#and he wanted to protect hardison and parker

[geekynightowl1997]

Let's all appreciate that Eliot not only called Nate's apartment (the team essentially) home- but he also wanted to stop being Mr. Brewer to help protect Hardison and Parker.

Eliot. (Said with affection.)🥰🥰

[leverage-ot3]

okay but the parallel between hardison using eliot as an example of redemption to harry in the panamanian monkey job and eliot saying he could never be redeemed (and he’s made peace with that) to sophie in the finale

[krakenartificer]

Who wants a really sad Leverage headcanon?

Was re-watching the Gimme a K Street Job -- Season 5 Episode 5 -- and a couple of things stood out to me.

1) Nate says "Let's go steal some congresspeople", and then sends everyone on the team (except Parker, who's being a cheer coach) out to con one of their targets. But it feels like there's a profound mismatch in who gets which mark.

For the "not like other girls" feminist congresswoman who's inclined to dismiss cheer as worthless and demeaning, you need Eliot to come in looking like a man who very much knows what does and does not count as a sport, and be his tiny angry respect-women-juice self about how regardless of what you think of their choice of clothing they are working as hard as any other athlete and they deserve safety as much as anyone else. But instead they sent Hardison.

For the "Yes I am very busy and important; admire me" chairman, you need Sophie, who is better than anyone else on the planet at making you feel admirable when you're doing what she wants, and scummy and low when you're not doing what she wants. But instead they sent Eliot.

For the "Look I am trying, but I need corn subsidies or I won't be able to do anything else" newbie congressman, Hardison could happily have gone on an infinitely recurring series of fetch quests until he sees the place where they loop around and bottom out and every problem solves every other problem. But instead they sent Sophie.

2) Eliot struggles the most, so Nate works with him the most, but he doesn't help him out hardly at all; he just keeps saying, "So what's your next play?" and then revealing that he's already anticipated Eliot's next play and has all the materials in place to enact it. And of course, they do eventually get the dude on board, and it all works out, but afterwards, Eliot tells Nate, "I trust that some time soon you'll tell me why you had me slogging through all that when you already knew how to hook him."

And of course, knowing what we now know about how season 5 ends, it makes sense that Nate is trying to train the OT3 to work without him, looking for his replacement.

Except.

If the plan is to fuck off into the sunset with Sophie, then why did he throw Sophie into this uncomfortable not-my-wheelhouse scenario?

No, Nate's preparing the entire team to carry on without him. He's forcing them to learn how to plan, learn different ways of approaching problems, to think about bigger pictures and approach them strategically.

...

I think Nate just got the first diagnosis of the disease that's finally going to kill him. And again, we -- the audience -- now know that he's going to live for many years after that initial diagnosis. But he doesn't know that, at this point. He knows he's tested positive, and he knows it's eventually going to kill him, and he has no idea how long he has.

And in some sense, it doesn't matter how long he has. Three months or thirty years, that kind of revelation makes it stunningly clear that taking care of the people you love means making sure that they can take care of themselves.

So that's what he does: he throws them into new, uncomfortable situations where they'll have to grow and support each other without him, so that no matter what happens, they'll be able to keep going. Because he's not a nice person, Jimmy Ford's son, but by God does he know the importance of protecting your family.

[security-chief-odo]

The Fake Dating Job - Chapter 4

Elliot Spencer x Reader

Previous chapters: 1 2 3

Note: Thanks for your patience. My life has been crazy as of late. In exchange for bearing with me, I offer you, probably my favorite chapter so far of any of my fics.

Word count: ~3.7k

Description: You and Eliot pine for each other throughout the reception. Will your ex get in the way of your happiness?

• • •

After the ceremony, you and the rest of the bridal party are asked to hang back for photos. As the rest of the guests file into the reception hall for the cocktail hour, Eliot makes a brief detour to give you a peck on the cheek. “See you inside sweetheart.” he says softly before rejoining the rest of the guests.

Your mind occasionally wandered to Eliot throughout the photo process, whereas his mind never left you from the moment that he left the bridal suite this morning. You looked gorgeous in the dress your sister had picked out for you. Maybe he could blame the dress for why he spent more time focused on you than on the actual wedding.

