down and headed out of Eliot’s - if he was cooking in it, it was his - kitchen.
“Great. Hardison, out of my way.”
Hardison crossed his arms. “You didn’t tell Parker to go away.”
“I like Parker. Now go.” He tuned out Hardison’s muttering and focused on the food again. He hadn’t even wanted to have dinner with the others that night anyway, had only started cooking something because he’d seen all the leftovers in Nate’s fridge, the candy that Parker had been chewing on. Someone had to make sure they ate healthy occasionally.
“It smells good.”
His head snapped up at the sound of Sophie’s voice, closer than it had been, and he forced himself not to smile as she walked around the counter and into his space. “It will be good. Can you go and get us some wine?”
“I already texted Nate and told him to bring some.”
“Right.”
“Eliot.” Sophie looked around, checking where Hardison was before lowering her voice. “I thought we were going to be just friends.”
“We are.”
“So be my friend, then.”
He stared at her back as she walked away and then cursed as he realised the sauce was starting to burn. Taking it off the heat, he shook his head. She didn’t know how close Nate was to snapping with him anyway, didn’t know about Moreau - and he was so glad about that, didn’t ever want to see the disappointment that’d be in her eyes if she knew - so she didn’t know why even being friends was going to be so difficult. After all, she’d been being just friends with Nate for years.
No. Keeping the distance that he’d created between them was the best way forward; the others didn’t know any different and it’d be easier on the both of them if they could get over this infatuation quickly.
~~
“You need to stop.”
“What?” Eliot turned at the sound of Sophie’s voice, the last person he’d expected to bump into grocery shopping. He wondered whether she’d deliberately been avoiding him up until now when he hadn’t known how near she lived to him.
“This whole avoiding me thing you’ve got going on.” Sophie reached and picked up some cereal from the shelf. “I know you think you’re being all stoic and heroic but you’re not. You’re just being an idiot.”
“Sophie, be-”
“No, you be reasonable. We’re friends, Eliot. Before anything else, we’re friends - all five of us.”
“Which is exactly why-”
“You need to stop avoiding me.” Raising her voice, she added the cereal to the basket that Eliot was holding. “I didn’t bring any money with me.”
“You came here just to see me?”
She replied quickly, defensively. “I saw you walk past my house, followed you in here. It’s not my fault you’ve been avoiding me.”
“And now I’m buying you cereal?”
“Yes. Deal with it. I’ll see you outside.”
He watched as Sophie stalked out of the shop and laughed; her actions had just been so Sophie, passionate and unpredictable. Still smiling, he headed for the checkout and paid as quickly as he could before following her outside.
She was standing across the road, hair blowing slightly in the wind as she watched a group of women who were obviously on their way home from a shopping spree. Eliot walked a little way along the sidewalk until he stood directly opposite her and then crossed over; letting the bag of groceries he was carrying drop to the ground.
“I’m sorry.” Sophie smiled apologetically. “I made a scene.”
“Don’t be sorry.” He leaned in and kissed her and grinned against her lips when she kissed back. Softer than the last time, this kiss said everything Eliot hadn’t been saying over the last few days. He missed Sophie and he admired Sophie and he wanted, so badly, to be with Sophie. Screw Nate and screw anyone else who was getting in their way. He wanted this.
She reached for his hand as they pulled apart, tangled their fingers together and Eliot picked the bag back up as they began to walk.
“We should go back to my place and talk.”
Eliot nodded. “Properly, this time.”
“Definitely.” Sophie squeezed his hand. “Now that you’re not running away every time I come near you.”
“I’m sorry. I just - I thought if-”
“I know what you thought.” Sophie huffed and then spoke almost to herself. “Men.”
He didn’t call her on the remark; it was probably true.
Sophie’s house was less of a surprise when they stopped outside of it this time, although Eliot still wondered why she’d bought it just for herself, whether she’d imagined settling down quickly with someone or whether she’d just liked the price.
“Will you eat something today?” Sophie twisted her head to look at him as she turned the key in her door.
“I can do better than that - I’ll make something. Do you have much in your cupboards?”
“Not a lot. I’d like to see what you can salvage, though.”
“That a challenge?” He pulled her door closed.
“Maybe. The kitchen’s through here.”
Eliot took a few moments to look around the kitchen; he needed to know what he was working with, after all. It was fairly well stocked in terms of utensils but Sophie was right, there wasn’t much fresh food in at all. He hadn’t been expecting a lot - he’d seen Sophie’s attempts at cooking before and he knew she preferred to eat out, anyway - but he’d thought she’d at least have a few more vegetables.
“We could just get take-away.” Sophie held out a menu, looking every bit like she was trying really hard not to laugh.
“Yeah, all right. Next time I say I’ll cook something, let’s go to mine.” He winced even as he said the presumptuous words. “I mean-”
“I know what you meant. How about we sit down and talk and then we can order something after.”
“Sounds good.” Eliot followed Sophie through into the living room, hesitating for a moment before sitting down next to her on the couch. She looked unfairly calm given the situation and he wondered whether he was ever going to have the upper hand in a conversation with her. The thing that bothered him the most was that he didn’t really mind; even when he wasn’t sure where he stood with Sophie, he still wanted to know her.
“It’s not going to go away, is it?” Sophie drummed her fingers against the arm of the couch. “I thought it was just a crush thing, that if we just ignored it and carried on as normal we’d be fine.”
“It isn’t just a crush thing?”
“No. No, I don’t think it is.”
Eliot almost felt relieved at hearing her doubt; at least he wasn’t the only one unsure where they stood, about what was going on between them. “Me neither. It’s a long time since I’ve kissed someone like I kissed you, Sophie.”
“I think that’s a compliment.” She laughed a little, rubbing her thumb across her wrist in an unconscious motion.
“It’s a pretty big one. What do we do, then? Because what we said the other day still stands. The others-”
“Are important.” Sophie nodded. “But so are we and I think maybe we deserve to be happy.”
“Maybe.” Nate and Moreau and all the countless other people who had seen him pick up a gun in his past would probably think differently.
“You don’t think you deserve to be happy?”
“I think you do and maybe that’s the same thing.”
"Yeah, we’re going to talk about why that isn’t the same thing at some point.” Sophie reached out and rested her hand on his knee. “I want this.”
“So do I.”
“I think we should get to have it.”
“If we do, we have to make sure we do it right. Make sure we do our best by Nate and Hardison and Parker.”
Sophie nodded. “And I think we should do it right for us, too. Take it slowly, keep it between us. Just see what this thing is without putting too much pressure on ourselves.”
“I think that sounds like a good idea.” He met Sophie’s gaze for a moment and then smiled, pointing to the menu she was still holding. “So, you mentioned something about take-out?”
~~
Eliot lifted up the full watering can, resting a hand on the bottom to balance it. He took his time as he walked around his apartment, watering the plants, because once this chore was finished, he had nothing else to do. There was still another three days until the meeting in New York, another two days before they needed to travel there which meant two days of free time. He’d already met up with the old service buddies who were in town, read the new book he’d bought, cleaned his whole apartment, cooked and frozen enough food to feed him for the rest of the year and, once these plants were done, there’d be nothing else to do.
He wasn’t going to call any of the others; they were going to spend enough time in close proximity once the next part of the con was in play without annoying each other beforehand in their boredom. And he wasn’t going to call Sophie because he didn’t want to push her. They’d said they’d take things slowly and he wasn’t going to be the one to make the first move, not when words had clearly been said between Sophie and Nate so recently.
It was stupid anyway; spending time on his own wasn’t a new thing, it was something that he usually enjoyed. Before he’d started working with a team, most of his time had been spent in his own company and he’d liked the peace. Now the lack of chatter was almost unsettling, the empty space on the couch strange.
