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redheadsburnhotter · 20 days ago

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Two of a Kind - A Leverage Story

Part 10 of The New Tricks series ( further stories in the series available on AO3. See link in pinned post)

Eliot Spencer / OFC

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"You play poker?" Eliot's tone was sceptical. Jojo decided that he needed the smirk wiped off his face.

Poker night doesn't quite go as Eliot expected...

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"Hurry up or I'm leaving without you!" Sophie tapped her heels impatiently.

"What's the rush, you're not meeting Tara until eight." Jojo ran down the stairs, fastening her earrings as she went and stopped dead when she saw the table.

"Ooh poker!" She looked over at Eliot and Hardison, "You know, I don't have to go out with Jeanette..."

"You play poker?" Eliot's tone was sceptical. Jojo decided that he needed the smirk wiped off his face. She twirled one curl around a finger and put on her best innocent voice.

"It's been a while, but I think I can remember."

"This is a serious game sweetheart, we play for money." He smiled fondly at her. "We could play another night if you wanted. We wouldn't have to play for cash."

His grin told her exactly what type of poker he was considering. Jojo schooled her features carefully, a plan taking form in her head. She might adore this man, but she had no problem making him pay for being quite so patronising.

"Ok", She turned as if she hadn't a care in the world. "Cocktails and strippers it is then".

Eliot's head whipped round at that. "Hey, what!"

Jojo waved cheerily as she headed out the door with Sophie. Eliot looked so disgruntled that Hardison didn't even try to keep a straight face.

An hour or so into the show, Jojo made her excuses and slipped away, leaving Jeanette and the girls from the salon to wave dollar bills at the men on stage.

As she headed up the street, she passed a bar and there was a rap on the glass. She looked up to see Sophie and Tara waving at her to come in.

Well one couldn't hurt. She gave Tara a quick hug while Sophie went to order more drinks.

"You're heading home early. Weren't the strippers any good?" Sophie handed her a drink. Jojo shrugged.

"No, they were OK." She thought for a second how to explain. "It's just, well there I was, surrounded by hot muscular men taking their clothes off and all I was thinking was, Eliot looks better than that." She shook her head. "I honestly don't know what's wrong with me."

She looked across at her friend.

"Shut up Sophie!" Sophie just smirked.

"I didn't say anything!"

"You were thinking loudly."

Tara raised her eyebrows.

"So, you and the Hitter? Tell me, is his co-ordination as good in bed as it is when he fights?"

"No", Jojo waited a heartbeat, "It's better."

Tara grinned at her and Jojo smiled back. She'd often wondered if Tara and Eliot had ever. Well, at least now she knew she'd been torturing herself pointlessly with that idea the whole time Sophie had been away.

"Actually, I'm going to head back to the office. I want to crash the poker game."

Sophie looked amused.

"I thought you'd let him get away with that a bit easily," She put on a southern twang. " 'It's a serious game sweetheart, we play for money'. I mean how bloody patronising!"

Tara agreed. "What are you going to do?"

"Well, I thought I'd lose a couple of hands", Jojo smiled innocently "Then I'd take all his money!"

Jojo let herself in to the apartment. They were obviously having a break. Eliot was nowhere to be seen, but Hardison was refilling a bowl of chips while chatting to a guy she didn't know.

Hardison introduced her to Shelley, apparently a friend of Eliot's from the service. It didn't take much to convince them both to let her join the game, both falling for the innocent novice routine.

The door opened again and Eliot came in bearing pizza boxes. Jojo did a double take when she saw he was followed by Patrick Bonanno.

"Jojo, you here to play?" Bonanno greeted her.

"Patrick!" She ran over to give him a hug and to whisper urgently in his ear. "They have no idea I play in your game. Back me up and I'll owe you."

Bonanno looked quizzical but gave her a small nod.

Eliot looked resigned at being out manoeuvred but agreed to deal her in, advising her not to bet heavily and to fold if she wasn't sure. He failed to notice Bonanno rolling his eyes.

Jojo carefully lost the first two hands, making sure she gave plenty of small tells, biting her lip, holding her cards close to the table. On the third hand she had nothing and folded early. Next hand she changed up the tells, winding one curl aimlessly around a finger, tapping a foot. First chance she had she raised.

Bonanno gave her a look that clearly said he was aware of what she was doing, sighed and folded on his turn. She raised each round until the other three all folded, convinced she must be holding something good.

She made sure she discarded her hand face down so the others couldn't see she had a lousy pair of threes, before taking her chips.

"Well done sweetheart".

Jojo seethed quietly and Bonanno winced slightly before gathering the cards in and handing them to her, as Eliot carried on.

"If you want, one of us can deal, if you're not sure".

Ok that was it. Jojo picked up the cards and looked at Eliot. Without taking her eyes off his face she neatly split the cards in two and riffled them together, deftly bending them back on themselves as she slid them in. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bonanno put his hand over his mouth.

"Oh, I think I'll be OK thanks honey."

Ignoring the normal etiquette, she dropped the pack in front of Eliot, keeping her eyes on his face.

"Cut the cards".

Eliot's smile had faded and he raised his chin slightly as he reached out and cut the pack. Jojo took the pack back and gave it another smooth riffle shuffle before neatly dealing the hand.

The hand progressed and she kept her face blank and her movements consistent. No use of fake tells this round, she wanted to win fair and square.

One by one the others folded until only Jojo and Eliot remained. Jojo regarded him steadily. He leaned back in his chair and looked at her through narrowed eyes.

"You're bluffing." His voice was low and quiet.

"It'll cost you to find out."

Eliot sat up and flipped his chips into the centre.

"Call"

Jojo added her chips to the pile and waited for Eliot to show his hand.

"Two eights, two aces". He leaned back and folded his arms with a superior smirk.

Jojo flipped over one card.

"Two nines."

A grin split his face as he leaned in to rake in the chips. Jojo quickly turned her two remaining cards.

"And two more nines".

Jojo reached out and pulled the pile of chips towards her. To her left Hardison let out a whoop and Shelley banged his hand on the table with laughter at his friend's discomfort.

Jojo smiled at her boyfriend.

"Don't worry sweetheart. If we play at the weekend, it doesn't have to be for money."

#leverage #leverage fic #eliot spencer #original female character #sophie devereaux #tara cole #alec hardison #Shelley #Patrick Bonnanno #He's patronising but we love him #Don't annoy a grifter #Poker night does not go as Eliot expected

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redheadsburnhotter · 27 days ago

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Slowly collecting my favorite descriptions of Leverage x

[ @alphacrone @sharpbutsoft @respectissexy @artsybi @reinanova @astralpenguin]

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redheadsburnhotter · 27 days ago

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Downtime - A Leverage Story

Part 9 of The New Tricks series ( further stories in the series available on AO3. See links in pinned post)

Eliot Spencer / OFC

...................................

The job is done and the team can relax, but Eliot can't resist a a chance to prank his girl.

Set during The Underground Job, the evening after the job is finished but before the final scene.

*********************

“Drinks all round, I think.”

“And food, I am starving. Grifting is so much more exhausting than stealing stuff.”

“Well, I just want a cold beer, celebration of a job well done.” Eliot moved to put his arm around Jojo’s shoulders.

“Don’t you dare!” She jumped away, waving one arm to keep him away from her dress.

“You are not going anywhere near me until you’ve had a shower.”

“Oh yeah, is that right?” Eliot’s lips turned up in a slight smile as he took a step towards her.

Jojo slipped into the southern accent Parker had been affecting for the con and popped one hand on her hip, “Much as I love the whole Village People miner thing you got goin’ on, the shower is over there.” As he took one more step towards her, she darted behind Sophie, who raised her arms.