Though that is the beauty of this whole plan, there would be nobody to explain it to as he was supposed to want to stare at you. There would be no moment where Hardison calls him out for staring at you for a little too long. There would be no explaining, rather lying, to Parker about how protective he gets over you on a mission. There would be no knowing look across the room from Nate or well meaning advice from Sophie. There would be nothing but his own thoughts and delusions that you would ever want him to be more than just your fake boyfriend.

When the bridal party finally makes their entrance into the reception hall, his eyes are searching for you. Despite how happy you are for your sister, a feeling of relief nearly consumes you once you find yourself by Eliot’s side once again. Though, as you make your way to the table, your relief falters slightly at the realization of who you’ll be seated near. Your ex is seated at the same table as you, only two seats away.

Eliot’s warm embrace calms you though. This is what he was here for ultimately, to be a barrier between you and your ex. To make the night go better for you. And in a small way, he was already doing just that.

After the couple shares their first dance, dinner is served. You desperately try to avoid giving your ex any attention, and Eliot makes that easy. He eats slowly, taking time between bites to shower you with little bits of affection. His hand rests on your thigh through much of the meal and you hope that the flush that crosses your cheeks isn’t too obvious in the dim lighting. You could get used to these casual touches, if only they weren’t for show.

“How’d you like the food?” you ask, hoping that a bit of small talk can keep your wishful thoughts at bay.

“It was alright.”

That response alone was very telling so you quietly finish the sentence he was too polite to complete. “But you could’ve done better?” You raise your eyebrow at him as he half nods.

“I’m just sayin’ I know what these wedding caterers charge and they should take a bit more pride in their work.”

You can’t help, but chuckle at this as the DJ announces the father daughter dance. You turn your chair towards the dance floor to watch your father and sister share this moment and Elliot does the same beside you. He wraps his arm around you and pulls you closer to him. You can’t help but lean into the touch. You probably don’t need to do as much as you are to sell the act, but damn it, if this is your only opportunity to be this close with Eliot, maybe relishing in it a little isn’t a bad thing.

After the dance, cake is served and this time Eliot has no complaints. The cake is as close to perfect as any cake could be. As you finish, you remind yourself to ask your sister where she got the cake from so you could maybe stop by the bakery on your own before you leave town.

As the dance floor opens up, you take this opportunity to go talk to your parents. You haven’t had enough time with them this weekend and you really have missed them. Ever the gentleman, Eliot insists on tagging along to properly meet them. He is far too good at this fake boyfriend thing.

You greet your parents with a warm hug. “I’ve missed you guys!” you say trying to be heard over the music. “It’s been too long.”

“And whose fault is that?” your dad asks.

Your mom nudges him and gives a disapproving glare at his bluntness. “You should visit more. Maybe then it wouldn’t have taken so long for you to introduce us to this handsome fella.”

“I’ve been telling her the same thing.” Eliot steps in with the charm offensive in full force. “I’m Eliot.” He shakes each of your parent’s hands. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“All bad things I suppose?” your mom asks teasingly.

“Hardly. She’s told me so many fun stories about your family. Though maybe a few of those stories could be classified as embarrassing.”

It’s nice to see your parents get along with Eliot, though it shouldn’t matter to you. You will have a fake breakup in a few weeks and this will be nothing but a memory for both of you. A damn good one too.

You’re broken out of that train of thought when you hear your mom reply, “Oh, is that so?”

“She’s got plenty of embarrassing stories of her own.” your dad adds in. Eliot lets out a hearty laugh at the prospect.

“Oh? Any worth telling?” You bury your face in your hands in fear of the mortifying words that may come next from either of your parents.

“How about you buy me a drink and I’ll tell you anything you wanna know about our dear Y/N?” Your mom suggests.

“Gladly” Eliot guides your mom to the bar and out of your earshot as you sit with your father.

You sit in silence at first, just enjoying the shared time. Minutes pass before your father speaks again, without even looking directly at you, “He’s good for you, you know.”

You figure the best way to avoid being caught in a lie is to just stay as close to the truth as possible, so you tell your dad your real thoughts on Eliot. “I know, he’s a really nice guy. He’s funny and caring. I really love him.”

“That’s not what I mean.” He turns to fully face you. “I just haven’t seen you this happy in some time.”