Finishing the last plant, Eliot set the watering can down on the kitchen floor and glanced at the time, scowling when he saw that it wasn’t even noon yet. He leaned back against the counter for a moment before shaking his head and pulling his cell out of his pocket.
It rang three times before Sophie answered, her greeting sleepy and smooth.
“Did I wake you?”
“No, I’m still in bed but I’ve been awake for about twenty minutes now.” She laughed. “I’m just being lazy. How long have you been up?”
“Since six.”
“And now you’re bored because you’ve done everything that needs doing and you can’t relax because there’s a con coming up.”
Eliot gripped the edge of the counter, unsure how Sophie could read him so easily without even being in the room. It wasn’t like they were strangers - and reading people was her job - but he’d always been good at keeping secrets, staying a mystery even to those people he saw regularly. Apparently that was something else that had gone out of the window since he’d first accepted Dubenich’s offer of a job.
“Eliot?”
“Yeah, that’s about right.”
“Do you want to meet for a coffee? I could do with getting some fresh air and waking up properly, anyway. I said I’d meet Parker later.”
Coffee with Sophie sounded like a very good idea and, even though he’d given in and made the first move, she’d been the one to suggest meeting up, so he figured she was okay with doing something together.
“That sounds good - I’ll come by your place.”
“Great. Give me about half an hour to get up and ready, then.”
“Will do.” He hung up, still smiling; as unsettling as it was to have Sophie be able to deduce things about him just from one phone call, it was also quite comforting not to have to actually voice when he needed some company.
He arrived at Sophie’s house five minutes early and, not wanting to rush her, sat down to wait on the wall outside her place. A few cars passed by as he waited but the sidewalk was quiet and Eliot thought maybe he understood part of the reason Sophie had chosen this place to live in after all. The life of a grifter was busy, often noisy, and this place was peaceful, had an air of normalcy about it.
“Couldn’t wait?”
He turned to see Sophie standing at her front door, head tilted slightly to the side. Eliot pushed himself up off the wall and walked up the small path towards her. “Needed some air.”
“Yes.” Sophie leaned forwards to kiss him on the cheek before pulling the door closed behind her. “Me too. I’m glad you called.”
“I didn’t want to rush you.” He brushed his fingers against her hand as they made the way along her street, pulling away slightly as they turned out onto the main road.
“You’re not.” She smirked. “I like coffee. Besides, why shouldn’t we meet up?”
Eliot shrugged and they fell into a comfortable silence until they reached the coffee place. Inside, there were only a few other customers and Eliot followed behind Sophie as she made for a table in the corner of the room once they’d bought their drinks.
He watched as Sophie held her peppermint tea up near her face and breathed in before taking a sip, wondering how she could make such a normal thing seem so serene.
“Are you all ready for the trip to New York?” Sophie cupped her mug with both hands where it rested on the table.
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “It’s not like I really travel with anything and I’m just muscle for this one so-”
“Not just the muscle, Eliot. You play an important role.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do.” She laughed, low and almost private. “Remember the last time you were the muscle?”
Eliot snorted; he wasn’t likely to forget it any time soon. That first feel of Sophie on his lips, intimate and passionate and just a little bit dangerous. “I remember you being downright scary as Annie.”
“I rather like Annie; she’s come in very useful over the years.”
He smirked, setting his coffee down on the table. “She’s not so bad. I think I prefer Sophie, though.”
~~
Grabbing the duffel with his spare clothes - he needed a suit for the meeting with Jackson - Eliot made his way out of his apartment and down the steps. Hardison was leaning against Lucille and Eliot nodded at him, went to climb up into the van and stopped when Hardison grabbed his arm.
“What?”
“We need to talk.”
Eliot shook his head. “Not now, man, we’re working.”
“Eliot-”
He shrugged the hacker off and got into the van; he was in a good mood, ready to take part in the con, and he wasn’t in the mood for bickering with Hardison about whatever his latest niggle was.
Settling into his seat, he nodded at Nate. “We all set?”
“Yeah, Jackson’s secretary called to confirm the meeting this morning. Hardison’s booked our hotel rooms.” Nate glanced around at the empty driver’s seat. “We just need to actually get to New York now.”
“Just give him a minute.” Sophie patted Nate’s arm as she moved from where she’d been crouched talking to Parker to her seat. “He’s probably doing something computer-y to make our journey more efficient.”
Eliot nodded and leaned his head back, closing his eyes as they got ready to begin their road trip. He and Sophie had definitely made the right choice in keeping things between them private for the time being; Nate didn’t like things being out of order, out of his control when it came to cons, never mind when it involved his personal life. Things were simpler this way.
~~
Jackson was about as charming as Eliot had imagined him to be; no expensive suit or fancy office could make up for the fact that the guy was just a lowlife scum bag who’d caught a lucky break and had managed to get rich. He managed to stop himself from clenching his fists when the man mentioned the family he’d just put out on the streets because they couldn’t afford to pay back the money they owed him only because of Sophie’s voice through the comms, telling him to stay calm and get the best revenge they could by doing their job properly. He could tell by the way Nate slouched slightly in his seat as she said the words that he wasn’t the only one who had come close to punching their mark and he wondered just who the words had actually been meant for. Both of them, probably, if he knew Sophie.
He stepped forwards as Nate stood up and shook Jackson’s hand, nodded at the guy’s own security as they made their way out of the office.
“Well done, Eliot.” Nate turned his head slightly, smiling at him in a way that Eliot hadn’t seen since before Moreau. “We’ve got him hooked.”
“It’s going to be a pleasure reeling him in.” He followed Nate across the parking lot, carrying on to the van when Nate stopped to take a call. A little way from the van, he paused as Hardison walked towards him with his arms crossed and sighed; Hardison had obviously decided that now was the time to voice whatever had been bugging him since yesterday.
“What is it, Hardison?”
“I know.”
“What?”
“I know, Eliot.” Hardison took a step closer to him. “I know about you and Sophie.”
Eliot could feel his own eyes widen stupidly and he lowered his voice when he next spoke. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you and Sophie kissing on the last con. I saw the footage, Eliot.”
“How?”
“I was checking there was no incriminating evidence left behind; looks like I found some, though, doesn’t it. Man, how could you do that to Nate?”
“I didn’t do anything to Nate, Hardison, me and Sophie, we-” he trailed off as he saw the van door slide open. Sophie climbed out, hand over her ear and it took Eliot a moment to realise what she was trying to say.
Turning around, he looked at where Nate was. Far away where a normal conversation couldn’t have been overheard but close enough where, with his comm still in, Eliot knew that the man must have heard every word.
“Damnit, Hardison. You’re an idiot.” Eliot flipped him the finger as he headed across the lot towards Nate; if he could say something now, try and limit the amount of damage that was done then maybe they could all get back to Boston in one piece.
“Eliot.” Sophie’s voice in his ear sounded urgent, warning him but he carried on because, yes, Sophie knew Nate well but so did he. Nate was honest and he valued honesty and Eliot was damn well going to give him that now.
“Nate, I’m sorry.” Eliot held out his hands, palms facing upwards as he neared him. “I’m sorry you heard that like that but I think-”
“Shut up, Eliot. Shut up for a moment and let me think.”
“Nate, I-”
“Nate? That’s strange because that’s not the name you told me.”
Eliot spun around, wincing when he saw Jackson standing there.
“I’m going.” Nate shrugged and began to walk away, heading for the sidewalk rather than the van.
“Yeah, I think you all better go.” Jackson gestured at the security guards stationed by the exit and Eliot cursed, watching as Nate took his comm out and chucked it aside.