“Enough. Jojo’s right. Eliot, you are a bit, well, grubby.”

Jojo gave him a little shooing motion from where she was peeking out around Sophie’s shoulder. With one eyebrow raised, Eliot headed towards the door to the rooms.

A few minutes later, he returned to the table, showered, changed and with one arm behind his back. As he slipped into his seat beside her, Jojo looked across approvingly. Eliot gave her a grin before whipping his hand from behind his back and popping the grubby miner’s helmet straight on her head. Dust rained down on to her curls and littered her yellow dress.

She ripped it off and jumped up, torn between annoyance and joining in the laughter around the table. Laughter won, but she kept it in as she turned to him.

“Oh, you are going to pay for that.”

“Really,” Eliot smirked, failing to notice her left hand sliding a glass of water from the table behind the flare of her skirt.

“When you showered, I think you missed a bit” and with a twist of her arm, she poured the water down the back of his hair, and ran.

With his characteristic reflexes, he was out of his chair and after her. Sophie and Parker laughed, while Hardison called after her,

“You best run girl, you know nobody messes with the hairdo!”

Jojo dodged around a table and stopped. Eliot stopped on the other side. She looked both ways, judging her chances of getting out either way without him catching her. She had to admit, it was not looking likely and, while he didn’t look mad, there was a certain glint in his eye that did not bode well for her if she got caught. While she was deciding which way to go, Eliot suddenly moved left. As she dodged right, he reversed direction with impossible speed and grabbed her round the waist, one arm holding her effortlessly back against his chest, the other moving round to tickle her side.

Dammit, Jojo couldn’t help herself. He knew exactly the spot just above her waistline, where she was most ticklish. She doubled up, but his hold round her waist just lifted both legs off the floor. That didn’t stop him from tormenting her with his other hand.

“Say sorry and I’ll stop.”

“No... not... sorry.” She managed to gasp out between giggles.

“Well, in that case...”

Eliot took two steps until she was dangling over the pool.

“Guess I’m not the only one getting wet this evening...” Relaxing his grip, he let her drop an inch towards the water.

“No, no, I give in, don’t drop me!”

Effortlessly, he swung her round until she was once again over dry land and popped her down with a smirk.

“So, we quits?” He lifted one arm and raised one eyebrow.

Jojo grinned back up at him. She stepped into his side.

“Quits.”

As they made their way back to the table, Eliot’s arm around her shoulders, Parker looked perplexed.

“I know I don’t always get stuff, but I’ve never seen Eliot acting so…” She paused, searching for the right word.

“Silly?” offered Sophie

“... carefree. I know they’re having lots of sex,” there was a coughing sound from the end of the table as Hardison appeared to choke on his beer, “but it can’t just be that.”

Sophie smiled,

“No Parker, it’s not sex, it’s Jojo. He makes her happy, and he knows that and responds. What you're seeing is Eliot Spencer when he’s happy.”

Parker took a thoughtful sip of her beer. Really, people were confusing.

#leverage #leverage fic #eliot spencer #original female character #alec hardison #sophie devereaux #parker #Eliot Spencer happy #Quick read

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redheadsburnhotter · 28 days ago

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Supernatural episodes you wish they'd made.

I'll start.

A Disney-esque musical. Dean gets into it, particularly the women randomly dancing with him. Sam is just embarrassed. Cas is confused about why he has a host of adoring woodland creatures ready to help him wherever he goes. He does, however, quite like the bees.

#supernatural #spn #spnfandom #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #Jensen gets to sing properly

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redheadsburnhotter · 1 month ago

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Night at the Museum - A Leverage Story

Part 8 of The New Tricks series ( further stories in the series available on AO3. See links in pinned post)

Eliot Spencer / OFC

..............

Jojo and Eliot haven't told the team about their relationship. Just as long as neither of them gives the game away…

.........................................................................................................................

The client was an old contact of Sophie’s and she insisted she was not a criminal, at least not anymore. When they’d worked together, she’d been a forger, specialising in antique Chinese artefacts. Now, she was a curator working at the Boston Museum of East Asian Art. She was distraught.

They had hired her to take charge of a new exhibition of 18th-century sculpture. The museum was being extended, a whole new wing being built. She had been hoping this exhibition could lead to a permanent position there.

That was, until an old associate from her criminal days contacted her, informing her that details of her crimes would go to all the area’s museums unless she helped. They were shipping in drugs and needed to import them without suspicion.

The smugglers proposed to use a Chinese porcelain ball to transport the merchandise. The ball was being loaned to the exhibit by a private collector in Holland. Their plan was to swap the original for a drug-filled replica. After it was delivered to the museum, she would let them into the gallery to collect it. They also intended to keep the original, to sell on in the States.

The worst thing about it was the drug itself. They were smuggling Echo, a new form of Ecstasy from Eastern Europe, linked to multiple deaths.

Nate’s plan was simple. Part one, break in to the museum (with no help from the client so she could be safely establishing an alibi elsewhere), steal the fake with the drugs (codenamed “Drake” by Parker). They would then replace it with “Fake 2”, which the gang would collect as planned. They’d fit Fake 2 with a tracker to allow them to pass on the gang’s whereabouts to Lt. Bonanno.

Part two, break into the gang’s base while they were at the museum to retrieve the real artefact.

Broken down by Nate, the plan sounded simple enough, but there were a couple of complications. The first being that the Eastern Europeans would fit the “Drake” with their own tracker, so they’d have to disable that if they were going to fool the gang. The second, that Hardison could only shut down the security system for 15 minutes, before it would reset. Meaning anyone in the open after that 15 minutes would be a sitting duck for as long as it took him to get back in again.

There was a third issue. Sophie had to stay in the background. The gang would have someone watching the place, and likely someone would recognize her.

This left Jojo in the unaccustomed position of playing the main grift. She’d be posing as a visiting academic in order to swipe the key cards for both the gallery and the back door to the building site. On the day, she would hide until after hours, to emerge when the security system was dead, and let Eliot in. They’d need to replace the Drake with the Fake 2. Sophie would be in the van, directing the play while Nate and Parker stole the original.

Deceptively simple.

To be fair, things had been going well to that point. They had given Jojo a small office for her research, and she had collected the key cards. Everything was in place and they still had 24 hours to go.

She had a day off. The sun was shining. Eliot was sitting on her sofa wearing nothing but a pair of soft and faded sweatpants, strumming on his guitar while she ground coffee. Oh yes, everything was very much all right with the world.

She popped his coffee on the small table next to him and curled up on the other end of the sofa with her mug, drinking in the sight of him. The tan of his shoulders faded into a paler golden shade over his torso. His hair falling in disorder over his face as he picked out a tune, and then, apparently dissatisfied with it, played it again with a slight variation.

“I don’t recognise that. What is it?”

He looked around at her with a shy smile, putting the guitar down carefully over the arm of the sofa. Eliot lifted his arm and Jojo snuggled in to his side.

“You wouldn’t,” he paused “It’s, uh, it’s one of mine”. He watched her face for a reaction. He didn’t normally admit to writing music. Playing the guitar was one thing. As a teenager, it had been a definite plus for attracting girls. What he didn’t usually mention was the hours he’d spent practicing and writing. That sort of behaviour was not cool for a high school football player and now, well, it was his personal release, something private. It helped ground him.

“Really?” He nodded.

“I’d like to hear it.”

Eliot chuckled, “We’ll see, sweetheart, maybe after I finish it.”

“Well, if you’re not going to play for me, we’ll have to think of something else to do.” She turned around, straddling his lap, and leaned in for a kiss, running her hands up his chest. He responded with enthusiasm, leaning forward to run his hands over her hips, sliding his fingers under the hem of her t-shirt. Until his mobile rang.

