Fic: Partners, Past and Present, Crossover Leverage/A:tS, PG-13
Partners, Past and Present
elebridith
Fandom: Crossover A:tS/Leverage
Rating: PG-13. Slash, swearing.
Wordcount: 5474
Pairings: Eliot/Lindsey.
Disclaimer: Not mine, no one, nothing. Just playing...
Beta'd by havenward
Set in my Face Value!Verse. A few weeks after Life That Was.
Summary: Lindsey knew all about the Promise Ring. He just didn't expect to meet the woman who used to wear it.
Eliot left the building, taking quick strides like a man who had business but wasn't in a hurry. No one who saw him would have guessed that he'd left three unconscious men on the ground somewhere on third floor, disarmed and neatly tied up. He grinned while he took off his business jacket and loosened his pony tail. All right, this part is finished. He looked across the street. Hardison and Lindsey had positioned themselves on a bench, keeping an eye on both the building he'd just come out of and the small hotel nearby where Nate and Sophie had to meet up with the mark. Parker wasn't anywhere in sight, but since Hardison looked all relaxed, Eliot wasn't alarmed by that - for all he knew, the girl probably got bored and had decided to go bungee jumping or something.
"All clear," he said over the comm. "How are the others?"
Lindsey's response came immediately. "The mark hasn't shown up yet. Stay alert."
"Got it. Coming over now." He slowed down his steps to look for an opening in the traffic flow.
"Eliot?"
The very familiar female voice stopped him dead in his tracks. He turned around and broke into a surprised but honestly delighted smile. "Aimee. Good to see ya."
Lindsey frowned. A slender strawberry blonde woman had approached Eliot who, as far as he could see, was quite happy to see her. He frowned even more as he heard Eliot's affectionate tone of voice over the comm. Amy? Who the fuck... And then it dawned on him. No. Oh no... A surprised sound next to him interrupted his thoughts. He turned his head. "Hardison? What the... what's going on there?" He softened the sharp tone of his voice at the last moment, but an uneasy feeling began to settle in his stomach.
Hardison looked up, confused for a moment but then nodding. "Right, you've never seen her. That's Aimee. Aimee Martin. Horses, Kentucky Thunder - remember the file? I'm sure you read it."
"Aimee?" Lindsey barely managed not to choke on the word. Shit. "Like in... Eliot's ex?"
Hardison didn't seem to notice his discomfort. "Yeah, her. Man, it's been years. That was the job where we met Sterling for the first time, that sneaky bastard. Parker called him Evil Nate, did you know that?" He chuckled. "We hid in the van, oh man, that was Lucille the first, those were the days..."
Lindsey didn't exactly care about Hardison's stories right now. He just nodded absently and made some affirmative noises. If those were a little off track, then Hardison didn't care either, because he just kept on talking. Lindsey just tuned out after a while and focused on Eliot. The uneasy feeling turned into a sickening knot as he saw first the swift casual hand movement with which Eliot removed his ear bud and then the glowing smile as Eliot leaned forward and kissed the woman on the cheek. Lindsey sucked in a sharp breath and closed his eyes. He was not surprised to find that he had balled his fists and relaxed them forcefully. Don't be stupid, Lindsey. That was long ago, and of course he still likes her. Fucking hell, he was almost engaged to her, he has a right to be happy to see her, right Lindsey? He opened his eyes again only to find Hardison looking at him with a pointedly neutral expression.
"Are you okay, man?"
Lindsey responded with a smile that didn't feel natural at all, not even to him. "Yeah. Peachy."
Hardison eyed him up and down for a moment and then tilted his head. "Yeah. Sure. Listen, she's cool. Don't worry."
"I'm not." And right now that just felt like the biggest lie Lindsey had ever told.
Eliot quickly took the ear bud out and casually stored it in his jacket while he leaned over to kiss Aimee on the cheek. She returned the greeting and they studied each other's faces for a while before they both started to laugh. Eliot spoke first. "You look good." He had to laugh again at the clichéd-sounding remark, but he had meant it. Aimee grinned, obviously reading his thought, and Eliot felt the old intimacy coming back on a whim, like it hadn't been years since they'd last seen each other. Aimee brushed a long strand of hair out of her face and smiled fondly.