“Eliot.” Sophie’s voice was soft in his ear. “Just leave him; he’ll come back when he’s ready.”
Nodding, he turned away from Jackson and jogged back towards the van, glad that Hardison had already climbed into the driver’s seat because he wasn’t sure what he would have done if he’d had to walk past him.
He jumped up into the van, yanking rather than sliding the door shut behind him as Hardison began to drive. Dropping down into his seat, he let his head fall into his hands. There were a lot of ways that Nate could have found out about him and Sophie and that had definitely not been one of the more positive possibilities. Over-hearing it over the comms in the middle of a con and now he knew that they’d kissed before Sophie had told Nate where he stood and he was going to have to tell their client that they’d failed.
“That wasn’t good.” Sophie sighed. “Not good at all.”
“Hardison, what were you thinking? Acting like a downright idiot like that and it’s none of your damn business anyway.”
“It is my business if it’s going to affect me, which it is.” Hardison turned to look at him, only one hand on the wheel.
“Okay.” Sophie held up a hand, glancing at Parker who hadn’t yet said a word. “Let’s just do this back at the hotel, okay? The last thing we need is to crash right now.”
“Fine.” Hardison twisted back around in his seat. “But you’ve got some explaining to do when we get there. Both of you.”
“That’s fine.” Sophie toed Eliot’s shin gently. “We’ve got nothing to hide now.”
Part Two
Pairing: Eliot/Sophie, mentions of Sophie/Nate
Rating: R
Beta: whiskyinmind
Word Count: 14,804
Summary: Eliot and Sophie kiss and everything changes as they try to work out what’s going on between them and stop their team - family - from falling apart. Written for a reverse bang at thebigbangjob
Warnings: Not really a warning as such but the fic is AU from the end of season three
A/N: I want to say a HUGE thank you to whiskyinmind who not only inspired me with her brilliant art but also offered to beta this for me - hope this fic is something like what you imagined when we first spoke about it, hon.
With fabulous art: here
Annie Croy stepped out of the car, her eyes already fixed on the man she was about to meet as she made her way across the courtyard, and Eliot Spencer hid a smile. Annie looked dangerous, like she wouldn’t think twice about pulling a gun and shooting, like she wouldn’t take any mistakes lightly. Annie looked like someone who wasn’t Sophie Devereaux.
Eliot walked next to her, the hired muscle; no name necessary. She didn’t look at him at all, not even a side-way glance, and Eliot didn’t mind a bit because it was the professionalism, Sophie’s perfect grifting, that was going to keep them both alive without him needing to punch anyone. Annie Croy was not the type of woman who needed to check that the people she paid did their jobs. They knew that they either did their jobs or they ended up being someone else’s job. And Annie Croy was ruthless.
Even their mark, with all his talk about being the big guy in town, looked nervous to Eliot as they neared him. Flanked by three men - ex-army if the way they were standing was any indicator, all competent but their smirks told Eliot they were over-confident - Nick Gelding stepped forwards, reaching out to shake Annie’s hand.
“Glad you could be here personally, Miss Croy.” The way he looked down at the ground as he spoke the words said otherwise. Gelding was nervous.
“I don’t trust you, Gelding.” Annie paused, sweeping her eyes around the surroundings. “Especially not when we’re at a meeting point that you specified. Which means I’m handling everything to do with this deal myself. Don’t take it as a compliment because it isn’t one.”
Gelding swallowed and nodded, reaching for the briefcase that was at his feet without another word. He held it out to her and Eliot took one step closer, shaking his head. The briefcase, when Gelding passed it to him, felt light and he glanced at Sophie before opening it.
“It’s bloody empty,” Annie raised her voice. “Why is it bloody empty, Gelding?”
Eliot moved at the same time as Gelding’s men. Eliot was faster. Fist to jaw. Knee to solar plexus. One man down. Foot to shin, twice, hard. Fingers to pressure point. Two men down. The sound of the briefcase cracking against the head of the third man, Annie Croy’s boot connecting with a stomach. Three men down. Only Gelding left standing out of the four threats.
Cracking his knuckles, Eliot took another step towards Gelding.
“No.” The man shook his head, hands held out in front of him and Eliot knew just how fast the guy’s pulse would be going. “Don’t. Please - I’ll get you the money.”
Annie Croy tilted her head to the side, scrutinising Gelding. “That’s what you were meant to be doing today, remember? You tried to double-cross me. I don’t take that kind of thing lightly.”
“I’ll get you more. Double the amount we agreed on.” Gelding glanced at Eliot and the pitch of his voice increased slightly. “Triple, even. Whatever you want, by tomorrow.”
“You’d say that and then disappear. No, this happens now or not at all.”
On cue, Eliot reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the phone Hardison had given him earlier. He handed it to Annie then crossed his arms, eyes fixed on Gelding in case he was reckless enough to try anything stupid. Even electronic transfers could go wrong sometimes. It didn’t this time. Annie typed in the bank details and let Gelding do the same with his. One stupid man and thirty seconds later, Gelding’s money - and his accounts - were theirs. The man wouldn’t realise just how much he’d given away until later and by then it’d be too late; they’d be back in Boston, untraceable, no longer Annie Croy and her security.
It took Gelding a few minutes to rouse his men but, once he had, Eliot watched as they walked back to their own cars, taking some satisfaction from seeing them limping. He didn’t like liars. Not at all.
“That was easy.” Sophie turned to look at him, the smile on her face one hundred per cent the grifter that Eliot knew. “That was fun.”
“You could say that.” He smirked as he took his comm out, instantly enjoying the lack of rambling from Hardison. “Nice touch with the briefcase.”
“Thought you’d enjoy that. Annie Croy’s a formidable woman.” That smile was still there, reaching all the way to her eyes as she pulled her own comm out of her ear.
“You’re pretty formidable yourself, Sophie.”
Moving his hand on instinct, he tucked a stray bit of Sophie’s hair behind her ear and then, realising that the motion hadn’t been nearly as casual as he’d meant it to be, went to pull it away. Sophie stopped him, her smaller hand covering his own and then they were both surging forwards, lips pressing against lips, Sophie’s hip warm under his other hand. Even kissing like this - urgent and forbidden - Sophie still felt gentle, soft and Eliot just stopped himself from groaning when they both pulled back to gasp for breath. His fingers were still tangled in her hair, pulling a little, and he loosened his hold; he didn’t want to hurt her.
“Well.” Sophie’s tongue traced her upper lip. “That was unexpected.”
Nodding, he took a step back, no longer touching her. “Sorry.”
“Why? It was nice.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Just nice?”
“Better.” Sophie exhaled slowly and ran a hand across her hair, tidying it up. “Much better.”
“I’m still sorry. We shouldn’t have - Nate.”
He’d done it again, done something else that was going to disappoint Nate. As if the guy had needed another reason not to trust him after everything that had happened with Moreau. As if there needed to be another reason for Nate to throw him out of the team.
“All right. You’re clearly already feeling guilty about what just happened and I’m - well, there’s Nate.” Sophie sighed. “Should we chalk it up to the adrenalin of the con and never speak of this again?”
“Yeah.” No-one would have to know, Nate wouldn’t need to find out. “That sounds like it might be a good idea.”
“To the car?”
“Lead on.” He stared at her back as they walked and tried not to think about the feel of her lips on his. He wouldn’t be experiencing it again; it was best just to forget. Adrenalin seemed like a good explanation for what had just happened; it wasn’t like he and Sophie would work in a relationship together anyway. It wasn’t like he’d really ever thought of her that way before, not seriously.
And there was Nate.
