Fic: The Kids (Leverage, Nate/Quinn)
Title: The Kids
Fandom: Leverage
Pairing: Nate/Quinn
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 975
Summary: Quinn hasn’t seen Nate in a while.
A/N: For telaryn - I’m sorry this is a little late but I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend <3
The apartment was different but, even so, Quinn knew he would have been in no doubt who it belonged to even if he hadn’t been give the address. It was all in the details; the books that were on the shelves, the brand of whiskey on the counter, the chess board set out on the coffee table. Quinn closed the front door behind him and crossed over the room, sitting down in the arm chair that he knew Nate favoured, just to see how he’d react when he arrived.
Quinn was used to being in other people’s homes alone but it was usually uninvited. Being on his own in Nate’s apartment with permission felt odd but he tried to relax back into the seat anyway; Nate didn’t need to know about his unease. Quinn had never been very good at sitting still for long and just a few minutes passed before he got bored of just waiting and leaned forward to pick a chess piece up off the board, turning it over and over in his hand.
The door opened and he listened but didn’t move to look as Nate walked inside. He heard the sound of a coat unzipping, keys jangling, and then silence.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to keep a date waiting?” Quinn let his smirk filter into his tone.
“Is this a date?”
He shrugged. “We arranged a time and a place to meet - most people would say that counts.”
“We’re not most people.” Nate lowered himself down onto the couch opposite Quinn, looking just the same as he had almost a month ago, the last time they’d been available at the same time.
“You can say that again. I can only stay for a couple of days - I have another job contracted.”
“Then we have a couple of days.” Nate nodded towards the chess board. “You want to play?”
Realising he was still holding the chess piece in his hand, Quinn placed it back in its place and shook his head. “That’s actually one of the few things I don’t know how to do.”
“I can explain.”
“Really?” He tilted his head, assessing. “I tell you I’m only here for a few days and the first thing you want to do is teach me to play chess.”
“You never know when you might need to know how to play. This next contracted job of yours, for example.”
“Chess is an important life skill in the middle of the desert.”
Taking the teasing in his stride, Nate stood up. “Either way, before we do anything else I think food sounds good, don’t you?” Heading to the kitchen without waiting for an answer, Nate squeezed Quinn’s shoulder as he walked past him into the kitchen.
Getting up to follow him, Quinn started to relax a little more, falling back into the easy feeling he’d been getting around Nate for a few months now. “This place is okay, you know. It’s no McRory’s but it’ll do.”
“You do realise it wouldn’t matter even if you hated it? I’m here now.”
“I know.” He leaned back against the counter and watched as Nate began to take leftovers out of the fridge. “Eliot’s cooking?”
“No, mine but I’m sure it’ll do. The plates are in the cupboard right behind you.”
“Message received.”
Once they’d got the food plated up they settled at the kitchen table, their knees nudging against each other as they ate. It was oddly domestic, for them, but Quinn chose not to comment on that. It made sense, that as the months wore on and they got to know each other things would get a bit more relaxed, he guessed. And after weeks on edge with his survival depending on his being alert it was good to just relax. He figured this was providing Nate with a similar benefit.
It was Nate who broke the silence. “I told Sophie.”
“You told Sophie what? Pi? The answer to the unanswerable question?”
“I told Sophie about us.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I’m not sure, really.”
Quinn watched Nate squirm for a moment before shrugging. It really made no difference to him who knew that he and Nate were sort-of-casually dating. “Did you tell the kids as well?”
Nate snorted. “You do know that if any of them ever found out you call them that suspicious things would start happening to you.”
“I’ll just have to be careful then, won’t I?”
“And no, I haven’t told them yet. I don’t know how they’d - wine!”
“What?”
“I forgot wine, we need it - I’ll just nip out and get some.”
Quinn had a suspicion that Nate placing so much importance on wine had more to do with delaying the awkward conversation they were having than anything else but he humoured him anyway. “Right - you do that and I’ll wash these dishes up.”
He waited until Nate had left before carrying their plates over to the sink, mulling over the fact that Nate had told someone about them in his mind. He hadn’t seen it coming but it really didn’t bother him either because it still didn’t seem like they were defining themselves in any way. They were moving at their own pace, discovering whatever was happening between them as things happened and Quinn knew that, as much as he was having fun, he was still in a position where he could walk away at any time. It’d be a shame but he could do it.
The apartment door opened and Quinn turned to greet Nate but instead saw Eliot glaring at him.
“What are you doing? Apart from breaking and entering and,” Eliot paused for a moment, “the dishes, apparently.”
Coming to terms with the fact that the kids were going to find out sooner that Nate had planned, Quinn smirked. “I can explain.”