"You too. Really." She narrowed her eyes a bit, studied his face again and shook her head, laughing. "Except you have one more scar."
Eliot chuckled and touched his forehead. "More than one. That's just the one you see." His gaze fell on her left hand. "An' I see something too." He took her hand, examined the small gold ring and looked at her, expectantly. She held his gaze with a tiny smile that was just a little bit apologetic.
"Yeah. Got married three months ago." She shrugged. "Third time's the charm, they say." She couldn't hold back her warm smile any longer. "An' this time it's gonna work. I know it."
Eliot smiled back, genuinely happy for her. Without thinking, he reached out, cradled her neck and brushed his thumb over her jaw. "That's good to hear." Then he realized what he had just done and pulled his hand back. He cleared his throat to cover his slight embarrassment and huffed out a laugh. "If he treats you badly, let me know."
Aimee blushed slightly, but she looked touched before she put on a smirk. "Yeah, sure. An' then? You're gonna beat the shit outta him?"
Eliot relaxed and grinned, relieved that she hadn't taken offense. "If ya want me to. Or I'll set Hardison on his trail. He's, um, creative." He waggled his eyebrows and gave her a smirk.
Aimee laughed out, delighted. "Your hacker wizard. Yeah, I bet he is."
Eliot's grin faded. "Oh, and - you were right, by the way." He looked her straight in the eyes. "They are my family. I... didn't wanna see it, back then, but... yeah. They are."
"Of course I was right." She gave him a smug grin that shifted to a soft look. "An' I'm glad about it. Really. You... you deserve that." Her eyes flickered away from Eliot's face and there was an awkward silence for a moment before she took a deep breath, straightened and gave Eliot a teasing grin. "Family, you got that one covered now. What about..." She tilted her head and looked pointedly expectant. "... more? Didya finally find someone who can put up with your grumpy self?"
I shoulda expected that one. Eliot gave a small laugh and couldn't help biting his lip as he shifted a bit on his feet and fiddled with his jacket. Aimee's grin widened and turned into a hearty laugh.
"Oh, you have! I can see it!" She reached out and brushed her hand over his arm. "Oh Eliot, that's great. Come on, tell me, who is she? That cute blonde who was afraid of horses? I forgot her name, I'm sorry!"
Eliot chuckled. "Parker? No, she's with Hardison. And her horse phobia ain't that bad anymore." He bit his lip again and Aimee swatted his arm, looking expectant.
"Now that's cute and congrats to the happy couple, but c'mon Eliot, spill it! I ain't expectin' you to carry a picture, but ya can tell me her name at least!"
Eliot grinned inwardly at her giddiness. "Name's Lindsey. And..." He locked eyes with her, face serious now. "It's not a 'she'."
Aimee's grin froze. She blinked slowly, once, twice. Her mouth opened and closed again before she managed to make a sound. "Uh... what?"
Eliot exhaled slowly. All traces of tease and playfulness was now gone from both his face and his voice. "It's a guy. His name's Lindsey." He kept his expression blank while he waited for a reaction. The thought of hiding this from her hadn't even crossed his mind. The woman he had known so well years ago had been open-minded and tolerant, and he just assumed that this hadn't changed. He watched as a cascade of emotions ranging from disbelief to dumbstruck ran over her face until she finally caught his eyes again, trying to hide her shock.
"Boyfriend. So... you're... but we... you're..."
"Flexible." It came out a little more gruff than he had intended and he regretted it immediately as he saw her flinch.
"Yeah. Right. Whoa." She huffed out an incredulous laugh. "Sorry. I just... gimme a minute, okay? That was... unexpected." She took a few deep breaths and studied his face while he just waited, giving her time to process it all. Finally she shook her head slowly and smiled, still unbelieving but much more collected. "Seems like there's a lot more I didn't know about ya than the whole retrieval thing."
Her voice was a little sad, but with no hint of an accusation. Eliot gave her an apologetic smile. "You couldn't have known that. I discovered that myself long after... us."