It’d be just one more thing that didn’t get mentioned; like the way he and Nate never mentioned the warehouse, the way he and Hardison never admitted they actually liked each other. Just another thing left unsaid.
~~
Eliot watched the screen on the wall as Hardison completed the last stage of the con, shutting down Gelding’s accounts now that they’d cleared all of his money out, distributing it amongst people who’d been hurt as a result of his crooked deals. Sophie sat next to him and he could feel her arm pressing against his own, warm and steady. It was no different to plenty of other times they’d sat next to each other at a debriefing except that, suddenly, it was completely different. He stood up, crossed over to the kitchen to get a beer.
“Gelding’s going to get a surprise next time he tries to check his accounts.” Hardison laughed, patting the top of his laptop. “It’s going to hit him hard.”
“It’s no more than he deserves.” Sophie glanced towards the empty space next to her as she took a sip of water. “And he tried to double cross us.”
“Wasn’t that the plan?” Parker looked up from where she was fixing a rig.
“Still, it’s the principle of the thing.”
“Take the rest of the weekend for yourselves, guys.” Nate stepped away from the front of the room and took the stool that Eliot had just vacated. “We’ll start our next job on Monday. Good work, all of you.”
Eliot brought the bottle up to his lips, looking steadfastly at Hardison instead of at the way Nate’s body twisted unconsciously towards Sophie’s. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t any of his business until it started to affect him on a professional level.
“Dinner?”
Parker’s suggestion wasn’t unusual, was really just confirming a post-con ritual that had developed lately, but Eliot shook his head. “I’m giving it a miss this time - things to do.”
“Like what?” Hardison shrugged. “People to punch?”
“No. I’ve been away for a week, Hardison. I have stuff to do.”
“Like?”
He sighed and placed the bottle down on the counter. “Like watering my plants and catching up with my neighbours and sleeping.”
“You don’t sleep.” Parker shifted on the couch, moving from one end to the other. “You said so.”
“No. I said I don’t sleep much. There’s a difference.” His jacket was draped over the back of the seat that Sophie was now sitting on and he drank the rest of his beer back in one before going to retrieve it. She turned her head ever so slightly as he neared and Eliot pulled it on quickly, headed towards the door. “I’ll see you all Monday.”
Eliot heard vague mutterings of goodbye, silence from Sophie, as he pulled the door closed behind him. It was the first time he’d ducked out of dinner in a long time but that didn’t mean anything; he was tired, they’d done a lot of travelling, a lot of fighting, over the last week in order to get Gelding’s attention. Besides, he didn’t need a reason not to have dinner with them. They didn’t have to do everything together. No matter what Parker seemed to think.
He left by the back entrance so he didn’t have to deal with the polite conversation in McRory’s. And that didn’t mean anything, either.
“Wait.” Sophie never needed to raise her voice to be heard.
Eliot stopped but didn’t turn around. “What?”
“Can you drive me home?”
“What about dinner?”
She stepped up next to him, rested a hand on his arm. “I think we need to talk. Please?”
Ever since they’d met, Eliot had found it difficult to say no to Sophie.
~~
Sophie’s place wasn’t that far away from Eliot’s own, he realised, as he pulled up outside the house she had directed him to. He saw the irony in that they were closer than he’d thought in other ways, too. He killed the engine and glanced sideways at the house. It wasn’t what he’d expected. He’d pictured Sophie in an apartment - maybe because the rest of them lived in apartments, maybe because he didn’t like to picture Sophie being on her own in a big house like this one.
“It’s not as big as it looks.” Sophie pushed open the passenger door. “Besides, it’s not like I’m here much, anyway.”
“I’ll see you Monday.”
“No.” Sophie twisted in her seat. “You said we could talk. We need to talk about this, Eliot.”
“We said we weren’t going to mention it again.” He stared straight ahead through the windscreen; the car in front of his truck belonged to a family, kids toys visible on the back seat. Maybe Sophie knew the kids names.
“Yes, we did. But I think we’ve both realised that’s not going to work.”
“Okay.” He sighed. “All right, I’ll come in.”
Eliot was just as surprised by the inside of Sophie’s house as he had been by the outside. He’d been expecting a modern décor, maybe open plan. Instead, he walked into a cosy place that was almost like a home, save for the lack of photos and the thin layer of dust that covered the furniture. He waited as she walked around the room, pulling open the curtains and turning on lamps.
“Sit down wherever you like.” Sophie walked towards the door. “I’ll get us some coffee.”
Left alone in the room, Eliot felt as though he was intruding on a part of Sophie’s life that he was never meant to see. It wasn’t that he didn’t consider Sophie a friend - he considered her a very good one - but things had always been on a more professional level between them than with the others. This…this felt very personal. From his spot on the couch, he could see that his initial assessment of the place had been slightly wrong; there were a few photos. One of Sophie with a man he didn’t know; he looked British, rich and he had his arm around Sophie in a way that made Eliot want to punch him. Another one of the team, all five of them; Eliot could remember the day it was taken by Bonano, the way Sophie had taken her camera back from the Lieutenant with a small smile playing around her lips.
“Do you want something to eat?” Sophie leaned in the doorway, looking unfairly comfortable with the whole situation. “I’m making something for myself anyway.”
Eliot shook his head.
“Okay, then. I won’t be long.”
She left again and he looked out the window; this was what Sophie saw when she was sitting in her house, relaxing after a con or getting ready for a briefing. This ordinary street with ordinary people. He wondered whether she knew the guy who was coming out of the house opposite or whether she was a mystery to the doctor across the street, the neighbour that everyone speculated about. Sophie would like to be a mystery, Eliot thought.
“I’m going to be completely honest.” Sophie walked back into the room carrying a tray with coffee and a sandwich. “I think it’s the best way forward.”
Eliot took the cup that she indicated and sat back on the settee, watching Sophie as she added sugar to her own drink. Her hand shook slightly but there was no other sign that she was nervous.
“What I said after we kissed - I’m not so sure I can just forget about it like that.”
He took a sip of scalding black coffee and nodded. “I know. Me neither.”
“I slept with Nate.”
He managed not to drop the cup he was holding, leaned forward to put it down on the table. It wasn’t like he had a reason to be surprised; he’d known about Nate and Sophie’s connection from the very beginning. But they’d been dancing around each other for so long that a part of him had thought it’d never happen.
“Eliot?”
“When?”
“In San Lorenzo , after - the night before we flew back.”
He’d been in Nate’s hotel room the next morning. Nate had made some excuse about not being up yet because he’d been drinking.
“Eliot?”
“Okay.” He remembered the way Nate had filled the empty space next to Sophie earlier. “So Nate thinks-”
“I don’t know what Nate thinks but I know what I think.”
“And what’s that?”
“I think that sleeping with Nate made me realise that the reality wasn’t what I thought it would be.” Sophie sighed. “Nate and I circled around each other for years and then it just - it didn’t feel any different, felt like we were still just friends. Nate’s always going to be important to me but he’s my best friend, nothing more.”
Her voice sounded honest - she certainly wasn’t using the girfter’s voice that had almost split the team up when they’d gone after IYS - but Eliot needed to know for certain. He looked into her eyes and then leaned forwards, taking her hand and brushing his fingers against her wrist. A person’s pulse couldn’t lie.
Sophie squeezed his hand before pulling her own away. “The passion wasn’t there. I thought it was when it started but it was just the adrenalin, just the excitement of stealing a country and finally taking down Moreau.”
“Does Nate know that? Because he still seems pretty set on you, Sophie.”
“I know. I am going to talk to him about it. I was just waiting for the right moment.”
“It’s going to hurt him.”
“It’d hurt him more if I let him keep thinking we had a chance.”