“Shit, I’d better get that.” He reached over to the coffee table as Jojo’s phone also rang. “It’s Nate”.

Jojo grabbed her phone.

“It’s Sophie." She headed into the bedroom to answer the call, closing the door so that Eliot’s voice wouldn’t be overheard. “What’s up Sophie?”

“They’ve moved up their plans. We need to go this afternoon. We’ll pick you up in an hour.”

As she walked back into the living room, she could hear Eliot telling Nate that he wasn’t home and to pick him up outside her apartment.

With one last wistful look, Jojo headed for the shower. Maybe best make it a cool one.

One hour later, she was leaving the building in her ‘serious academic’ outfit. Eliot had slipped out 10 minutes earlier, prepared to act as if he had just arrived to be picked up. Lucille was sitting outside. Sophie and Hardison were in the front, so she jumped in the back to sit next to Eliot on the floor. Eliot’s eyes ran over her pencil skirt and severe blouse. He gave a grin like a lion who’d spotted a particularly tasty looking gazelle. Jojo did a double take,

“You’re kidding? This outfit?”

Eliot just smiled wider and put out one arm to pull her into his chest.

When they arrived and Hardison opened the doors, Sophie looked at the Hitter with concern.

“Eliot, are you OK? Your mouth looks a little swollen?”

Eliot muttered something about being knocked about by Hardison’s driving, pulled his hood up, and jogged away. Sophie turned to Jojo.

“Right, I’ll let you know once the security systems are off. You’ve got the Fake 2?” Jojo lifted her shoulder bag with a nod. “Oh, and Jojo,” she turned back to the van, “You’ve buttoned your shirt wrong...”

So far, so good. Jojo had hidden in the cupboard under her desk when the museum had closed and the security team had done their final walk through. On Sophie’s cue, she emerged with Fake 2 in her arms. Quickly, she headed for the building site exit, pushing the keycard under the door for Eliot to collect, then making her way back up to the gallery. She slipped in, pulling her lock picks out of her waistband and setting to work on the cabinet door. It only took seconds to get it open and swap out the porcelain balls. Cradling ‘Drake’ in her arms, she headed for the building site exit.

It was going so smoothly that she wasn’t paying attention and, as she turned the last corner, she nearly ran straight into a one of three men walking the other way.

Jojo stepped back. The man in front looked her up and down, his gaze locking on to the forgery cradled in her arms.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” His voice was menacing. “I think you’ll find that belongs to us.”

She took another step back as the man produced a knife. Then she spotted a movement over his shoulder.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. My old fella, he gets ever so cross.”

The man looked confused for the moment before Eliot emerged from the darkness behind him and punched him in the back of the head, sending him unconscious to the floor. It only took the Hitter a few more seconds to deal with the other two.

“Thanks Sweetie!” Eliot gave her a grin,

“No problem.”

Together, they ran for the exit door. As soon as they were through, Eliot made for the cement mixer, starting it up with a rattle. Jojo paused. They had a problem.

They needed to encase the Drake in concrete thick enough to block the tracker signal. The plan had been straightforward. Drop it in the foundations for the new wing. Eliot would add a layer of concrete, blocking the signal. They hadn’t counted on the work having advanced more than expected. The area they had planned on using was 5 foot high and another foot of wooden support surrounded it. It would take a very accurate throw to get the Drake where it needed to be, and Jojo had never been any good at throwing a ball, let alone a 3lb porcelain sphere.

She looked around and spotted the scaffolding running around the edge of the site. Running to the ladder, she began to climb. Eliot’s voice came through her earbud.

“Just what do you think you are doing?”

“Don’t ask, just get that thing in place and get started.”

She made her way around the scaffolding until she could see the new foundations. Unfortunately, the scaffolding planks stopped some six feet away from where she needed to be. Heights. Why did it always involve heights? Gritting her teeth, Jojo stepped out onto the bare poles, making her way along from upright to upright, until she was level with the boxed in area.

If she tried to throw it, she might miss. Carefully, she put the Drake in one hand and, taking her foot off the pole, she hung out over the space, trying to ignore Eliot’s muffled cursing through her earbud.

She stretched out her hand, dropping the Drake into the foundations, where it sank into the semi-set cement. Jojo grabbed the upright with both hands.

“Done, pour!”

As Eliot operated the machine, pouring a layer of cement to engulf the Drake, Jojo picked her way back to the boards.

“You guys have to hurry.” Hardison’s voice in her earbud was urgent. “That door locks in 2 minutes.”

Jojo made her way back to the ladder as quickly as she could. Eliot was standing at the door, gesturing for her to hurry.

Making a mental note to point out to him the general unhelpfulness of that, Jojo ran for the door. Eliot grabbed her and threw her through it, jumping through himself just as the electronic lock clicked into place.

“The cameras come back on in two minutes. There’s no time to get out. You need to find somewhere to hide.”

Eliot was already trying door handles. He came to an open door, and they both got inside as Hardison’s voice told them the cameras were back on.

They stood, breathing uneven and adrenaline thumping, in a small janitor’s closet.

“Right, I can’t see you.” Sophie’s voice now. “Wherever you are, stay there and stay quiet until the police have arrived and switched off the security.”

Eliot’s arms crept round her. He couldn’t help it. He’d always had a thing for the posh Miss Moneypenny vibe. It made it all the sexier when they got mussed. They could be stuck in here for a while and it would be a crime not to take advantage of that...

It may have been the adrenaline still thumping through her system, but Jojo shuddered as his hands ran round her waist. Slowly, he withdrew one hand as he removed his earbud and popped it in his pocket. Jojo barely had time to do the same, before his mouth crashed down onto hers, his hands settling on her backside, pulling her in to him.

She melted into his kiss, running her hands up to unbutton his shirt and slipping her hands inside, seeking skin contact. The kiss deepened as he bent to run one hand up her leg, pushing up her skirt as he lifted her leg to his hip, wedging his thigh between hers.

They were both preoccupied enough that neither heard the door open until they heard Hardison’s chuckle.

Jojo straightened her skirt and tried to walk out past her teammates with some dignity. Eliot just scowled at Hardison, daring him to make a remark. That he was still buttoning his shirt back up as he did so slightly ruined the effect.

Hardison was jubilant. “Hey man! You got a little something, right there.” He gestured to the corner of his mouth, where Eliot was sporting a smudge of red lipstick. “Haha, y’all nasty!”

#leverage #leverage fic #eliot spencer #original female character #alec hardison #sophie devereaux #secret relationships #caught red handed #kissing Eliot Spencer #friends to lovers

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redheadsburnhotter · 2 months ago

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Leverage 4x18- "The Last Dam Job"

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redheadsburnhotter · 2 months ago

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Posted as link due to the explicit nature of the story. Can be read as a guest.

Mostly just kissing in Chapter 1. Things get more than a little smutty in chapter two. If that's not what you are looking for, it's fine to fade to black when the action moves to the bedroom!

18+

#leverage #eliot spencer #original female character #kissing eliot spencer #eliot spencer is a gentleman #smut #smut with feelings #daydreams #friends to lovers

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redheadsburnhotter · 2 months ago

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Still The Man I Wanna Be

Part 6 of the New Tricks series.

Eliot realised he couldn't let her walk away this time. He had to explain now or he might not get another chance.

This story covers the same time span as "The Man I Wanna Be", but from Eliot's point of view. Read on if you want to know what happened to Eliot, what was going on in his head, or why he decided to try again.

_____________________________________________________

Eliot was unsure how long he'd been standing there, looking at the door. All he had to do was open it and walk in, but somehow this was harder to do than storming a terrorist camp with Vance had been. Violence, physical action, those were things he was comfortable dealing with. This was new. Having people who cared around him, having to face them, he'd not had to deal with that in twenty years. After three months, he wasn't sure how they'd react to his sudden return. He hadn't known what to put in a message, so he'd decided not to bother and just turn up. Right now, he was thinking that may not have been the best plan. He squared his shoulders and reached for the doorknob.