Aimee blinked again and then grinned, a little crooked but honest. "Actually, that makes me feel better." She visibly relaxed and Eliot started to chuckle.
"'M full of surprises, y'know..."
Aimee grinned more natural now. "You could say that, yeah." Her grin slowly faded as she studied Eliot's face. She bit her lip. "Are you... does he make you happy?"
Eliot couldn't hide the affectionate smile that spread across his face. "Yeah," he said softly. "Yeah, he does."
She smiled back, shyly first and then forcefully covering up how moved she felt by shifting to teasing. "Good. If he doesn't - well, you know. Gimme a call."
Eliot laughed out, amused and touched. "So you could beat the shit outta him?"
She took a step forward and raised her chin defiantly. "I would at least try, y'know. And if he's even a bit like you, he wouldn't hit back."
Eliot chuckled and shook his head. "Naw. He wouldn't."
Aimee looked smug and then touched his arm, face getting earnest. "I'm glad you found someone. Really. Tell me about him. Is he part of the team now?"
Eliot covered her hand with his own just for a moment. "Yeah, he is. I broke my own rule here, but - " He shrugged. "It just happened."
Aimee smiled. "Then you should grab it while you can. 'S what I did too." She pointed over Eliot's shoulder across the street and gave him a questioning look. "That's Hardison over there, right? Is Lindsey there too?"
Eliot crinkled his nose and shifted uneasily on his feet, suddenly getting what she was up to. "Yeah, he is, but -"
Aimee raised an eyebrow and straightened, looking stern. "No but. Ya can't just drop a bomb like that on me an' then backpedal. C'mon. I wanna meet him."
Eliot opened his mouth and closed it again. Then he huffed out a laugh. "I can remember that look on your face, Aimee. No use arguin', right?"
She tilted her head and smiled sweetly. "Nope."
He sighed resignedly and then grinned back. "Stubborn woman. But we're in the middle of a job, y'know. I gotta see if he's busy."
Aimee nodded. "I'll just go with ya." Se started moving towards the street, but Eliot reached out and placed his hand on her arm.
"Wait. I think it's better if I... y'know, tell him before."
Aimee narrowed her eyes. "You're not planning to disappear, are ya? Since I saw you last, I didn't even get a postcard. Again."
It was said in a light tone, but Eliot could feel the still-lingering hurt behind it. He flinched inwardly and looked her straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry. And I won't."
He said it as honestly as he could, and Aimee looked astonished, not saying a word for a while. Then her expression softened. "Go, prepare him for his boy's ex. I'll wait here."
Eliot gave her a brilliant grateful smile and turned around to sneak between traffic.
Lindsey tried to concentrate on his laptop, tried to process the data that showed up and even managed to give Hardison some answers that actually made sense. But he couldn't help looking up every few minutes, couldn't help glancing across the street to the pair that was engaged in lively conversation. And every time he did, the tight dark knot in his stomach grew bigger. He gritted his teeth. Oh, stop that, Lindsey. He's not gonna run off with her just because he's making conversation. Don't be stupid. But he couldn't help noticing the casual touches, Eliot's relaxed stance, the way Aimee threw her head back when she laughed.
And then he realized what bothered him the most. She knows him. He told me everything about her, about his youth on her ranch, but she was there. God, I hate that. She knows him like I never will. And that's gonna draw him in again. He forced his eyes away from them, staring at his laptop again, giving automatically replies to Hardison's questions. It took him another few minutes to realize that Hardison didn't really need any help but that he was trying to distract him, and he gave him a grateful smile. But at the next glance across the street, where he witnessed another of those casual touches, another thought suddenly popped up in his head.
What if I would just go over there and say hello? 'Oh Eliot, you've got company? Who is this lovely lady? Don't you wanna introduce us?' What would he do? Lindsey almost snorted out loud, but held the sound back at the last moment. No. Bad idea, Lindsey. Very bad. You can't kiss him hello in public anyway, so - could you handle it if he just calls you a team mate? He shivered. Not going there. Not finding out.