He couldn’t argue with that. “Just don’t tell him in the middle of a con.”
“I won’t.” Sophie shifted on the couch, bringing her feet up under her knees. “Eliot, where does this leave us?”
“We kissed once, Sophie. I don’t really think-”
“You know what I mean.”
Eliot stood up and walked over to the window. “I don’t know what you want. Hell, I don’t know what I want. You said what happened in San Lorenzo was because of the adrenalin of the con, and that you and Nate aren’t going to work that way. It’s the same thing you talked about after…after we kissed. How do you know in a few days, a few weeks you’re not going to think the same about us?”
“When we kissed, I felt it. And I felt it during the whole journey back to Boston, too. Sitting next to you in the debriefing. Right now.”
The doctor from across the road was back; the guy glanced up at Sophie’s house before entering his own and Eliot smiled. At least he wasn’t the only one who thought Sophie was a mystery.
“Eliot?”
“We’re very different people.” He closed his eyes as he felt Sophie brush up next to him. “I’m not like Nate.”
“No. You’re not. I don’t want you to be him.”
“What do you want?”
“I have no idea.” Sophie ran a finger along the glass, tracing patterns that Eliot couldn’t see. “I’m attracted to you, Eliot.”
“But?”
“You’re right - there are a lot of things about us that are different. And even if we could deal with that, there are so many other issues we’d have to deal with.”
“It would split up the team.”
“Probably.”
He turned to look at her. “Not ‘probably.’ Definitely.”
“I know.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t want that but-”
“We’d hurt each other, too.”
“What?”
It was an inevitable truth that he’d been thinking about ever since they’d kissed. “We’d end up hurting each other, Sophie. I’d do something that - that you wouldn’t like.” He looked down, and added softly. “Or you’d do something to hurt me.”
Moving back to the couch, Sophie bit her lip for a moment before speaking. “We’ve just spent the last couple of minutes trying to convince each other why us being together wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“I know. Sophie, there’d be a lot of positives, too. And I’m tempted, really tempted, but-”
“The others.” She nodded. “They mean a lot to me, too. We - me and you - we work well as friends.”
“Yeah.”
“We should keep it that way.”
He kept his gaze fixed on the wall above her head because this was the right thing to do but he wasn’t sure he could agree to it if he looked at her. “All right. Friends.”
“I’m going to tell Nate, though. About San Lorenzo.”
“He deserves to know now instead of later.”
“Yes. Are you sure you don’t want something to eat?”
Eliot shook his head. “No. I’m going to head home. I’ve got things to do, remember?”
Sophie nodded and didn’t try to stop him from leaving. Eliot didn’t look back at the house as he drove away.
~~
Nate paced across the floor in front of Eliot, hands together behind his back. He’d been getting more and more agitated as the briefing had gone from being ten minutes late starting to twenty to a full half hour. Looking towards the door one more time, Nate shook his head and then gestured at Hardison.
“You want me to start without her?”
“Yes, Hardison. That’s why I asked you to.”
Parker coughed and then shrugged when everyone looked at her. “What if something’s happened to her?”
“Nothing’s happened to her.” Nate sighed. “She’s just being Sophie.”
Eliot had been wondering whether Sophie had talked to Nate yet, now he had his answer.
“I’ll start, then.” Hardison stood up and then sat back down again as the apartment door swung open and Sophie walked in.
“You’re late.”
Eliot kept his gaze fixed on Nate. “We’ve all been late at some point, man. Give her a break.”
“Stay out of this, Eliot.”
“I got held up.” Sophie crossed over the room and took the free seat next to Parker. “There’s no need to make a fuss.”
Nate snorted. “Yeah. Held up.”
If this was what happened when he wasn’t even in the equation, Eliot was sure that he and Sophie had made the right decision, no matter how hard it had been.
Hardison cleared his throat and pointed at the screen. “This is Patrick Jackson; he’s a bad, bad guy. Really bad. The nicest thing he does is launder money. The worst…” he trailed off.
“Our client is Kris Hawkins.” Nate pointed at another image on the screen. “Now, he signed up for an investment scheme that Jackson was running, thinking he was legit. Lost all his money and when he confronted Jackson about it, he took a bad beating. Cops didn’t think there was enough evidence to pursue his complaint.”
“What’s our angle?” Eliot took a drink of his water.
“We’re going to go into partnership with Jackson - or at least as far as he’s concerned, that’s what we want. Hardison needs a few days to build up a convincing enough trail for our aliases so take another couple of days, all of you, and we’ll call you back in when we’re ready.”
“You called us in for that?” Sophie sounded irritated, tired.
Nate nodded. “Some of us like to keep everyone informed of what’s going on.”
Eliot watched as Sophie stood up and stalked back out of the apartment. He wasn’t used to her reacting so badly to Nate’s moods; whatever had been said between Nate and Sophie had changed things and Eliot wondered whether it was all worth it just because of one kiss.
~~
Eliot liked his apartment; it was the most comfortable place he’d lived in since he’d first let home because it was the first time he’d let himself become settled. Instead of bare walls and minimal possessions, his apartment in Boston had character. The kitchen was fully stocked; herbs growing in pots on the windowsill and everything he needed to make a decent meal in the cupboards. The bookcase in the living room was no longer empty - in fact, he’d had to buy a second one - and the couch was worn in. Eliot really liked his apartment.
But, after almost three days inside, he needed to get out for a change of scenery. Giving Nate and Sophie space was something he’d had to do but the boredom was an unfortunate by-product. He was sick of ignoring everyone -it wasn’t as though he’d done anything wrong - but he wasn’t going to go back to Nate’s apartment until he got called in. In the long run, he thought it was doing him good to get some space, some perspective, away from Sophie.
She was his friend. Thoughtful, smart, good to talk to. But anything else with her would be reckless; he’d rather be her friend and have a team than try something that didn’t work out and be left with nothing.
He pulled the door to his apartment building shut behind him and took a deep breath, inhaling air that was as fresh as you could get in Boston. Sticking his hands into his pockets, he began to walk in the direction of the local park. It was a good twenty minute walk to get there; plenty of time to sort out the rest of the thoughts that were bugging him.
Eliot got halfway down his street before his cell rang.
“Yeah?”
“We’re meeting back at Nate’s in an hour.” Hardison chuckled. “I’ve laid a trail so detailed that Jackson’s not going to know what’s hit him even after we’ve sucker-punched him right where it hurts.”
“An hour?”
“Yeah.”
Eliot sighed and turned, walking back towards his apartment building. “Okay. I’ll be there.”
~~
Sophie was already there, looking at him as though nothing had changed from her seat next to Parker on the couch when Eliot walked into Nate’s apartment an hour and ten minutes later. He nodded at Nate as he crossed the room and stood behind Parker. From where he was standing, he could see Sophie clearly and he was pleased to see that there were no dark circles under her eyes, no tell-tale frown as she realised he was there. She looked like she usually did and he was relieved; he’d not realised until he’d been standing outside the apartment, palms sweaty, just how much he needed Sophie to be okay.
“Okay, guys, here’s the plan. I’m going to go in as a money launderer tomorrow, with Eliot as back-up. Sophie and Hardison are on FBI duty and Parker, you’re going to break into Jackson’s office and make sure the evidence we need is there. If it isn’t, we’re going to plant it.”
Eliot looked Nate up and down as he spoke. He seemed less stressed than he had when Eliot had last seen him, less anger in his eyes when he looked at Sophie.
“Shouldn’t Parker have back-up?” Hardison glanced at Eliot as he spoke.
Nate nodded, “She will. Eliot and I will be there meeting with Jackson. We’ll make sure there’s a reason for us all to leave the office and we’ll be close enough where Eliot can help her out if she gets caught.”