The first voice he heard was Parker.

"Eliot's back!"

Then he was being hugged by Hardison and then Sophie, while Parker asked question after question, not giving him time to answer until Sophie whispered in her ear and she abruptly stopped. Nate gave him a terse "welcome back" before asking pointedly if he could get on with the briefing now. Eliot breathed a sigh of relief as the briefing resumed and his friends' focus turned from him to the screens.

As he sat at the counter between Sophie and Parker, he looked at Jojo out of the corner of his eye. She was staring at the screens, apparently engrossed in what Nate was saying. She hadn't said a word to him.

As soon as the briefing was over, she headed for the stairs. He watched her walk away. She looked even better than he remembered, her dress hugging the curves that he hadn't been able to get out of his mind for the last three months, and those boots. He cleared his throat, realising that Sophie was speaking to him.

"..back permanently?"

"Yeah, the jobs done." Sophie nodded. She knew better than to ask what the job had been and he appreciated that about her. Nate suggested they all head down to McRory's.

Downstairs, he waited until the others had headed to a table by the window and Jojo was stood alone. He stepped behind her, keeping his voice low so the others wouldn't overhear.

"We need to talk."

He saw her tense, but she didn't turn around. Her voice was cold, a tone she'd never used to him before.

"No, I really don't think we do."

Her phone buzzed next to her on the counter. She picked it up.

"Sorry, I've got to go."

He watched her head out the door. Returning to the table he could see her through the window, walking up to some guy leaning on a black sports car. The guy was tall, must have had half a foot on him, and was holding out a bunch of flowers. Eliot's hands formed fists as he watched the man kiss Jojo on the cheek before guiding her into the passenger seat and driving off with a rev of his engine.

Eliot sat down next to Sophie, who was busy tapping away on her phone. He finished his beer, answering the questions of the team in monosyllables. As soon as he could, he made his excuses and left. Hopefully there'd be some drunk fuckers looking for trouble in a bar downtown that he could take his frustration out on.

...

"It can't be done!" Hardison's voice was adamant. "This system is unhackable, it's adaptive, its AI is top of the line. Hackers call it the Kobayashi Maru."

Parker's voice piped up,

"Didn't you say Kirk beat the Kobayashi Maru?"

"Kirk cheated." Jojo's remark stopped Hardison mid rant.

"Girl, you into Trek?" Jojo grinned.

"I'm more a TNG girl, but yeah". Hardison looked flummoxed.

"For real, you like TNG?" Jojo leaned in conspiratorially.

"I own a communicator...and a phaser"

Hardison looked like he'd gone to geek heaven. Nate interrupted.

"If you children are quite finished..."

Later, Jojo and Hardison were huddled in the corner, chatting intensely in low voices he couldn't quite make out, something Eliot found disturbing. Since when did his friend get this animated talking to any woman?

Jojo was extolling the virtues of TNG while Hardison was putting up a spirited defence of DS9. What they did agree on was a shared excitement for the new series Discovery and that they'd both been saving it for a night they could binge watch for hours. As it was, Hardison was happy to accept Jojo's invitation to come over that night, she'd cook and they'd marathon the first 6 episodes.

That afternoon, Jojo caught up with Hardison in the kitchen. Neither noticed Eliot entering the room, so all he heard was "...tell me if there's anything you don't like." Followed by his friend's reply,

"Girl, I'm happy with anything you dish out."

Eliot abruptly left the room again, not hearing Jojo's cheerful response that in that case she'd probably cook italian food.

Eliot headed for his car. This couldn't be happening. Hardison was pining over Parker, they all knew that. Yet here he was, having a conversation with Jojo that was suggestive of, well he didn't want to consider that right now, he'd got it wrong. Must have.

The thought wouldn't leave the back of his brain. What if there was something going on? He'd been gone three months. Hardison was a good looking guy, and smart, really smart. It made sense that someone with Jojo's intelligence and education would find that attractive. To try and turn off the little voice in his head, he decided to go for a run. Somehow he found his feet heading for James Street, until he was outside Jojo's building. Stunned, he saw Hardison heading in the front door with what looked suspiciously like an overnight bag.

Jojo and Hardison were happily esconsed on her sofa, they'd eaten pasta and binged on three episodes. Hardison had bought beer and two different types of Popcorn, produced from his backpack with a flourish. Jojo rolled her shoulders.

"You OK?"

"Yes, just a bit stiff. Slept funny."

Hardison gestured to the floor in front of him.

"Pop yourself down here, Nana used to get a bad neck, let me see what I can do." Jojo gratefully sat cross legged between his knees and Hardison got to work on the knots at the top of her spine. As he worked his thumbs into the gap between her shoulder blades, his phone silently flashed for an incoming call. Withheld number. Hardison answered it with one hand, keeping the pressure up on Jojo's shoulders with the other.

Jojo let out a low groan as the kinks in her neck that had been bothering her all day began to unwind.

"Hardison, you were right, that is amazing!"

Abruptly, the caller hung up without saying a word.

"That's wierd," Hardison shrugged, "must be a wrong number. Next episode?"

Back in his apartment, Eliot hung up his phone. A scowl on his face.

When Eliot arrived at the office a couple of days later, he was already in a bad mood. This was not helped by the sight of Hardison sat at the table with his computer open in front of him, Jojo sat on one knee as he showed her how to do something.

"Ok, but how do I.."

"Its simple, this directory, then type what I showed you and", Hardison lifted both hands in the air, "virus uploaded!"

Jojo grinned and gave Hardison a kiss on the cheek.

"You are a star, thank you." She jumped up. "Still on for Friday?"

"Yeah girl".

He loved Hardison, the guy was like family, but right now Eliot wanted nothing more than to punch the man, right on the nose.

...

The con was done, Jojo had talked her way into the office, posing as a temp and uploaded Hardison's virus, allowing Hardison and Sophie to swan in as tech consultants. It had all gone smoothly. Eliot could have appreciated a bit less success, he'd not had a chance to throw down at all, and right now his fists were itching for a fight.

He was sat at the bar, listening to the others crow, when Hardison came over and sat down next to him.

"I know we're meant to get this warm glow from helping fight injustice but it sure helps when clients look like that!" He grinned, one shoulder bumping Eliot's.

Eliot's frown deepened.

"You shouldn't be talking like that, man. In fact, you shouldn't be lookin'."

Hardison did a double take.

"Since when did you not look when a fine woman like that walks in."

"Yeah, but we're not talking about me, we're talking about you. It's disrespectful to Jojo."

Hardison looked even more confused.

"Disrespectful to Jojo, what on earth you talking about?"

Eliot slammed one hand on the bar, making Hardison jump.

"I'm talking about you and Jojo. You checking out other women right in front of her. It's out of order!"

Hardison just stared, speechless, at his friend for a moment.

"You think, me and Jojo? We're friends, that is it." He looked about to check nobody else was close enough to hear. "Have you forgotten the conversation we had? You think I'd move in on your girl? That's hurtful man, just hurtful."

Eliot felt his anger cool as his friend's words sank in. He turned back to his drink. The words seemed to come out of his mouth without any conscious decision on his part.

"She's not my girl, I was gone for too long. That ship has sailed."

Hardison sat for a moment, then shook his head.

"Look, I can't tell you what's going on in her head now, but one thing I do know is that girl was hit hard when you left. Seems to me you got some apologising to do."

...