“Oh.” you say, stunned. This statement catches you off guard but luckily your father continues, so you don’t have to fill the silence.

“You seemed so sad before, especially with James. You used to force those tight lipped smiles that you thought we didn’t notice. This new guy has brought back your infectious smile. The one you don’t even seem to notice, you just do it.” He pauses slightly, “I missed that smile.”

This conversation comes to an end as your mom and Eliot return laughing loudly. Once he approaches the table, he stops in front of you. “Care for a dance?” He offers you his hand.

You gladly accept and follow him out onto this dance floor.You dance through several upbeat songs, joking and laughing at each other’s goofy dance moves throughout. For a moment, you forget how painful going back to normal life may be because having this much fun with Eliot reminds you how important your friendship is. The heartbreak could never break this bond. The bitterness of pining could never overpower the sweetness of these moments you share.

He spins you around and holds you close to him, your back to his chest. As you sway together to the music Eliot whispers in your ear, “You know, your mom told me some interesting things about you.”

“Oh god. What did she say?” You brace yourself for whatever ungodly stories from your youth your mom may have dug up for this occasion.

“Nothing too bad. I actually thought it was cute.” You turn in his arms to face him and raise your eyebrow as if to ask him to elaborate. “First she told me about the time you cut your own hair.”

You let out a chuckle, mostly in relief at how benign of a story that was. “I can still remember the terrible bangs I had in my school pictures that year. It felt like it took forever for those to grow out.”

“So is that why you convinced your sister to do the same just two years later?” He looks at you accusatorily and you know that your mom had to have given him more ammunition if he’s already digging in on the teasing.

You raise your hands defensively, “I just handed her the scissors and told her I thought she’d look cute with bangs. What she did after that is not my business.”

You wrap your arms around Eliot as you continue to dance as you bicker. “Oh I’m sure it was all her own idea.” His smile only widens as he continues, “She also showed me this picture of you as a kid where you were laying face first into your plate of mashed potatoes. It was cute. You’re still pretty cute when you get all sleepy like that.”

This catches you off guard because it’s just one more moment that’s a step past friendly without any reason for it. Nobody could really overhear your conversation over the music. He said that just for your benefit, or maybe just to sell the act. Maybe in a different life Eliot could have been an actor, he certainly played the part of lovestruck boyfriend pretty convincingly.

Trying not to focus much more on his words, lest their implications consume you, you add, “Did she tell you how I used to fall asleep at my bedtime so religiously I would sleep sitting up at family gatherings or in the cart at the grocery store?” He shook his head in response. “Yeah I wish I was still that committed to my sleep schedule.”

“Well ain’t that the truth sweetheart.” There’s a softness about him that is so rare and nearly indescribable. It’s a nearly magnetic force and you find it impossible to look away from him. It feels like if you even glance away for a second, the levity will be gone and the weight of the world will once again return to rest on his shoulders.

Soon you have to shift your focus as the DJ announces the bouquet toss. The men clear off the dance floor as all of the unmarried women gather. Sure, it doesn’t really mean anything if you catch the bouquet, but you find yourself reaching for it nonetheless. Maybe it was fate or maybe just luck or maybe it was set up by your sister considering her earlier remarks, but regardless the bouquet is in your hand and you’re staring down at it in shock.

Your sister hugs you and you know it’s going to break her heart when you and Eliot “split up.” Though by now, you’re too deep into it and so you have to act excited about this turn of events. A small part of you is excited though, the part that has clung onto every romantic moment this weekend as if it’s more than a fantasy. Perhaps that part isn’t so small.

On the side of the dancefloor the excitement over your purely hypothetical future builds in Eliot too. Fuck it. He won’t have many more chances to do this. He makes his way across the floor to you and happily pulls you to him, first in a tight hug, then into a lingering kiss. One that he has to hope you can’t just feel the sincerity of his desire dripping from.

You could get used to being kissed like this. Though, as your family is currently about half of the room, you pull away from Eliot, you can’t convince yourself to go very far away. Your foreheads rest against each other and the tension is palpable. Damn. He really is committed to convincing your family. He would have you convinced if you hadn’t been the one to set up this whole ruse.