“I won’t get caught.” Parker turned to look at Eliot, shaking her head.
“Probably not. If you do, I’ll be there.” He glanced towards Nate. “We both will.”
“Exactly. Anyone have any questions?”
Once everyone had shaken their heads, Nate nodded at Hardison and the hacker started to hand out files. Eliot opened his and started reading through the information on Jackson; if this guy was as nasty as Hardison had made out earlier in the week, he needed to know everything he could about him so he could protect the team.
He looked up briefly as Sophie made her way over to Nate and spoke in a low voice. He couldn’t catch what she said but whatever it was caused Nate’s eyes to widen ever so slightly and it almost looked as if she’d just flirted with him except for the way he didn’t smile like he used to as she walked away. But Nate turned to talk to Parker as if nothing had happened and Eliot smiled. Maybe things weren’t going to change that much after all. He hoped so; he wouldn’t want to be the reason everything was ruined for Parker and Hardison. And Nate, too; he knew how much what Nate did meant to the man now.
“You okay, man?” Hardison dropped down into the seat next to him, fiddling with the buttons on his phone. “We didn’t see you over the last couple of days.”
“I’m fine. I told you I had things to do.”
“Watering your plants took you three days? Really? Because I got to say-”
“Look, I’ve got other friends I had to see.” He closed the file in front of him.
Hardison clasped at his chest, smirking. “You see other friends?”
“Stop being an idiot, Hardison.” But he let his lips quirk. “I really am all right, man. Just needed a few days to recharge.”
“And it’s worked?”
“It’s worked.”
“Good. Because otherwise I’d have to kick your ass into gear.”
“I’d like to see you try.” He shook his head as Hardison shoved him in the shoulder. This - having a team and friends who took the time to ask if he was okay - was what he hadn’t wanted to lose. He only hoped he could keep it.
Sophie laughed and he twisted automatically to look at her, clenched his fists when he realised what he’d done. He needed to start acting like normal again, keep his distance from Sophie until he got control of this impulse he had to keep checking on her. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if Nate realised what was going on.
None of them could afford to lose what they had.
~~
“Do you think this is going to work?” Parker glanced up from her lock picks, looking first at Eliot then Hardison.
Hardison shrugged, “No reason why it shouldn’t.”
Eliot quite determinedly did not look at Sophie or Nate; Nate didn’t know he knew anything and he was meant to be taking a step back from Sophie. Professionalism, focusing on the job at hand and not getting involved in Nate’s problems, was the way forward. But if Nate’s current issues started to affect the con, Eliot was going to have to do something about it. He really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
“It’s a simple con.” Nate pulled open the van door, his eyes flickering towards Sophie. “No complications. You ready, Eliot?”
“Sure.” He followed Nate out of the van and across the parking lot towards the office building. “Are you ready?”
Nate stopped and looked at him for a moment, eyebrow’s quirking. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Eliot forced himself to look away from the dark circles around Nate’s eyes. “I was just - I mean- it doesn’t matter.”
“There something you need to tell me, Eliot?”
“No.”
The last time he’d been the muscle in a con, he’d kissed Sophie. Dammit, he’d kissed Sophie and if he told Nate that then everything was over.
“Are you sure? Because we don’t need a repeat of Moreau.”
Eliot’s fists clenched. That was a low blow from Nate, one he deserved but hadn’t been expecting. It wasn’t like Nate understood everything about that, anyway. “There’s nothing.”
“Good.” Nate adjusted his tie. “Come on then, let’s get this done.”
The security in the reception of the building wasn’t tight and Eliot frowned as they were shown straight to Jackson’s office. From everything he’d read about the man, Jackson wasn’t the type of man to be sloppy with security; if security wasn’t needed in the building, then that meant Jackson was either more ruthless than they’d thought or they were in the wrong place.
“My name’s Lisa Perkins . How can I help you Mr-?”
“Baker.” Nate stood up, holding out his hand. “Tom.”
“Good to meet you.” She shook his hand and took the seat behind the desk, not even glancing at Eliot. “Mr Jackson is out of country at the moment, I’m afraid, and then he’s going straight to New York to settle some important business which means you’re stuck with me.”
Eliot tuned out the complaining from Hardison that was coming through the comm and kept his gaze focused on Nate, wondering what he’d do. This woman hadn’t been mentioned by their client; they had no idea whether she was involved in the dirty deals or not.
Nate shifted in his seat. “Well, if I’m honest Ms. Perkins, we were hoping to talk to Mr. Jackson himself. The business we want to discuss with him is quite sensitive.”
“Well, like I said, he’s out of the country right now. He’s not due back here in Boston for three weeks so-”
“When is he due in New York?”
“Next week, but-”
“Then I’d like you to reschedule this appointment; I have other business in New York, I don’t mind travelling.”
Lisa nodded. “If you’d like to leave your number at the reception, I’ll liaise with the New York office and get back to you.”
“Thank you.” Nate stood up. “I appreciate that.”
Eliot followed behind when Nate gestured to him, rolling his eyes at the woman just so she didn’t get suspicious. He should have known, after the way his luck had gone recently, that the simple con wasn’t going to be simple at all.
~~
Eliot stirred the tomato sauce in front of him and added some more seasoning, trying to ignore the way Parker was looking over his right shoulder. It wasn’t that he really minded her watching him as he cooked; he just wished she’d stand far enough away where he couldn’t feel her breath on his neck. Even with the unwanted distraction, though, it had been a while since he’d cooked for someone other than himself and he was enjoying it.
“What are you making?” Hardison wandered over the room and pulled open the fridge to get another bottle of his drink.
“I’m making my tomato, spinach and mozzarella roulade with the spicy tomato sauce.”
“Great.” Sophie looked up from the magazine she was reading. “That’s my favourite.”
Eliot almost dropped the spoon that he was holding and he turned back to his pans so that no-one would see him flush - he never flushed. It didn’t mean anything anyway. He hadn’t known that it was Sophie’s favourite; everyone liked the meal he’d chosen to make, even Bonano had praised it.
“How long until it’s ready?” Parker pushed herself up onto the counter.
“Twenty minutes or so.” He smiled as an idea hit him. “Actually, can you go and find Nate, let him know?”
“Sure.” She jumped back down and headed out of Eliot’s - if he was cooking in it, it was his - kitchen.
“Great. Hardison, out of my way.”
Hardison crossed his arms. “You didn’t tell Parker to go away.”
“I like Parker. Now go.” He tuned out Hardison’s muttering and focused on the food again. He hadn’t even wanted to have dinner with the others that night anyway, had only started cooking something because he’d seen all the leftovers in Nate’s fridge, the candy that Parker had been chewing on. Someone had to make sure they ate healthy occasionally.
“It smells good.”
His head snapped up at the sound of Sophie’s voice, closer than it had been, and he forced himself not to smile as she walked around the counter and into his space. “It will be good. Can you go and get us some wine?”
“I already texted Nate and told him to bring some.”
“Right.”
“Eliot.” Sophie looked around, checking where Hardison was before lowering her voice. “I thought we were going to be just friends.”
“We are.”
“So be my friend, then.”
He stared at her back as she walked away and then cursed as he realised the sauce was starting to burn. Taking it off the heat, he shook his head. She didn’t know how close Nate was to snapping with him anyway, didn’t know about Moreau - and he was so glad about that, didn’t ever want to see the disappointment that’d be in her eyes if she knew - so she didn’t know why even being friends was going to be so difficult. After all, she’d been being just friends with Nate for years.
No. Keeping the distance that he’d created between them was the best way forward; the others didn’t know any different and it’d be easier on the both of them if they could get over this infatuation quickly.