He clicked on the next file on his laptop with an angry move and stared at its content without really seeing it, just willing himself not to think about Eliot and Aimee for just a few fucking minutes. This time it worked so well that he startled with a yelp as he felt someone touching his shoulder. He jerked his head around to find Eliot looking at him with a very amused grin.
"Sorry. D'ya have a minute?"
Lindsey forced himself to smile. "Sure. What's up?"
Eliot pointed across the street to the blonde woman who was definitely watching them. "I ran into Aimee."
Lindsey nodded, purposely keeping his expression neutral. "Yeah, I know. Hardison recognised her." He motioned over to the hacker who gave Eliot a quick wave and then continued to type. "Let me guess." He flashed Eliot a quick smile. "You wanna take her for a coffee. Hey, that's okay."
Eliot tilted his head and narrowed his eyes a little, as if he could detect the tension behind Lindsey's words. "If we have time, yeah." He looked at Hardison. "Hey. You got any news? Do I have a few minutes off?"
Hardison looked up and crinkled his nose. "No idea. You better put the comm back in - Nate just said that the mark still hasn't shown up. Smells like trouble."
Eliot frowned, fidgeted the ear bud out of his pocket and put it back in. "Maybe he's just stuck in traffic. Or, it's a trap." He scanned the area around the small hotel where Nate and Sophie waited and broke into a satisfied grin. "We'll just go over there." He pointed at a small bar with an outdoor patio. "It's even closer to the hotel than here. We can sit outside and I can be inside in a heartbeat if necessary."
Hardison followed his gesture and nodded. "Yeah, good idea. Maybe it's really nothing, but ya never know." He started typing again and Eliot turned to Lindsey, nudging his arm invitingly.
"Come on, let's hurry then. You got your comm?"
Lindsey did a double take at the casual remark, not believing his ears. Me? But... He stared at Eliot, opened his mouth, closed it again and needed two tries before he finally managed to answer. "Yeah, sure, but... you want me to come along?"
Eliot looked confused for a moment and then laughed. "I didn't say that? Yeah, she wants to meet ya." He squeezed Lindsey's shoulder and started to move.
Lindsey blinked and replayed their conversation in his mind. The dark knot of envy in his stomach started to loosen. "You... told her?"
Eliot stopped in his tracks and looked very puzzled. "Of course. She asked if I had someone an' I told her. Why?"
And just like that, the fucking knot disappeared like a puff of smoke. Lindsey laughed a little helplessly and tried to cover up his question. "No, I mean, did you tell her about..." He motioned pointedly between their faces.
"Oh." The slightly sheepish look on Eliot's face now told Lindsey that he really hadn't thought about that, and out of the corner of his eyes Lindsey could see Hardison staring at them, and then quietly facepalming. He chuckled inwardly, and Eliot made an embarrassed noise. "Huh. No, not that part." He shook his head, laughing at himself. "Ah, she took the whole boyfriend thing quite well, an' she knows I don't have a brother. I guess she'll survive." He grinned and threw his business jacket on the bench next to Hardison. "Come on. Let's find out. Hardison, see ya later."
The hacker absently waved, but the two men already were half way across the street. Lindsey could see that Aimee watched them as they came closer. And that she was clearly nervous, judging by the way she fidgeted with the sling of her bag. But the better she could see their faces, the more her eyes widened. She stopped fidgeting altogether and and the two men stopped in front of her, she just stood motionless, face a little pale and mouth slightly open. Eliot just acted as if everything was normal. He motioned from Aimee to Lindsey and back. "Aimee, this is Lindsey. Linds, meet Aimee."
Lindsey's smile was a little uneasy, but polite. He offered her his hand and was relieved that he could keep his voice steady. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Aimee took his hand and absently shook it, still looking dumbfounded. "Same here," she said weakly, but then shook herself, blinked twice and crossed her arms. "Eliot?" She flinched at the squeak in her voice, cleared her throat and now managed to give Eliot a death glare. "You so owe me a drink now!" She shook her head. "No, scratch that. A double, hear me?"
Eliot grinned, a little teasing. "I was about to ask ya out for a coffee, but a drink ought'a do."