The job was in Salem, just north of Boston, involving a dodgy car dealer. Parker was busy making sure she and Hardison were in with the car theft ring, while Jojo had been tasked with finding a source of at least 8 high end cars. He, Nate and Sophie had taken over a rival used car business up the street. Eliot had left after the mark took Sophie over to his office, wanting to get changed out of this damn suit and check his Dodge over. God knows what damage Nate had done to it racing that pompous jackass.

He was heading out to where he'd parked it, when he saw her sat in the hotel garden. She had her feet up on another chair and a book perched on her knees. Her curls were falling over her face in the disarray that he knew irritated her but that just made him want to find out if they were as soft as they looked.

He thought about what Hardison had said. She deserved an explanation at least.

She looked up as she heard him approach. He stopped a few steps away. His arms folded as he looked at her in silence. Jojo, put down her book and stood up.

"We really need to talk."

She shook her head and began to walk past him. Eliot took a step into her path.

"Are you going to let me explain?"

Jojo turned on him,

"Explain, Explain! You left Eliot! You asked me out and then you didn't turn up. No call, no message, just left. Then you waltz back in as if nothing happened. I'm not sure there's anything left to say."

She turned towards the doors. Eliot knew he couldn't let her walk away this time. He had to explain now or he might not get another chance. Reaching out he grabbed her arm,

"Dammit, just let me," he realised he was still holding her arm and let go. He didn't know how to begin. "I had some issues I needed to work out, so when I was offered a job I took it."

"Issues! Well good for you. Next time just send us a postcard and maybe don't drag me into it".

"The issue was you." Eliot blurted out.

"Me!" Jojo's voice was incredulous. "So, what, this was my fault?"

"No. It was you and me, us." He raked his hand through his hair in frustration. He'd never been any good with words, but he needed her to understand. To know how thrown, terrified if he was honest, he'd been.

"When those guys took you, we didn't know where you were or what they'd done to you. I nearly lost it. It took all my self control not to kill them. I got to thinking, if we were, well, I'm not sure what I'd have done."

"So you thought leaving would fix that. Glad to know I'm that easy to get over."

She turned to walk away. Eliot reacted without thinking. He grabbed her arm and turned her, sliding his arms around her, locking them in place.

"You know that's not what I meant."

He looked down at her face, angry green eyes meeting his. He loved the way she wouldn't be intimidated by him. Any of the others, even Nate, were wary when he lost his temper, but not this girl, not his girl.

Eliot dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her once, softly, waiting to see her response. Jojo put her hands on his chest and pushed. He let go immediately and stepped back to sit on the edge of the table.

He watched her, holding his breath as he waited to see if she'd walk away from him.

She took one tentative step towards him, then another. Then she pressed her lips to his. He let out his breath in relief as his hands found her waist and he kissed her back.

He forced himself to go slowly, gently, fighting the urge to wrap his arms around her and kiss her like he'd planned to do that day, the day he'd left.

Even these light kisses were playing havoc with his body and he felt the familiar twitch in his groin that he hadn't got from simple kisses since he was a teenager. She was intoxicating, sending his senses reeling like he'd been downing moonshine. He slid his hands to her back, drawing her in closer and deepening the kiss. Her response was to slide her hands up his chest until one was in his hair, tugging him closer. The combination of her lips and her hands tangled in his hair (how the hell did she know the effect that would have?) drew a moan from the back of his throat as he felt himself getting hard.

He reluctantly pulled back from the kiss, willing himself to slow down. He couldn't let go though, resting his forehead against hers.

"So, does that mean you've resolved your issues?" Her voice was soft with a teasing note that made him smile.

"No, but I think I've learned to live with them."

"Ok then. I can live with that."

His arms slid closer around her. All he wanted to do, right now, was to kiss her until they were both reeling and spend the next few hours seeing how many ways he could make her fall apart for him.

"Did you want to, maybe, move this upstairs?"

Jojo shook her head.

"No, not tonight. It's not that I don't want to, because believe me I really want to, but it's going to take me a while to trust you again. I don't want to rush this."

Eliot put one hand to her face, pushing a wayward curl back.

"That's fine sweetheart, we'll go as slow as you want." Anything, as long as he didn't have to let her go again.

"Do you think we could, well, keep this to ourselves. See where it's going before the others find out?" He just nodded. He was entirely happy not to have the rest of the team interfering in their well intentioned, but inevitably annoying, ways.

They both looked up as they heard Hardison's voice from the hotel. The others must be back. Reluctantly, he dropped his arms and watched as she picked up her book and walked away.

He sat there for a minute, processing what had just happened. He owed Hardison a beer, he wouldn't tell him why, but he'd buy him one anyway.

#leverage #leverage fic #eliot spencer #original female character #alec hardison #Eliot takes a chance #romance #first kiss #getting together

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redheadsburnhotter · 3 months ago

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#lucifer morningstar #lucifer #supernatural #castiel #the crossover that should have happened

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redheadsburnhotter · 3 months ago

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The Man I Wanna Be

Part 5 of the New Tricks series.

Eliot stepped behind her. He kept his voice low enough not to be overheard.

"We need to talk".

Jojo froze. She didn't look at him.

"No, I really don't think we do".

Eliot returns but Jojo isn't ready to forgive and forget...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been 3 months and the only word they’d had from Eliot was a brief text to Sophie, saying he didn’t know when he’d be back. Nate obviously read when as “if” but for now they were operating without a Hitter. It had meant some careful planning, but so far it had worked.

For the first 2 weeks, Jojo had been angry. Once that had abated, she missed it. At least the anger had masked the hollow feeling in her chest whenever Parker made one of her off the wall remarks, or she saw something that would have made him laugh, and she turned to look at him and he wasn’t there.

Keeping busy helped, so she started filling her days off with activities. Less time to brood over what had gone wrong. Better to concentrate on something constructive than to spend the evenings trying to figure out what was wrong with her that had made him just leave.

A poker class filled a few hours, which then turned into a regular game at the home of one of the other pupils. Jojo discovered she liked poker a lot. She liked the focus it required, stopping her thoughts from wandering in dangerous directions, and she liked the people she was meeting. It was good to spend time with a group who’d never even heard of Eliot Spencer.

She bumped into Lt. Bonanno at the game occasionally and he was polite enough to play along with her claim to work as a ‘security consultant’ with barely more than a raised eyebrow.

By 3 months, she felt like she may be getting back to some semblance of normality.

At the beginning of May, winter had released its hold on the city and it was easier to feel cheerful when the sun shone.

Jojo had taken greater than usual care in getting dressed that morning. She’d agreed to go to the re-opening of her friend Jeanette’s beauty salon that evening, and she’d be going straight from that week’s briefing. Jeanette knew all about Eliot (well, apart from what either of them actually did for a living) and kept dropping hints about ‘getting back out there’ or about men she thought Jojo should meet. She couldn’t be sure Jeanette would spring one of her many suggestions on her at the event this evening. In case she did, though, there was no harm in trying to look good, even if dating was not on her agenda right now.

To that end, she’d decided on a clingy wool dress in a dark grey and over the knee boots that had just enough pirate swagger to make her feel like she could handle anything.

Well, just about anything. As the team sat at the counter, listening to Nate brief the next job, the door to the apartment swung open.

Eliot stood in the doorway. He didn’t come in, as if he felt that he may not be welcome.

He needn’t have worried. Hardison, Parker, and Sophie welcomed him warmly. A whisper from Sophie cutting off Parker’s inevitable questioning. Even Nate gave him a curt “welcome back” before enquiring sarcastically if they could please now get on with the briefing. No-one seemed to notice Jojo’s lack of greeting.

Once the briefing was over, she fled to the bathroom and called Jeanette.

“I’m calling because I need a tiny favour. Could Jeremy swing round and pick me up after work? That's if he’s coming straight there.”