~~
“You need to stop.”
“What?” Eliot turned at the sound of Sophie’s voice, the last person he’d expected to bump into grocery shopping. He wondered whether she’d deliberately been avoiding him up until now when he hadn’t known how near she lived to him.
“This whole avoiding me thing you’ve got going on.” Sophie reached and picked up some cereal from the shelf. “I know you think you’re being all stoic and heroic but you’re not. You’re just being an idiot.”
“Sophie, be-”
“No, you be reasonable. We’re friends, Eliot. Before anything else, we’re friends - all five of us.”
“Which is exactly why-”
“You need to stop avoiding me.” Raising her voice, she added the cereal to the basket that Eliot was holding. “I didn’t bring any money with me.”
“You came here just to see me?”
She replied quickly, defensively. “I saw you walk past my house, followed you in here. It’s not my fault you’ve been avoiding me.”
“And now I’m buying you cereal?”
“Yes. Deal with it. I’ll see you outside.”
He watched as Sophie stalked out of the shop and laughed; her actions had just been so Sophie, passionate and unpredictable. Still smiling, he headed for the checkout and paid as quickly as he could before following her outside.
She was standing across the road, hair blowing slightly in the wind as she watched a group of women who were obviously on their way home from a shopping spree. Eliot walked a little way along the sidewalk until he stood directly opposite her and then crossed over; letting the bag of groceries he was carrying drop to the ground.
“I’m sorry.” Sophie smiled apologetically. “I made a scene.”
“Don’t be sorry.” He leaned in and kissed her and grinned against her lips when she kissed back. Softer than the last time, this kiss said everything Eliot hadn’t been saying over the last few days. He missed Sophie and he admired Sophie and he wanted, so badly, to be with Sophie. Screw Nate and screw anyone else who was getting in their way. He wanted this.
She reached for his hand as they pulled apart, tangled their fingers together and Eliot picked the bag back up as they began to walk.
“We should go back to my place and talk.”
Eliot nodded. “Properly, this time.”
“Definitely.” Sophie squeezed his hand. “Now that you’re not running away every time I come near you.”
“I’m sorry. I just - I thought if-”
“I know what you thought.” Sophie huffed and then spoke almost to herself. “Men.”
He didn’t call her on the remark; it was probably true.
Sophie’s house was less of a surprise when they stopped outside of it this time, although Eliot still wondered why she’d bought it just for herself, whether she’d imagined settling down quickly with someone or whether she’d just liked the price.
“Will you eat something today?” Sophie twisted her head to look at him as she turned the key in her door.
“I can do better than that - I’ll make something. Do you have much in your cupboards?”
“Not a lot. I’d like to see what you can salvage, though.”
“That a challenge?” He pulled her door closed.
“Maybe. The kitchen’s through here.”
Eliot took a few moments to look around the kitchen; he needed to know what he was working with, after all. It was fairly well stocked in terms of utensils but Sophie was right, there wasn’t much fresh food in at all. He hadn’t been expecting a lot - he’d seen Sophie’s attempts at cooking before and he knew she preferred to eat out, anyway - but he’d thought she’d at least have a few more vegetables.
“We could just get take-away.” Sophie held out a menu, looking every bit like she was trying really hard not to laugh.
“Yeah, all right. Next time I say I’ll cook something, let’s go to mine.” He winced even as he said the presumptuous words. “I mean-”
“I know what you meant. How about we sit down and talk and then we can order something after.”
“Sounds good.” Eliot followed Sophie through into the living room, hesitating for a moment before sitting down next to her on the couch. She looked unfairly calm given the situation and he wondered whether he was ever going to have the upper hand in a conversation with her. The thing that bothered him the most was that he didn’t really mind; even when he wasn’t sure where he stood with Sophie, he still wanted to know her.
“It’s not going to go away, is it?” Sophie drummed her fingers against the arm of the couch. “I thought it was just a crush thing, that if we just ignored it and carried on as normal we’d be fine.”
“It isn’t just a crush thing?”
“No. No, I don’t think it is.”
Eliot almost felt relieved at hearing her doubt; at least he wasn’t the only one unsure where they stood, about what was going on between them. “Me neither. It’s a long time since I’ve kissed someone like I kissed you, Sophie.”
“I think that’s a compliment.” She laughed a little, rubbing her thumb across her wrist in an unconscious motion.
“It’s a pretty big one. What do we do, then? Because what we said the other day still stands. The others-”
“Are important.” Sophie nodded. “But so are we and I think maybe we deserve to be happy.”
“Maybe.” Nate and Moreau and all the countless other people who had seen him pick up a gun in his past would probably think differently.
“You don’t think you deserve to be happy?”
“I think you do and maybe that’s the same thing.”
"Yeah, we’re going to talk about why that isn’t the same thing at some point.” Sophie reached out and rested her hand on his knee. “I want this.”
“So do I.”
“I think we should get to have it.”
“If we do, we have to make sure we do it right. Make sure we do our best by Nate and Hardison and Parker.”
Sophie nodded. “And I think we should do it right for us, too. Take it slowly, keep it between us. Just see what this thing is without putting too much pressure on ourselves.”
“I think that sounds like a good idea.” He met Sophie’s gaze for a moment and then smiled, pointing to the menu she was still holding. “So, you mentioned something about take-out?”
~~
Eliot lifted up the full watering can, resting a hand on the bottom to balance it. He took his time as he walked around his apartment, watering the plants, because once this chore was finished, he had nothing else to do. There was still another three days until the meeting in New York, another two days before they needed to travel there which meant two days of free time. He’d already met up with the old service buddies who were in town, read the new book he’d bought, cleaned his whole apartment, cooked and frozen enough food to feed him for the rest of the year and, once these plants were done, there’d be nothing else to do.
He wasn’t going to call any of the others; they were going to spend enough time in close proximity once the next part of the con was in play without annoying each other beforehand in their boredom. And he wasn’t going to call Sophie because he didn’t want to push her. They’d said they’d take things slowly and he wasn’t going to be the one to make the first move, not when words had clearly been said between Sophie and Nate so recently.
It was stupid anyway; spending time on his own wasn’t a new thing, it was something that he usually enjoyed. Before he’d started working with a team, most of his time had been spent in his own company and he’d liked the peace. Now the lack of chatter was almost unsettling, the empty space on the couch strange.
Finishing the last plant, Eliot set the watering can down on the kitchen floor and glanced at the time, scowling when he saw that it wasn’t even noon yet. He leaned back against the counter for a moment before shaking his head and pulling his cell out of his pocket.
It rang three times before Sophie answered, her greeting sleepy and smooth.
“Did I wake you?”
“No, I’m still in bed but I’ve been awake for about twenty minutes now.” She laughed. “I’m just being lazy. How long have you been up?”
“Since six.”
“And now you’re bored because you’ve done everything that needs doing and you can’t relax because there’s a con coming up.”
Eliot gripped the edge of the counter, unsure how Sophie could read him so easily without even being in the room. It wasn’t like they were strangers - and reading people was her job - but he’d always been good at keeping secrets, staying a mystery even to those people he saw regularly. Apparently that was something else that had gone out of the window since he’d first accepted Dubenich’s offer of a job.
“Eliot?”
“Yeah, that’s about right.”
“Do you want to meet for a coffee? I could do with getting some fresh air and waking up properly, anyway. I said I’d meet Parker later.”
Coffee with Sophie sounded like a very good idea and, even though he’d given in and made the first move, she’d been the one to suggest meeting up, so he figured she was okay with doing something together.
“That sounds good - I’ll come by your place.”
“Great. Give me about half an hour to get up and ready, then.”