Aimee swallowed twice, then the color returned to her face. She looked from one man to the other and back and slowly shook her head in awe. "So, either y'have a brother I don' know about an'..." She stumbled over her words and shook her head again, this time laughing helplessly. "Yeah. Or this is the weirdest thing I've ever seen."
Eliot smirked at Lindsey. "Told ya she'd survive it." He looked back at Aimee, expression shifting to serious. "No long-lost brother, don't worry. That was actually the first thing Hardison checked after we met for the first time."
Aimee nodded slowly and managed a smile. "Thought so. Still - drink." She gave Eliot an expectant look.
Lindsey did his best to hide his grin. I think I like her.
Eliot chuckled. "Sure. Right over there." He motioned to the small bar. They started moving towards it, but a loud exclamation in their ear buds made the two men stop in their tracks. Eliot frowned. "Hardison?" he asked sharply.
"Eliot, get in there. Guy showed up with a weapon."
"On my way." Eliot didn't ever bother with an explanation to Aimee but sprinted towards the hotel entrance. Lindsey could now hear Nate's voice too, speaking up in his comm voice he always used when everyone needed to understand him. He didn't sound too worried, but it was clear that the situation was getting out of hand. Lindsey opened his mouth to call Hardison, but Aimee's angry outcall stopped him.
"Eliot? Eliot! What the... Oh you can't be serious, damn you!" Her eyes blazed and she was all but stomping her foot. Despite his concern for Nate Lindsey had to grin. Without thinking he reached out and touched her arm.
"Aimee?"
She jerked around, looking bewildered for a moment as if she had forgotten his presence, but then shook her head and exhaled sharply. "Sorry. It's just... ah, never mind. What's wrong?"
"We're on a job. Nate's in trouble," Lindsey explained hastily. "Hardison? Do I need to get in too?"
"No, not necessary. I think - "
Lindsey flinched as a loud groan from an unfamiliar voice interrupted the hacker, but relaxed immediately as he heard Eliot's voice. "Got him. I'm gonna check if he has backup. Linds, can you keep Aimee company?"
"Yeah, sure." He grinned. "Have to keep her from killin' you because you ran away."
He could hear Eliot chuckle. "I'll meet ya in a few."
Lindsey turned around to find Aimee staring at him like he had lost his mind. But then her expression relaxed and she started to laugh. "Right. You've got those..." She motioned to her ears. "I was just wondering who you were talkin' to."
Lindsey joined her laughter. "I guess people think we're talkin' to ourselves. Just a second." He pointed to his ear and gave her an apologetic smile. "Hardison? Am I good to go?"
He heard the hacker chuckle. "Yeah, you're free. Go buy the lady a drink and tell her to say hi later."
Lindsey laughed. "Will do. I'll take this thing out now, call me on my cell if something comes up."
"Gotcha." Lindsey nodded, took the ear bud out and stored it in his pocket. Aimee's eyes widened with sudden realization.
"Don't tell me y'all heard the whole talk we had!"
Lindsey shook his head reassuringly. "No. Eliot took it out as soon as he saw you, don't worry." Aimee looked very relieved and Lindsey gave her another smile. "Now, Eliot promised you a drink. He's still busy, so d'ya mind if I step in?"
Aimee pursed her lips as she pondered the idea for a moment and then smiled back. "No, not at all. I'll have a Jack."
Lindsey nodded approvingly. "Good idea. I could use one too." They went over to the patio. Lindsey pulled out a chair for her and waved to the waiter.
The drinks arrived quickly. Aimee took her glass, but didn't drink. She stared into the amber liquid for a while and then looked up, trying to keep her expression neutral, but her voice was strained. "Lindsey - answer me one question, please." Lindsey had raised his glass already, but put it down again.
"Sure. Ask away."
She huffed out a little helpless laugh. "I'm sorry, but I feel pretty awkward right now. What about you? Honestly?"
Lindsey now noticed her slightly shaking hands. He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. And you?" He gave her a reluctant smile. "How freaked out are you exactly?"