“I’m sure he can. I’ll give him a call.”

“And, feel free to say no. Do you think he could pretend to be picking me up for a date?”

“Girl, are you asking me to ask my fiance to pretend to be your date? I assume you have a good reason?”

“It’s Eliot. He’s back.”

“I’ll call Jeremy now and call you back.”

A minute later Jeanette called.

“He’ll be about half an hour.”

As she returned, the team relocated downstairs. While she stood at the bar, Eliot stepped behind her. He kept his voice low enough not to be overheard.

“We need to talk.”

Jojo froze. She didn’t look at him.

“No, I really don’t think we do.” Her phone buzzed and she checked her messages.

“OUTSIDE. JEREMY.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Sorry, but I’ve got to go.” Collecting her bag, she headed out the door as quickly as she could while trying not to look like she was running away.

Outside the bar, Jeanette’s tall blond stock broker boyfriend was leaning against a black Ferrari and clutching a bunch of flowers. At her approach, he stood up and handed her the flowers while leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

“Sorry I’m late, darling. Shall we get moving”. He opened the passenger door and Jojo smiled gratefully as she slid in to the car.

Once inside, she thanked Jeremy, who seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

“I always said I was a frustrated thespian. Do you want me to make a bit of noise?”

“That could work.” Jeremy pulled away from the kerb with a rev of the engine.

Jojo looked down at the flowers on her lap. “I assume these are for Jeanette?”

“No, those are for you. Jeanette’s are in the back.” He gestured to a larger bouquet in the back seat. “I thought you deserved some, too.”

Her phone buzzed, a text from Sophie.

“WELL PLAYED”.

***

Outwardly, things had returned to normal. Nate talked to clients and the team did their jobs with their normal efficiency. Jojo and Eliot were polite, professional and distant. He’d given up on trying to talk to her, it seemed. According to Sophie, he’d watched the Ferrari drive off and had soon made his excuses and left himself.

Now they’d taken on a job in a town north of Boston involving a dodgy car dealer. Parker was busy making sure she and Hardison were in with the car theft ring. Jojo's task was finding a source of at least 8 high end cars, and a car carrier to transport them. She’d located the perfect place. The local country club was hosting a golf tournament for the Police Dept. Lots of nice cars, which would be a priority for the police to recover.

Returning to the hotel that evening, Jojo found she was the first back. She got herself a drink and sat in the hotel’s secluded, small garden with her book.

She looked up as she heard footsteps approach. Eliot was standing a few steps away. His arms folded as he looked at her in silence. Jojo put down her book and stood up.

“We really need to talk.”

Jojo shook her head and began to walk past him. Eliot took a step into her path.

“Are you going to let me explain?”

That was all it took. Weeks of frustrated anger boiled over and Jojo finally lost her temper.

“Explain, Explain! You left Eliot! You asked me out and then you didn’t turn up. No call, no message, just left. Then you waltz back in as if nothing happened. I’m not sure there’s anything left to say.” She turned to walk away towards the other exit. Eliot grabbed her arm.

“Dammit, just let me,” he seemed to realise he was still holding her arm and let go. “I had some issues I needed to work out, so when I was offered a job, I took it.”

“Issues! Well, good for you. Next time just send us a postcard and maybe don’t drag me into it.”

“The issue was you,” Eliot blurted out.

“Me!” Jojo wasn’t getting any calmer. “So, what, this was my fault?”

“No. It was you and me, us.” He raked his hand through his hair as he searched for the right words. “When those guys took you, we didn’t know where you were or what they’d done to you. I nearly lost it. It took all my self control not to kill them. I got to thinking, if we were, well, I’m not sure what I’d have done.”

Jojo stopped. A small part of her understood. Could imagine how she’d have felt in his position. But the anger still burned.

“So you thought leaving would fix that? Glad to know I’m that easy to get over”.

She turned to walk away when Eliot grabbed her arm and turned her. He slid his arms around her, locking them in place.

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

For a long second, they both stood still. Then Eliot dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers, softly, feather light. A shiver ran through her. He pulled back, waiting for her response. Jojo put her hands on his chest and pushed. He let go immediately and stepped back to sit on the edge of the table, eyes still on her.

Her brain was whirring. Her anger fought with the need to be in his arms and with the feelings that came when she saw his blue eyes looking more vulnerable than she’d ever seen.

In the end, there was no real choice. Stepping forward, she pressed her lips to his. Eliot’s shoulders relaxed as he let out the breath he’d been holding. His hands found her waist as he kissed her back. Gently at first, lips caressing hers, giving her the room to break away if she wanted. Each touch sending butterflies fluttering in her abdomen. After a while, the kiss grew deeper as he moulded his lips to hers. His arms slid around her, one hand at the nape of her neck, stroking the exposed flesh gently, one at the small of her back, drawing her closer. Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck, fingers entangled in his hair, eliciting a soft moan from him. Jojo had never been kissed like this. It was as if his lips were setting off small electric sparks to her very centre. The touch of his tongue to hers sent a shock through her that made her go weak at the knees.

They both drew back to draw shaky breaths. Eliot didn’t let go, resting his forehead against hers.

“So, does that mean you’ve resolved your issues?”

“No, but I think I’ve learned to live with them.”

“Ok then. I can live with that.”

His arms slid closer around her. His voice was husky.

“Did you want to, maybe, move this upstairs?”

Jojo reluctantly resisted her instinct to agree.

“No, not tonight. It’s not that I don’t want to, because believe me I really want to, but it’s going to take me a while to trust you again. I don’t want to rush this.”

Eliot put one hand to her face, pushing a wayward curl back.

“That’s fine sweetheart, we’ll go as slow as you want.”

A small glow formed in the pit of her stomach. It felt good to be sweetheart to him again. She looked into his face, suddenly shy.

“Do you think we could, well, keep this to ourselves? See where it’s going before the others find out?” He just nodded.

They could hear Hardison’s voice through the garden doors, and Eliot dropped his arms. Jojo stepped away, picked up her book and headed for the other door back into the hotel.

#leverage #leverage fic #eliot spencer #original female character #sophie devereaux #first kiss

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redheadsburnhotter · 3 months ago

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If you read the fic, leave the kudos. Leave a comment too, if possible. Just do it. It takes a few seconds of your time and it means the world to the writer.

Sincerely, me who just got told that my writing feels like watching a blockbuster movie. I don't care if they were sincere or not, I'll be thinking about that comment for the rest of my life and every time I feel bad about my art, I'll remember that someone once liked it.

#make someone smile

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redheadsburnhotter · 3 months ago

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"When I went to work for Moreau, I was numb. I'd been in the army. I'd worked for the government, but not in any way they'd ever acknowledge. I got a reputation for efficiency, and the jobs got worse and worse. I wasn't a person to them, I was a weapon. After a while, I began to believe that too. I didn't feel fear or guilt. I'd stopped feeling anything. And that's where I was when I went to work for Damien Moreau.

"He appreciated what I did, but he also saw more in me than the violence. He plays chess, did you know that? We'd play, of an evening, and we'd talk. Not about the work, about music, books, other things. It wasn't much, but it was the most human I'd felt in years. Even though I knew that he'd kill me, or worse, if I stepped out of line. Without a second thought. I was proud when he made me head of his security, I was proud that he trusted me."

~ Moreau knew what he was doing. He knew how to manipulate this damaged man. How to break him down, then build him into what he wanted him to be. ~

My friend and I have a deal where each week I'll make him watch an episode of a show of my choosing and he'll make me watch an hour or two of a playthrough of Omori.

Today I showed him The Big Bang Job. I haven't watched it in a long time, so it was a real wake-up for me. I know this topic has been discussed to no end, but I'm gonna at my unwanted two cents to the tumblr pit of burning death.

