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29/5/11 09:10![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
telarynTitle: Hope Set Aside
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
telaryn
Word Count: 752
Fandom: Leverage
Characters: Nate/Sophie, Team
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: No ownership implied, no profit obtained.
Summary: Eliot struggles with the knowledge that Nate and Sophie have finally given into their feelings for each other.
Author's Note: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
angst_bingo, for the prompt "unrequited love/pining".
He was an idiot. Eliot knew Nate hadn't been alone in bed when he broke into his hotel room that morning, and if he'd thought for a second he would have known immediately who was buried under the expensive sheets and comforter next to him. Nursing one hell of a hangover, from the looks of it. Sophie had shown up in the lobby wearing glasses so dark Eliot privately wondered if she could see where she was going.
“Looks like Nate and Sophie did a little celebrating last night,” Hardison muttered, nudging Eliot as they headed for the plane. Eliot scowled and moved away from the hacker. The response wasn't appropriate, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
He'd waited too long. He'd let his past and his feelings about honor among thieves keep him from admitting the truth, and now it was too late.
“You're grumpier than usual.” Parker flopped into the empty seat next to him. Eliot had paid extra to have an open seat next to him in first class, but all the extra space seemed to do was act as an invitation to the thief. “What's wrong?”
Eliot grabbed a magazine from the pocket in front of him and flipped it open. “Go away, Parker.” He pretended to be reading the article. In response, the blond buckled her seatbelt and settled in place.
“Hate you,” Eliot growled under his breath. Parker's smile widened, and she kissed him on the cheek.
***************************************
It was a Catch-22. Making himself scarce raised suspicions, but his feelings were too raw and too close to the surface to risk being around the team right now. Especially Sophie – free of her hangover induced blindness, Eliot knew the grifter would see right through him.
When the knock on his door came a week after their return from San Lorenzo, Eliot half-expected to see Sophie standing there.
“Can we talk?” Nate asked. He looked serious and sober.
Shrugging, Eliot stepped back and gestured him in. “Can I get you anything?” he asked, once he'd closed the door.
Nate grinned wryly at the offer. “No thanks. I'm...good.”
“What can I do for you, Nate?” Eliot asked. They sat facing each other. The older man was quiet for a long moment.
“You know Sophie was with me in San Lorenzo,” he said finally. It wasn't a question.
Eliot sighed. “Yeah.”
“And you don't approve?”
That got a smile from Eliot. “Nate, it's not my place...” The mastermind held up a hand.
“Hear me out. If this was an ordinary situation, I'd say you're right.” He paused. “It's hardly an ordinary situation. We're closer than co-workers – we're a family. Everything we do as individuals has an effect on the group.”
“I know,” Eliot said quietly. Then, “Have you two talked about what it's going to do to the rest of us if this thing goes south?” He could feel Nate willing the truth out of him – turning it around seemed the easiest way to keep from admitting what had really been driving him to pull back from the team.
“We haven't talked about much of anything yet,” Nate said. “If we decide to go forward with...whatever this is...I give you my word that we will.”
If...
Eliot knew immediately that Nate had seen the flash of uncontrolled hope in his eyes. He'd been so sure Nate and Sophie were a foregone conclusion that the other man's admission of doubt had caught him entirely by surprise. “Nate...”
“You love her too.”
His chest tightened, hearing the truth spoken out loud at last, but Eliot managed to successfully resist the urge to lie or look away from Nate. “Yes.”
“Does she know?”
Eliot shook his head. “No. And I don't want her to.” He swallowed hard against a lump in his throat. “It's like you said, Nate. We have to consider what's best for the group.”
Nate studied him for a long moment. Eliot could feel the other man weighing and measuring everything he was saying against everything he wasn't. “And you don't think Sophie has a right to decide which one of us she'd rather be with?” he asked finally.
“She doesn't see me that way,” Eliot said immediately – his conviction in this matter absolutely unshakeable. “Better for everyone involved not to even put the idea in her head.”