Around you the dance floor fills again as the DJ turns on a slow song. You and Eliot hold each other close as you dance. Eliot softly sings along in your ear. His soothing voice slowly erases every worry you’ve had about this night. You feel safe and at home in his arms, and even if it won’t last, you can’t help sinking further against him. Truly if your heart must be broken, there’s nobody you would trust more to break it kindly.

You and Eliot are lost to the world around you as you both relish in what little time you have left to hold each other. That momentary bliss comes to an abrupt halt as the song fades out and you notice a presence looming just behind you. Just then you hear James’ voice behind you as his hand touches your back, sending a chill down your spine at your own unease. Speaking to Eliot he asks, “May I have her for this next one?”

Something seems off to him, but you reassure Eliot that it’s fine with a polite nod. There’s a sinking feeling in his chest, of course this was never real so he should have been prepared for rejection, but it still stings seeing you in someone else’s arms. Maybe that’s why you invited him, not to avoid your asshole ex, but to make James jealous.

Eliot goes to the bar to drown in something other than his own self pity and insecurities, and is met with your mother inviting him to sit next to her. Despite his own feelings, he won’t ruin things with your family so he orders a drink and sits at the open stool she has offered him.

“You’re good for her, you know?”

“I try to be.”

“I mean it. She’s happier with you than she has been in a long time. She still thinks she doesn’t deserve you though.” your mom looks at him with a sad sort of smile.

“What?” he asks incredulously.

“She’s always been a worrier. You can see it in the way she holds you,” she pauses in thought before correcting herself, “in the way you hold each other. You’re both so scared the other will leave. You don’t think you deserve her either, do you?”

It’s a relief in a way to be able to be truly honest for once this weekend. “No ma’am. I can’t say I do. I’m happy to have her until she realizes that though, and that’s enough for now.” He waves to the bartender and orders a second drink.

“You’re both idiots, I swear.” Your mother lets out a long sigh. “Do you treat my daughter with kindness?”

Suddenly, under your mom’s gaze Eliot feels like he’s sitting in the principal’s office facing detention. He feels small. “Of course.”

“And you love her?”

“Yes.”

“So are you saying Y/N doesn’t deserve your kindness and love?”

“No ma’am.”

“Then pull your head out of your ass and stop acting like she’s going to leave you. That girl loves you, anyone could see that, so why are you sitting here with me at the bar, drowning your sorrows?”

He hangs his head in defeat, he couldn’t argue the point of your affections, not without ruining your plan, so he settles on the easier argument. “She already has a dance partner.” He gestures to the dance floor.

Your mom finally glances over to you and rolls her eyes. “God I’ve always hated that son of a bitch.”

Eliot can’t help the deep belly laugh that escapes him. Your mom cursing in anger is funny when it’s not directed at him. It’s then when you turn to where he can see your face, your features lined with sadness. His protective instincts finally kick in and he heads your way. He tries to hang back to get the full scope of the situation.

As Eliot was at the bar, your ex had been saying truly awful things. As Eliot reapproached, he continued. “He’s gonna leave you, you know?”

Eliot couldn’t make out any of what was being said, but he knew from the tension in your body that you weren’t happy. He’s kicking himself now for letting his own insecurities put you in the exact kind of situation he was here to help you avoid.

Not wanting to cause a scene, you plaster a fake smile on your face and through gritted teeth say “I fail to see how that’s any of your fucking business James.”

“I’m just looking out for you, babe.”

“Don’t call me that” you cut him off.

He continues, not acknowledging what you said. “I may have moved on, but I still care about you. You don’t deserve to be hurt when he finds a prettier girl and runs away with her.”

“Fuck off, James.” Eliot isn’t going to stay with you, but that doesn’t mean you need to tolerate James’ bullshit. You pull yourself out of his hold but he follows behind you.

Eliot quickly approaches as he sees this and is in earshot finally for the last insult James throws out. “You know, I don’t know why you bothered catching that bouquet. Nobody is ever going to love you, much less marry you.”

In an instant, James is grabbed from behind, turned, and pinned against the nearby wall. You barely hear the commotion behind you as you exit the reception hall and finally let a tear run down your face.

Inside all eyes are on Eliot and your family has gathered as he begins yelling at James, “What’s your fucking problem, man?”

All too cocky, James smirks, “Here to ask if you can have my current girlfriend when we break up? You clearly love my leftovers.”