Eliot and Damien Moreau. I just realized how much of a master manipulator Moreau was. It was the little things. The way he smiled and called Eliot an old friend. How he corrected the woman when she tried to bring Eliot champagne, telling her that Eliot actually preferred beer. Telling Eliot how his new long hair suited him.

Eliot was once Damien's lapdog, and maybe Damien was hoping Eliot had come back for good. When Moreau had the option to shoot Eliot, he shot the lady Nate was with instead.

Also the way the team reacted. How beaten down and ashamed Eliot looked when explaining his connection to Moreau, but his eyes still burning with a desperate desire to protect them from the man who broke him first.

Eliot was definitely not a good or whole person when Moreau got his hands on him, but Moreau essentially found a wounded puppy and turned him into an attack dog obedient to one master. He manipulated and abused Eliot into a man Eliot no longer recognized in the mirror.

Eliot, even in Leverage: Redemption, insists he will never be redeemed. When or how redemption can be achieved is often debated, but the fact is that the person Eliot became wasn't entirely Eliot's fault. He did do some (allegedly) awful things, but it was Moreau who pushed him to that edge.

I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT THIS OKAY-

#leverage #eliot spencer #damien moreau #fanfic extract #becoming eliot spencer

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redheadsburnhotter · 3 months ago

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Well, That Was Awkward

Part 2 of the New Tricks series.

The team have to sneak Eliot and Jojo in to the building, and Jojo is not entirely comfortable with how.

***

Jojo and Eliot could not walk back in as members of the magician’s team after their failed attempt to talk their way into the building

“So, how are you going to get Eliot and me in?” she asked, “If you don’t want our faces seen by security?”

Nate was uncharacteristically cheery, like a kid at Christmas. “We’ll roll you in inside the trick case, of course. Right, are we ready to go?”

She should have known, stood in the back of the van was one trick case. The tall, and narrow, disappearing box. Made for a single person to stand in comfortably.

“You want us both to get in that?”

“It’ll be fine.”

Of course, Eliot wasn’t concerned. Why would he be? He held out his hand to help her step in, then jumped up after. Even standing as far back as she could, Jojo’s nose was a scant inch from his chest.

Hardison closed the door, plunging them into darkness. Maybe it was the dark, or the enforced confinement, but she felt awkward. Most of the time, physical contact with Eliot felt comfortable. She couldn’t count how many times she’d curled up on the sofa next to him or given him a hug. He’d think nothing of putting his arm around her shoulders, in the way good friends do.

Of course, as far as he was aware, that is all she was. He was oblivious to the fact she was attracted to him and, most of the time, she managed to ignore her body’s responses to his touch. After all, they were good mates, close friends. She had tried to convince herself that was better. Right now, though, it was becoming very difficult to ignore his body in such close proximity.

“You OK?”

“Yes, of course." Thankfully, the darkness hid her blush. She could only hope that the curse of the redhead would have subsided by the time they reached the theatre.

As she felt the box being wheeled along, she slid her hands on to the wall, trying to balance. So far, so good. Then the box suddenly jolted to one side, making her fall forward into Eliot, who caught her. The feel of his arms around her shoulders, her face pressed into his chest, seemed to go straight to her knees and did nothing to help her balance. Almost immediately, he tensed and took a quick breath in. His voice seemed higher than usual.

“Um, Jojo, not that I mind, but you might want to move your left hand.”

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry”, the blush that had been subsiding flooded back, and she snatched her hand away from where it had landed.

A chuckle. “Don’t worry about it..."

#leverage #leverage fic #eliot spencer #original female character

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redheadsburnhotter · 3 months ago

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New Tricks - A Leverage Series

All 21 instalments available now on AO3.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/4031959

Jojo is determined to make sure no one realises how attracted she is to Eliot. They are friends, that's enough. Anyway, everyone knows Eliot dates spectacular looking women, not fairly pretty girls who don't clear 5 foot 2.

Eliot is in unfamiliar territory. He doesn't do relationships. As far as he's concerned, learning their last name is a rarity. Jojo is his friend, his colleague. If anything happened between them, he'd only mess it up and ruin what they've got. Anyway, Jojo is educated, a lady. Women like that date doctors or lawyers, not a sorry son of a bitch who never made it to college..

Part 1. I Am Not a Grifter.

https://www.tumblr.com/redheadsburnhotter/776455645211820032/i-am-not-a-grifter-a-leverage-story-part-one-of?source=share

When Jojo noticed something odd about the new consultants at her firm, she decided to find out what they were up to.

Part 2. Well, That Was Awkward.

https://www.tumblr.com/redheadsburnhotter/778263638921379840/well-that-was-awkward?source=share

The team have to sneak Jojo and Eliot into the building and Jojo is not entirely comfortable with how.

Part 3. Grifter, Con Thyself

https://www.tumblr.com/redheadsburnhotter/777313296912121856/grifter-con-thyself-a-leverage-story-eliot?source=share

Jojo likes Eliot, Eliot likes Jojo. If they won't admit it, maybe it's time for Sophie and Hardison to intervene.

Part 4. Taken.

https://www.tumblr.com/redheadsburnhotter/778262189243023360/taken?source=share

Jojo was looking forward to her date with Eliot, but a past job was about to have unexpected consequences for them both.

Part 5. The Man I Wanna Be.

https://www.tumblr.com/redheadsburnhotter/779111069688954880/the-man-i-wanna-be?source=share

Eliot returns, but Jojo isn't ready to forgive and forget.

Part 6. Still The Man I Wanna Be.

https://www.tumblr.com/redheadsburnhotter/782904156909436928/still-the-man-i-wanna-be?source=share

Eliot realised he couldn't let her walk away this time. He had to explain now or he might not get another chance.

Part 7. Amoureuse.

https://www.tumblr.com/redheadsburnhotter/782905286791921664/amoureuse-by-redheadsburnhotter-ao3?source=share

"Eliot took a sharp breath in, his eyes narrowed as he looked at her.

'It's OK, I'm ready."

Eliot and Jojo have been taking things slow, but tonight...

Posted as a link due to explicit content. Link can be read as a guest.

Part 8. Night at the Museum

https://www.tumblr.com/redheadsburnhotter/783451900383264768/night-at-the-museum-a-leverage-story?source=share

So far, they've managed to keep their relationship a secret from the rest of the team, unless one of them gives the game away...

Part 9. Downtime

https://www.tumblr.com/redheadsburnhotter/784915696109912064/downtime-a-leverage-story?source=share

The job is done and the team can relax, but Eliot can't resist the chance to prank his girl.

Part 10. Two of a Kind

https://www.tumblr.com/redheadsburnhotter/785537251853615104/two-of-a-kind-a-leverage-story?source=share

Poker night doesn't quite go as Eliot expected...

#leverage #leverage fic #masterlist #eliot spencer #original female character #sophie devereaux #alec hardison #parker #nathan ford #romance #Kissing eliot spencer

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redheadsburnhotter · 3 months ago

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Taken

Eliot Spencer / Jojo McKenzie

Part 4 of the New Tricks series (1757 words)

Jojo was looking forward to her date with Eliot, but a past job was about to have unexpected consequences for them both.

***

It was a bright afternoon, with a chill in the air to indicate winter wasn’t done with the City yet. As Jojo emerged from her building, she held her coat tighter round her and debated her decision to walk.Her distraction kept her from noticing the van pull up, until two guys jumped out and grabbed her. Despite lashing out as best she could, they had her feet off the ground and she couldn’t stop them from shoving her in the back of the van, where the first guy snapped a cable tie around her wrists as the van took off.