“Will do.” He hung up, still smiling; as unsettling as it was to have Sophie be able to deduce things about him just from one phone call, it was also quite comforting not to have to actually voice when he needed some company.
He arrived at Sophie’s house five minutes early and, not wanting to rush her, sat down to wait on the wall outside her place. A few cars passed by as he waited but the sidewalk was quiet and Eliot thought maybe he understood part of the reason Sophie had chosen this place to live in after all. The life of a grifter was busy, often noisy, and this place was peaceful, had an air of normalcy about it.
“Couldn’t wait?”
He turned to see Sophie standing at her front door, head tilted slightly to the side. Eliot pushed himself up off the wall and walked up the small path towards her. “Needed some air.”
“Yes.” Sophie leaned forwards to kiss him on the cheek before pulling the door closed behind her. “Me too. I’m glad you called.”
“I didn’t want to rush you.” He brushed his fingers against her hand as they made the way along her street, pulling away slightly as they turned out onto the main road.
“You’re not.” She smirked. “I like coffee. Besides, why shouldn’t we meet up?”
Eliot shrugged and they fell into a comfortable silence until they reached the coffee place. Inside, there were only a few other customers and Eliot followed behind Sophie as she made for a table in the corner of the room once they’d bought their drinks.
He watched as Sophie held her peppermint tea up near her face and breathed in before taking a sip, wondering how she could make such a normal thing seem so serene.
“Are you all ready for the trip to New York?” Sophie cupped her mug with both hands where it rested on the table.
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “It’s not like I really travel with anything and I’m just muscle for this one so-”
“Not just the muscle, Eliot. You play an important role.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do.” She laughed, low and almost private. “Remember the last time you were the muscle?”
Eliot snorted; he wasn’t likely to forget it any time soon. That first feel of Sophie on his lips, intimate and passionate and just a little bit dangerous. “I remember you being downright scary as Annie.”
“I rather like Annie; she’s come in very useful over the years.”
He smirked, setting his coffee down on the table. “She’s not so bad. I think I prefer Sophie, though.”
~~
Grabbing the duffel with his spare clothes - he needed a suit for the meeting with Jackson - Eliot made his way out of his apartment and down the steps. Hardison was leaning against Lucille and Eliot nodded at him, went to climb up into the van and stopped when Hardison grabbed his arm.
“What?”
“We need to talk.”
Eliot shook his head. “Not now, man, we’re working.”
“Eliot-”
He shrugged the hacker off and got into the van; he was in a good mood, ready to take part in the con, and he wasn’t in the mood for bickering with Hardison about whatever his latest niggle was.
Settling into his seat, he nodded at Nate. “We all set?”
“Yeah, Jackson’s secretary called to confirm the meeting this morning. Hardison’s booked our hotel rooms.” Nate glanced around at the empty driver’s seat. “We just need to actually get to New York now.”
“Just give him a minute.” Sophie patted Nate’s arm as she moved from where she’d been crouched talking to Parker to her seat. “He’s probably doing something computer-y to make our journey more efficient.”
Eliot nodded and leaned his head back, closing his eyes as they got ready to begin their road trip. He and Sophie had definitely made the right choice in keeping things between them private for the time being; Nate didn’t like things being out of order, out of his control when it came to cons, never mind when it involved his personal life. Things were simpler this way.
~~
Jackson was about as charming as Eliot had imagined him to be; no expensive suit or fancy office could make up for the fact that the guy was just a lowlife scum bag who’d caught a lucky break and had managed to get rich. He managed to stop himself from clenching his fists when the man mentioned the family he’d just put out on the streets because they couldn’t afford to pay back the money they owed him only because of Sophie’s voice through the comms, telling him to stay calm and get the best revenge they could by doing their job properly. He could tell by the way Nate slouched slightly in his seat as she said the words that he wasn’t the only one who had come close to punching their mark and he wondered just who the words had actually been meant for. Both of them, probably, if he knew Sophie.
He stepped forwards as Nate stood up and shook Jackson’s hand, nodded at the guy’s own security as they made their way out of the office.
“Well done, Eliot.” Nate turned his head slightly, smiling at him in a way that Eliot hadn’t seen since before Moreau. “We’ve got him hooked.”
“It’s going to be a pleasure reeling him in.” He followed Nate across the parking lot, carrying on to the van when Nate stopped to take a call. A little way from the van, he paused as Hardison walked towards him with his arms crossed and sighed; Hardison had obviously decided that now was the time to voice whatever had been bugging him since yesterday.
“What is it, Hardison?”
“I know.”
“What?”
“I know, Eliot.” Hardison took a step closer to him. “I know about you and Sophie.”
Eliot could feel his own eyes widen stupidly and he lowered his voice when he next spoke. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you and Sophie kissing on the last con. I saw the footage, Eliot.”
“How?”
“I was checking there was no incriminating evidence left behind; looks like I found some, though, doesn’t it. Man, how could you do that to Nate?”
“I didn’t do anything to Nate, Hardison, me and Sophie, we-” he trailed off as he saw the van door slide open. Sophie climbed out, hand over her ear and it took Eliot a moment to realise what she was trying to say.
Turning around, he looked at where Nate was. Far away where a normal conversation couldn’t have been overheard but close enough where, with his comm still in, Eliot knew that the man must have heard every word.
“Damnit, Hardison. You’re an idiot.” Eliot flipped him the finger as he headed across the lot towards Nate; if he could say something now, try and limit the amount of damage that was done then maybe they could all get back to Boston in one piece.
“Eliot.” Sophie’s voice in his ear sounded urgent, warning him but he carried on because, yes, Sophie knew Nate well but so did he. Nate was honest and he valued honesty and Eliot was damn well going to give him that now.
“Nate, I’m sorry.” Eliot held out his hands, palms facing upwards as he neared him. “I’m sorry you heard that like that but I think-”
“Shut up, Eliot. Shut up for a moment and let me think.”
“Nate, I-”
“Nate? That’s strange because that’s not the name you told me.”
Eliot spun around, wincing when he saw Jackson standing there.
“I’m going.” Nate shrugged and began to walk away, heading for the sidewalk rather than the van.
“Yeah, I think you all better go.” Jackson gestured at the security guards stationed by the exit and Eliot cursed, watching as Nate took his comm out and chucked it aside.
“Eliot.” Sophie’s voice was soft in his ear. “Just leave him; he’ll come back when he’s ready.”
Nodding, he turned away from Jackson and jogged back towards the van, glad that Hardison had already climbed into the driver’s seat because he wasn’t sure what he would have done if he’d had to walk past him.
He jumped up into the van, yanking rather than sliding the door shut behind him as Hardison began to drive. Dropping down into his seat, he let his head fall into his hands. There were a lot of ways that Nate could have found out about him and Sophie and that had definitely not been one of the more positive possibilities. Over-hearing it over the comms in the middle of a con and now he knew that they’d kissed before Sophie had told Nate where he stood and he was going to have to tell their client that they’d failed.
“That wasn’t good.” Sophie sighed. “Not good at all.”
“Hardison, what were you thinking? Acting like a downright idiot like that and it’s none of your damn business anyway.”
“It is my business if it’s going to affect me, which it is.” Hardison turned to look at him, only one hand on the wheel.
“Okay.” Sophie held up a hand, glancing at Parker who hadn’t yet said a word. “Let’s just do this back at the hotel, okay? The last thing we need is to crash right now.”
“Fine.” Hardison twisted back around in his seat. “But you’ve got some explaining to do when we get there. Both of you.”
“That’s fine.” Sophie toed Eliot’s shin gently. “We’ve got nothing to hide now.”
Part Two