That earns him a broken nose. Eliot’s fist makes sharp contact with his face and the blood from his nose quickly stains his white shirt. “You need to shut the fuck up and leave Y/N the fuck alone, or you’ll find out just how quickly I can break another bone.”

Ever the idiot James opens his mouth to reply, but, before he can, your sister yells at him, “Better yet, get the fuck out of my wedding.”

With the bride’s blessing, Eliot and your father drag James out to his car and, seeing he’s been beat, or perhaps fearing being beaten again, he leaves without another word.

He sees you sitting on a bench outside the reception hall and breaks into a jog, wanting to comfort you. He holds you to his chest as you gently sob. As much as you didn’t like that James was saying it, you couldn’t shake the feeling that he was right, but you let that insecurity burrow further inside your heart as you realize something far worse. You probably just ruined your sister’s wedding.

You sit up abruptly and wipe the tears from your face, “I need to go apologize to my sister.” You run inside, leaving Eliot to slowly follow, though he washes your ex’s blood off of his hand before re-entering the reception hall.

Your eyes scan the room and finally land on your sister. The anxiety makes the words practically spill out of your mouth, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause a scene at your wedding. I know I can’t make it better, but I’m sorry for ruining your night.”

Both of you are crying now. “You didn’t ruin anything. I shouldn’t have let him come, even if he was dating one of the other bridesmaids. If anything you fixed the wedding by getting rid of that piece of shit.”

“Well I’m pretty sure the getting rid of him part was more Eliot than it was me.” you chuckle. He walks up behind you, as if summoned by the mention of his name.

He looks toward your sister and her now husband as he wraps his hand around yours. “I am so sorry for,” he pauses and gestures vaguely towards the spot he had pinned James, “well, all of that really.”

Your sister laughs, “No need. We’ll just call it dinner and a show, and it was quite the show.” she leans in towards you both and in a far more serious tone adds “I heard from some of the others what he was saying before. You did the right thing, you could’ve gone a bit further to teach him a lesson if you ask me.”

He looks to you, now remembering that your ex had plenty of time in his absence to say far worse than what Eliot heard. “Wish I would’ve.” he lets out a nervous laugh, still unsure where he stands with everyone else. “I’m just glad he’s gone though and can’t cause any more trouble.”

Your sister replies, “Agreed. Though maybe try not to hit anyone at the next wedding?”

“I think I can manage that.” He smiles, glad to see that everyone is still in good spirits.

The groom, also seeming to relax, throws in, “You’d better because if those flowers are anything to go by, it’ll be your own.”

Eliot wraps his arms around you, and with more sincerity than you were prepared for says, “Hopefully.”

Trying so hard not to get lost in your imaginary future with Eliot, you change the topic. “Your wedding was really beautiful by the way. Congratulations.” You hug your sister. As you pull away, you lean back against Eliot and say. “I think it’s time for us to go back to the hotel though. I think we’ve created enough of a story tonight.”

“Of course,” she agrees. “Have a good night. Thank you both for coming.” Then as you walk away, your sister calls after you, loud enough for about half the room to hear, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, lovebirds.”

This leads to a few hoots and hollers from the other guests, just trying to tease and embarrass you further. You flip your sister off as Eliot guides you out of the room.

• • •

Next chapter

Let me know what you think!

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[asterlark]

today in Leverage Thoughts That Make Me Sad- it's canon that eliot has a much better than average memory, and we see this in a few ways:

the extensive and minute knowledge he has of things like helicopter and bullet sounds, and what different groups of military look like based on haircuts and stances, always brushed off with "it's a very distinctive ___"

the knowledge he gathers from women he dates, paying attention to things like what's currently fashionable, what flight attendants prefer to be called, etc; again brushed off with "what? i dated a ___"

the speech in the experimental job about him remembering everyone he's ever killed, up to and including their names, what they wore, and what food was on their breath

if you've rewatched the show at all or pay attention to eliot specifically in any scene, you'll notice that he observes people very closely. i think this goes back to a hyper-vigilance he's cultivated through his days in the military and doing wetwork- probably especially in working with moreau. if your circumstances are that difficult to navigate, and if you can only really depend on yourself, of course you're going to notice and remember details about people. you'd have to develop that skill, to have the knowledge to give yourself options if you ever needed to escape suddenly.