Aimee grinned, looking a little embarrassed. "On a scale from one to ten? About twelve."
Lindsey laughed out, genuinely amused. "Okay. Me, it's not that bad, but... yeah, about seven, I'd say."
Aimee snorted and shook her head in disbelief. "I mean - C'mon, I'm sitting here with my ex-almost-fiancé's boyfriend. Who, to top it off, looks like his twin. That was not what I imagined when I saw Eliot walking by, believe me!"
Lindsey nodded gravely, voice completely serious. "It certainly beats sitting here with my boyfriend's ex-almost-fiancée."
Aimee smirked. "I win." They both looked at each other and simultaneously started to laugh, and Aimee raised her glass. "To weirdness."
Lindsey grinned and did the same. "To weirdness."
They both swallowed their drink and Lindsey felt much more relaxed. Obviously Aimee felt the same. Her smile was much more natural now. "Y'know, that makes me feel better. To know that this is weird for you too, I mean."
Lindsey gave her a crooked smile. And you weren't even spontaneously jealous. "You're welcome." He gestured with his glass. "You want another one?"
Aimee shook her head. "Naw, I'm good. I wouldn't say no to a coffee, though." Lindsey nodded and ordered for them both. They sipped the hot liquid, and Lindsey was relieved that the silence was a lot more comfortable now. Finally Aimee sat her cup down. "Now, I gotta admit I'm curious. How did you guys meet?"
Lindsey huffed out a laugh. "Little more than three an' a half years ago, in Los Angeles. Our jobs... kinda collided." He grinned involuntarily. "We exchanged the usual niceties. Promises of violence, death threats..." He shrugged and smirked. "You know how that goes."
Aimee's eyes widened, but then she obviously decided not to take it too seriously and laughed. "So, it was love at first sight."
Lindsey chuckled. "Yeah, absolutely." His expression changed to a tender smile. "I kinda disappeared after that. Three years later, he showed up outta the blue an' saved my life. There ya go."
"Wow." Aimee looked thunderstruck now. "For serious?" She laughed a little awkwardly. "Yeah, sure. That's what he does, showin' up out of the blue." She shook her head. "So, you guys are together now for...?"
"Almost seven months." Lindsey grinned. "Took us a bit to figure it out, an' a little more until he admitted it."
Aimee snorted. "Tell me about it. Eliot and admitting feelings. It's like somethin' out of Twilight Zone."
"You could say that." They shared a mutual knowing laugh. Aimee took another sip of her coffee and leaned back.
"So you lived in Los Angeles before? What did you do?"
Lindsey hesitated. That was not exactly a small talk topic. "I was... a lawyer." He shifted a bit on his seat, and Aimee straightened, smile disappearing.
"Oh no, not you too. I know that look on your face." Her voice hardened. "Seen it often enough on Eliot's face. It's called 'It's better you don't know, sweetheart.' Except..." She gave him an angry glare. "I guess you skip the 'sweetheart' part. Let me tell ya, I've had enough of that look for a lifetime." She leaned back, crossed her arms and stared at Lindsey, a little angry, a little hurt.
Lindsey suppressed the sudden flare of anger he felt. She has a point. But... He held her gaze very calmly and kept his voice neutral. "I'm officially dead. I live here under a false name with a new identity. An' given that it was my former employer who tried to kill me - yeah, it is better if you don't know too much." His voice softened at her suddenly shocked face. "I'm sorry. I didn't wanna offend you, but..." His voice trailed off. Aimee opened her mouth, closed it again and shook her head as if to clear it. Finally she found her voice again.
"Your former... oh, holy shit. That's..." She gave Lindsey an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I didn't think... yeah." She flushed a little and Lindsey smiled encouragingly and leaned forward.
"Don't be sorry. An' please, don't think I'd believe you'd drive to L.A. now and rat me out or somethin'." He sighed a little resignedly. "But all it takes is one coincidence too many, y'know? Actually, we solved a little of that one a few weeks ago. Settled differences, you could say. But until I can be sure that he's really serious..." Aimee looked deeply apologetic now and Lindsey felt guilty. You really need to polish up your people skills, Lindsey. Overreacting much here? He tried to lighten the mood and suddenly flashed her a wicked grin, tilting his head. "It's better you don't know - " He paused dramatically and Aimee raised her eyebrows, catching the joke.