Eyes tearing up, Jojo fought to stay calm, trying to concentrate on what she could hear and the turns of the van. Eliot once told her that if she were kidnapped, she should try to make a mental map of her route. She tried to count the turns and the distinct rumbling as the van drive over a bridge. Anything that might help her know where she was.

She felt as if hours had passed, but her logical brain told her only a few minutes had elapsed before they unceremoniously pulled her from the darkness into bright sunshine. She only had time to recognise she was on an industrial estate before she was pushed into a warehouse. Once inside, they led her across a room with tables and chairs and into a smaller room furnished with a metal framed bed and a sink. They obviously planned on her staying here a while.

Once inside the room, her captor cut the ties, freeing her hands.

"Behave and I’ll leave you untied. Give us any trouble, Missy and I’ll hog tie you to the bed. Once your people pay us, we will let you go unharmed. So pray they pay up.”

Jojo nodded, not trusting herself to reply. As the door shut, she heard the click of a lock and she frantically looked around. Concrete walls, one dirty window over 12 foot up, letting in a weak light. Nothing she could use to get to it.

Missy, wait a minute. He had called her Missy. It wasn’t a turn of phrase. He thought she was Missy, the character she’d played in the con a month ago.

Missy was an ex-Disney club teen, looking to make a new career as an adult star. They’d used the character to con an unscrupulous promoter who was taking money from new artists. These guys believed she was Missy, and that meant they thought she had a manager and a rich record company who would pay to get her back.

Jojo sat on the bed. OK, so it was just a matter of time before the team rescued her. If only they knew she was gone, where she was or who had taken her. They weren’t expecting to see her until the briefing tomorrow. Until then, she needed some protection. The bars on the bedframe looked loose. Slowly, so as not to make too much noise, she started trying to work one free.

In the office, the team was waiting to begin the briefing.

“Has anyone heard from Jojo? We said midday, and it’s almost one.” Sophie was getting concerned.

Eliot shook his head.

"I’ve called her twice. She’s not answering.”

“Maybe someone should go over to her apartment, see if she’s...”

“Guys, we have a problem!” Hardison was sitting at the table staring at his laptop. “I’ve had an email to the address we used for Missy’s agent. I’m throwing it up on the screens.”

They all turned as an email flashed up. It was blank except for one line.

Watch the video.

Hardison clicked the link, and a video opened, showing a single chair in what looked like a warehouse. Sat on the chair was Jojo. Her hands appeared to be bound behind her and she looked dishevelled. She was arguing with someone out of shot.

"No, I won’t. Read it yourself, moron.”

Eliot’s hands clenched into fists.

"Don’t antagonise them,” he muttered. His eyes scanned the footage for clues to the location.

"Ok, ok I’ll read it.” She sounded scared. Jojo began to read. “These men are holding me until you pay what they ask. If you pay in full, they have promised I will be let go unharmed, otherwise they say they will kill me. The details will follow in a second email.” She looked straight at the camera. To the team, it seemed like she was looking straight at them.

"Eliot James Spencer,” she said urgently. “Those four arguments we had. They are water under the bridge now. You were right, really right.” She seemed to sag in the chair and her voice broke. “Please come and get me.” The video ended abruptly.

Nate jumped up.

"Clever girl, we need a map.”

"On it” Hardison’s fingers flew as a map of the city appeared on the touch screen. “But I don’t see how this helps.”

"She gave us some clues.” Nate stepped up to the screen. “Four arguments, water under the bridge. She was telling us she crossed four bridges. If we assume they were travelling straight to their destination, that should help narrow it down.”

"But that isn’t any help when we don’t know where she was taken from.” Hardison pointed out.

"She was taken from outside her apartment,” Eliot interjected.

“And just how do you know that?”

Eliot smiled, although the worry remained etched on his face.

“Because my middle name isn’t James.” He pointed on the map to the street where Jojo lived. James Street.

Hardison re-centred the map and took a red line.

"Ok, assuming they headed in one direction and didn’t double back on themselves for any reason. They would cross four bridges, all over water, to get here.” He marked a point just north of the harbour. “At that point, they have two options, left or right, into two separate industrial estates.”

“That fits with the footage. It looks like a warehouse.” Sophie was watching the video again on the laptop. “And I’ve just noticed something else. There’s a TV screen in the background. It’s showing a football game.”

Eliot appeared next to her.

"That’s the playoff game.” His scowl deepened. “She was taken yesterday.“

"So, where do we start looking?”

“Here.” Nate pointed at one of the two blocks of buildings. “She said Eliot was right, really right. She meant they turned right. We start looking here.”

***

Jojo wasn’t sure of the time. She assumed it was afternoon, because they’d bought her some bread and what looked like ham. Because she feared it might be laced with something to keep her quiet, she hadn’t touched it, or the food from the night before.

Through the door, she could hear the men talking and what sounded like a TV showing sports. She prayed the team had spotted her clues and that they could work out where she was.

The kidnappers were expecting to collect the money that evening but, worryingly, she had heard no discussion of letting her go. Her hand slid under the pillow where she’d hidden the metal bar from the bedframe. It was only about 2 feet long but it reassured her to have a weapon, not that it was likely to do her a lot of good against 3 men.

She must have drifted off and the light from the window was dimming when she heard a loud crash. Maybe one of them had knocked a chair over. A shout and a couple more crashes made her jump up. It might be a rescue but, her brain answered, it could be three angry men letting off steam over an unpaid ransom.

As footsteps approached the door, she grabbed the bar and stood with it held like a baseball bat. If they were coming in here, she’d at least get a few hits in first.The footsteps stopped, then there was a loud crash and the door flew open, hitting the wall. Eliot stood framed in the doorway, hair falling over one eye and a slight cut to his lip. Tears welled up in her eyes as she dropped the pole, and then she was in his arms, face buried in his chest, his hands fisted in her clothes as he held her tight.

"It’s OK sweetheart, I got you.”

He held her hand as he led her out of the room and past the bodies strewn around the floor.

“I’ve got her. We’re coming out now. There’s enough cocaine in here to fuel a small army. Put in the call. Yeah she’s ok”

Eliot kept his arm around her shoulders until they reached the car and Hardison and Sophie hugged her. Even Parker gave her a quick squeeze and whispered,

"I'm glad they didn’t kill you.”

Nate was finishing his call.

"Right, we’d better get out of here before the police turn up..”

They all piled into the SUV. Eliot slid in next to her and put his arm back round her shoulders, which helped with the shaking she couldn’t seem to stop. Sophie whispered to him.

"Is she OK?”

Eliot gave a sarcastic laugh.

"She’s fine. I found her waving a metal bar around. We probably could have just waited for her to walk out of there,” but he continued to hold her against his side until they got back.

Being fussed over by the team (well, not by Nate, although he made the point of bringing her a large drink as soon as they got back) was fun for about a day. Then it got irritating and Jojo was forced to insist that things get back to normal.

Besides, the Food Fair was in 48 hours and she had a new dress of soft ribbed knit that skimmed her in all the right places. She’d arranged for her friend Jeanette, who owned the salon on the ground floor of her building, to do her nails in the morning, and nothing was going to get in the way of this day.

But midday came and went and Eliot didn’t arrive. No messages, no calls and when she called his phone, it went to voicemail. She didn’t leave a message.

The next morning, Jojo was no longer upset. She was angry. She headed for the office, determined to tell the Hitter what she thought of him. As she walked in, she saw the rest of the team standing around the table. Eliot was nowhere to be seen.

"What’s happened?”

Sophie turned, her eyes pained.

“Eliot’s gone.”

#leverage #eliot spencer #leverage fic #eliot spencer to the rescue #original female character #Kidnapping #sophie devereaux #nathan ford #alec hardison #parker

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