also, for eliot's job in retrieval, he had to be a successful grifter somewhat often, so it makes sense that he'd find it important to both notice and remember small details about other people in that setting as well. cultivating that skill with people, with lying and charming, was a survival instinct.

all of this is to say- eliot has always done this, remembered little things about people, in service of his own survival (he's loaned out the skill to others, but you can argue that work is based in a survival instinct too... anyway). during the course of leverage we start to see him using these skills not only to protect other people, but to make them happy too. while he's risking his life every day to protect the team, he's also using his excellent memory to do things like buy parker a fucking plant that does something and say it's from hardison!

he wants to go beyond simply protecting them, he loves them and wants to show it- but he won't take the credit. eliot doesn't believe he's worth loving. he doesn't believe he'll ever be actually loved back, let alone loudly, by parker and hardison.

so he lets the credit be on hardison, he talks to them both and gives them advice about each other, he tells them in the rundown job to get on a plane out of d.c. so he can take whatever's coming himself. he pushes them away, towards each other, because he wants them to be happy and he thinks they will be happiest not knowing him that deeply.

but he also couldn't bear not being in their lives, not standing with them every day and protecting them from harm- so he puts his body, his memory, his mind in service of them, every single day. just... always from a distance. and he thinks he's doing it for them, to protect them, but he's doing it for himself out of fear of rejection. because he doesn't think he's good enough, worthy enough, of love. and that's so fucking sad.

[sanctuaryforalluniverses]

As far as I can tell, one of the main reasons that Eliot is so commonly seen as being the third member of the Parker/Hardison romance is that in the series finale he promised he would protect them "to his dying day." Apparently, many of the people who heard that immediately went "Oooh, that must be marriage vows!"

But listen. Listen.

My baby sister is well into adulthood, and even then I was out of the house well before she hit junior high. I have no responsibilities as far as she is concerned. But if she texts me in the middle of the day with a random thought, it is absolutely a priority for me to respond as soon as possible. If she's going through something, she knows that she can come to me and talk through absolutely anything, no matter what it is. That will be just as true in 10, 20, or 30 years as it is now. I will be there for her to my dying day.

My brother and I are both very different people. Our approach to life is just about as opposite as two people's can be, and as a result there are a lot of things we argue about. But I can call him every time I have a computer problem, or someone I know has a computer problem, and he'll help me figure out out. No matter how much we argue, I know I'll be able to do this for as long as he's capable of answering.

My dad, with whom I have an even rockier relationship, still fixes my car even though he's way too old to be getting under vehicles anymore. I still listen to my mom more thoroughly than I do any other authority figure on the planet, to the point that other people have tried to get her to get me to do stuff because they feel like she'd have a better chance. All of us kids still go to Sunday dinner every week, and we will continue to go until Sunday dinner stops happening.

I have known my best friend for more than 20 years, and I am absolutely 100 percent certain I don't want to have sex with her. But I plan on living with her till my dying day, and if circumstances change I plan on living right next to her for exactly that long. I will love her, and my family, for the rest of my life. I would swear to it in court.

I imagine Eliot would understand exactly what I was talking about.

[faorism]

[nsfw] its not that he wants to make himself small in the bedroom. eliot likes how solidly he is built, likes what he can do with his muscle. even likes how the growing cushion of fat on his stomach as he ages adds to his presence in the world—literally by protecting his organs, and figuratively whenever his partners rub their palms indulgently over his belly. its not about size that makes him writhe under hardison when the man brackets eliot in with his long arms and legs as he fucks eliot down into the mattress. its not about size when eliot breaks off from riding parkers strap to curl into her protective embrace, even knowing he can't hide from the vibe no matter how tightly he fits himself into her arms. no, it's not about being small. instead, it's about density. mass. the heaviness of vulnerability made manifest as he presses himself into love as hardison and parker press into him. he is crushed between his partners and all he wants is them to squeeze even closer, to make him so dense he cannot be stolen away except by the master thieves he gladly submits himself to. he cannot drift quietly from their love and his devotion to them. people don't realize how heavy a gold bar is until they have twenty-seven pounds laden in their hands, but eliot has experts who know just how to handle him so.