She mockingly glared at him. "Call me sweetheart an' I'll remove your eyeballs with a spoon." Lindsey raised an eyebrow and smirked, holding her glare until they both erupted into laughter. Aimee wiped her eyes while she slowly calmed down again. "You were serious, right?"
Lindsey could tell from the accepting tone of her voice that she already knew the answer, and nodded, laughter fading. "I'm afraid I am, yeah. Still. I... that was rude."
Aimee shook her head. "'S okay. I always forget that y'all work in strange places." She looked at him, a fascinated smile forming on her face. "An' you even have the same laugh. That's... amazing. What did you say when you saw him for the first time?"
Lindsey chuckled, glad that she hadn't taken more offense. "I saw him first on a security tape, with my co-worker being sure that it was me with a wig. So I was kinda prepared. Eliot..." He snorted out a laugh. "Being Eliot, he just raised an eyebrow an' looked surprised for about half a second. Then we went on with the, um, niceties." He grinned pointedly and Aimee threw her head back and laughed.
"Oh, I wish I'd seen that!"
Lindsey joined in her laughter. "Yeah. Looking back, it was kinda funny." He looked over Aimee's shoulder at the hotel entrance and smiled. "There. He's comin' back." Aimee turned her head as Eliot approached the table.
"Are you okay?" They had both asked the question simultaneously, and Eliot stared at them, blinking rapidly before he started to laugh. Lindsey looked at Aimee and they both started to chuckle. Eliot grinned.
"I'm fine. An' I'll be here in a minute, just gotta wrap up things with Hardison." He gave Aimee a questioning look. "You wanna say hello?"
Aimee nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'd love to."
Eliot grinned happily. "I'll bring 'em over. We gotta leave pretty quick, but maybe you can walk with us?" Aimee pursed her lips, looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded. Eliot looked satisfied. "Let Linds keep you company, okay?" He gave Lindsey a quick affectionate smile and walked over to where Nate was now talking to Parker and Sophie. Aimee's glance followed him for a bit and then she turned to Lindsey.
"He loves you," she stated very matter-of-factly. She blushed a bit after saying it, but straightened in her seat and even managed an almost natural smile.
Lindsey was speechless for a moment. Well, I certainly didn't expect that. He shook off his surprise and couldn't help but give her an amazed smile. "Why... what makes you say that?"
Aimee smiled, with just a very small hint of sadness. "I know that he loved me once. And I remember how he used to look at me, even if he didn't say the words. Same look he has now when he talks about you, looks at you." She met Lindsey's still amazed gaze and laughed softly. "Am I right that he hasn't told you yet? If..." She bit her lip and blushed again. "Um, that's a pretty private question, I'm sorry. Really not my business."
Lindsey chuckled and gave her an encouraging look. "'S okay. And no, he hasn't... not really. In a way." He stumbled over his words and laughed, a little embarrassed.
Aimee grinned. "Weirdly, I know exactly what you mean."
They shared a knowing smile before Lindsey quietly said "Thanks. For tellin' me."
Before Aimee could respond, Sophie showed up at their table and hugged her happily, followed by the others. Aimee barely managed to mouth a silent "You're welcome" and a wink at Lindsey before she had to turn and shake hands with Hardison and Nate as well. Parker immediately started to ask questions about horses while Eliot just watched them, shaking his head and smiling half resignedly, half fondly. Lindsey caught his eyes and received a grateful look which he answered with a grin and a nod. Eliot grinned back, eyes gleaming with an unspoken promise to show his gratitude later when they'd be alone. Lindsey closed his eyes for a moment as a warm feeling spread through his body. He stood up and greeted Hardison with a smile as he walked over, getting ready to leave. Hardison eyed him curiously.
"Are you okay?"
Lindsey's smile widened, content and happy. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."
And right here and now, Lindsey felt like he had never said that more honestly.