Author:
telarynWord Count: 752
Fandom: Leverage
Characters: Nate/Sophie, Team
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: No ownership implied, no profit obtained.
Summary: Eliot struggles with the knowledge that Nate and Sophie have finally given into their feelings for each other.
Author's Note: Written for
angst_bingo, for the prompt "unrequited love/pining".He was an idiot. Eliot knew Nate hadn't been alone in bed when he broke into his hotel room that morning, and if he'd thought for a second he would have known immediately who was buried under the expensive sheets and comforter next to him. Nursing one hell of a hangover, from the looks of it. Sophie had shown up in the lobby wearing glasses so dark Eliot privately wondered if she could see where she was going.
“Looks like Nate and Sophie did a little celebrating last night,” Hardison muttered, nudging Eliot as they headed for the plane. Eliot scowled and moved away from the hacker. The response wasn't appropriate, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
He'd waited too long. He'd let his past and his feelings about honor among thieves keep him from admitting the truth, and now it was too late.
“You're grumpier than usual.” Parker flopped into the empty seat next to him. Eliot had paid extra to have an open seat next to him in first class, but all the extra space seemed to do was act as an invitation to the thief. “What's wrong?”
Eliot grabbed a magazine from the pocket in front of him and flipped it open. “Go away, Parker.” He pretended to be reading the article. In response, the blond buckled her seatbelt and settled in place.
“Hate you,” Eliot growled under his breath. Parker's smile widened, and she kissed him on the cheek.
***************************************
It was a Catch-22. Making himself scarce raised suspicions, but his feelings were too raw and too close to the surface to risk being around the team right now. Especially Sophie – free of her hangover induced blindness, Eliot knew the grifter would see right through him.
When the knock on his door came a week after their return from San Lorenzo, Eliot half-expected to see Sophie standing there.
“Can we talk?” Nate asked. He looked serious and sober.
Shrugging, Eliot stepped back and gestured him in. “Can I get you anything?” he asked, once he'd closed the door.
Nate grinned wryly at the offer. “No thanks. I'm...good.”
“What can I do for you, Nate?” Eliot asked. They sat facing each other. The older man was quiet for a long moment.
“You know Sophie was with me in San Lorenzo,” he said finally. It wasn't a question.
Eliot sighed. “Yeah.”
“And you don't approve?”
That got a smile from Eliot. “Nate, it's not my place...” The mastermind held up a hand.
“Hear me out. If this was an ordinary situation, I'd say you're right.” He paused. “It's hardly an ordinary situation. We're closer than co-workers – we're a family. Everything we do as individuals has an effect on the group.”
“I know,” Eliot said quietly. Then, “Have you two talked about what it's going to do to the rest of us if this thing goes south?” He could feel Nate willing the truth out of him – turning it around seemed the easiest way to keep from admitting what had really been driving him to pull back from the team.
“We haven't talked about much of anything yet,” Nate said. “If we decide to go forward with...whatever this is...I give you my word that we will.”
If...
Eliot knew immediately that Nate had seen the flash of uncontrolled hope in his eyes. He'd been so sure Nate and Sophie were a foregone conclusion that the other man's admission of doubt had caught him entirely by surprise. “Nate...”
“You love her too.”
His chest tightened, hearing the truth spoken out loud at last, but Eliot managed to successfully resist the urge to lie or look away from Nate. “Yes.”
“Does she know?”
Eliot shook his head. “No. And I don't want her to.” He swallowed hard against a lump in his throat. “It's like you said, Nate. We have to consider what's best for the group.”
Nate studied him for a long moment. Eliot could feel the other man weighing and measuring everything he was saying against everything he wasn't. “And you don't think Sophie has a right to decide which one of us she'd rather be with?” he asked finally.
“She doesn't see me that way,” Eliot said immediately – his conviction in this matter absolutely unshakeable. “Better for everyone involved not to even put the idea in her head.”
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