Fandom: Leverage
Pairing: Nate/Quinn
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 975
Summary: Quinn hasn’t seen Nate in a while.
A/N: For telaryn - I’m sorry this is a little late but I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend <3
The apartment was different but, even so, Quinn knew he would have been in no doubt who it belonged to even if he hadn’t been give the address. It was all in the details; the books that were on the shelves, the brand of whiskey on the counter, the chess board set out on the coffee table. Quinn closed the front door behind him and crossed over the room, sitting down in the arm chair that he knew Nate favoured, just to see how he’d react when he arrived.
Quinn was used to being in other people’s homes alone but it was usually uninvited. Being on his own in Nate’s apartment with permission felt odd but he tried to relax back into the seat anyway; Nate didn’t need to know about his unease. Quinn had never been very good at sitting still for long and just a few minutes passed before he got bored of just waiting and leaned forward to pick a chess piece up off the board, turning it over and over in his hand.
The door opened and he listened but didn’t move to look as Nate walked inside. He heard the sound of a coat unzipping, keys jangling, and then silence.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to keep a date waiting?” Quinn let his smirk filter into his tone.
“Is this a date?”
He shrugged. “We arranged a time and a place to meet - most people would say that counts.”
“We’re not most people.” Nate lowered himself down onto the couch opposite Quinn, looking just the same as he had almost a month ago, the last time they’d been available at the same time.
“You can say that again. I can only stay for a couple of days - I have another job contracted.”
“Then we have a couple of days.” Nate nodded towards the chess board. “You want to play?”
Realising he was still holding the chess piece in his hand, Quinn placed it back in its place and shook his head. “That’s actually one of the few things I don’t know how to do.”
“I can explain.”
“Really?” He tilted his head, assessing. “I tell you I’m only here for a few days and the first thing you want to do is teach me to play chess.”
“You never know when you might need to know how to play. This next contracted job of yours, for example.”
“Chess is an important life skill in the middle of the desert.”
Taking the teasing in his stride, Nate stood up. “Either way, before we do anything else I think food sounds good, don’t you?” Heading to the kitchen without waiting for an answer, Nate squeezed Quinn’s shoulder as he walked past him into the kitchen.
Getting up to follow him, Quinn started to relax a little more, falling back into the easy feeling he’d been getting around Nate for a few months now. “This place is okay, you know. It’s no McRory’s but it’ll do.”
“You do realise it wouldn’t matter even if you hated it? I’m here now.”
“I know.” He leaned back against the counter and watched as Nate began to take leftovers out of the fridge. “Eliot’s cooking?”
“No, mine but I’m sure it’ll do. The plates are in the cupboard right behind you.”
“Message received.”
Once they’d got the food plated up they settled at the kitchen table, their knees nudging against each other as they ate. It was oddly domestic, for them, but Quinn chose not to comment on that. It made sense, that as the months wore on and they got to know each other things would get a bit more relaxed, he guessed. And after weeks on edge with his survival depending on his being alert it was good to just relax. He figured this was providing Nate with a similar benefit.
It was Nate who broke the silence. “I told Sophie.”
“You told Sophie what? Pi? The answer to the unanswerable question?”
“I told Sophie about us.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I’m not sure, really.”
Quinn watched Nate squirm for a moment before shrugging. It really made no difference to him who knew that he and Nate were sort-of-casually dating. “Did you tell the kids as well?”
Nate snorted. “You do know that if any of them ever found out you call them that suspicious things would start happening to you.”
“I’ll just have to be careful then, won’t I?”
“And no, I haven’t told them yet. I don’t know how they’d - wine!”
“What?”
“I forgot wine, we need it - I’ll just nip out and get some.”
Quinn had a suspicion that Nate placing so much importance on wine had more to do with delaying the awkward conversation they were having than anything else but he humoured him anyway. “Right - you do that and I’ll wash these dishes up.”
He waited until Nate had left before carrying their plates over to the sink, mulling over the fact that Nate had told someone about them in his mind. He hadn’t seen it coming but it really didn’t bother him either because it still didn’t seem like they were defining themselves in any way. They were moving at their own pace, discovering whatever was happening between them as things happened and Quinn knew that, as much as he was having fun, he was still in a position where he could walk away at any time. It’d be a shame but he could do it.
The apartment door opened and Quinn turned to greet Nate but instead saw Eliot glaring at him.
“What are you doing? Apart from breaking and entering and,” Eliot paused for a moment, “the dishes, apparently.”
Coming to terms with the fact that the kids were going to find out sooner that Nate had planned, Quinn smirked. “I can explain.”