[my-beloved-lakes]

Realistically, I know Eliot taught Parker and Sophie how to fight (as shown in the hot potato Job and the tap out job) because he knew he might not always be able to protect them and he wanted them to be able to handle themselves in a fight if it ever came down to it.

But actually he just taught them that stuff so that they could beat up Hardison. No other reason.

[reluctantsincarazshipper]

Do you honestly think Sinner and Alcaraz (or any tennis players) are madly in love or fucking like bunnies? That's weird, their just kids!

Wow. WOW. But hey, I did say anything on anon so sure, that's your prerogative.

OK so honestly no, no I don't. I fell in love with both of their tennis playing this year (I've been watching tennis since the mid-80s), and then somewhere around Wimbledon the ADHD went 'oooh new hyperfixation' (there's another long post brewing actually about it might be a lifelong suppressed special interest) I felt like I was being super annoying to my partner and all my friends and went 'oh huh I wonder if there's a tennis fandom on Tumblr', and lo, there was a tennis fandom

There were people loving Sinner and Alcaraz and Federer and Nadal and Shelton and being excited and geeking out over the games. And there were slashers. Now, I'm a slasher. I have been writing fanfiction since I was a pre-teen, I have been writing slash fanfiction since my teens, and I have been posting said fanfiction online since my late teens. We're talking the 90s here people. (proud owner of an Anne Rice C&D dontcha know?) I've also been in as many, if not more, RPS fandoms than FPS ones. It's a hobby, I enjoy it. (There's only been maybe 2 RPS fandoms in all that time I actually believed in. Sincaraz is not one of them (although the more time I spend in fandom, the less sure I am about not believing the Fedal!) - but seriously, allow me to talk about how I do believe the Jack/Daniel and McShep or the Hardison/Parker/Eliot)

And so I was curious and I went onto AO3. I was... legit quite shocked by the amount of fic. I wasn't expecting it. I started reading. It was a lot of fun. My muse, Bob!, he is a fickle creature and he likes the pretty. He's decided Jannik and Carlos are his current pretty he wants to play with. I've written and posted more fic in the last two weeks than I have in months and THAT feels fantastic.

Although, having said that, I'm not actually physically/sexually attracted to either of them. You know why? Because they are literally over half my age. I think Jannik is cute as fuck and I'm currently at 'would kill to protect', I think Carlos has a... conventionally attractive physique and I do appreciate good strong shoulders/upper arms. I legit feel kinda dirty at times. But it's nothing more than 'aesthetically attractive', there's no... anything else. If nothing else, I'm queer so there's that! (There's a whole 'nother long post planned about being demi/ace, levels of aesthetically pleasing/pretty/attractiveness and what they mean).

TL;DR no, I don't think they're fucking, I adore them both as tennis players and people, I am loving the fandom around them, slash fanfic is fun. *gives all the love to the tennisblr, jannikblr and sincaraz peeps who've graciously welcomed me to the party over the last couple of weeks*

[lemissingmask]

[ID: Dark red sketch of Hardison and Eliot sitting at a table together. Hardison is leaning forward on the table with his arms crossed, looking over at Eliot. Eliot, who had a beer and a whisky in front of him, is sitting back in his chair and looking uneasily back at Hardison. end ID]

-

Not happy with how this turned out, but I wanted some art to accompany a prompt fill ficlet, and had little time to refine either. There, enough making excuses for myself 😂 Ficlet below the cut and on ao3. It's set just after The Big Bang Job before the crew heads back to Boston, but after all their bomb disarming etc. shenanigans are done for the day.

-

Eliot had his back to the wall.

Not right up against it.  Just close enough to make it impossible for anyone to sneak around or behind him, and positioned to give himself an unobstructed view of most of the hotel bar.  And, most importantly, clear sight lines to the elevator and door - the only two ways into the room, and to his crew.  Parker and Hardison were sitting close beside each other at the bar, Nate and Sophie were sitting opposite each other at a smaller table, all four people and the areas around them visible to him.  Damien Moreau might have fled to San Lorenzo, but that didn't mean they were out of danger.  He had reach far beyond what anyone, including Nate, appreciated, and he was far, far more dangerous than the others seemed to comprehend.

Right now, they were all unharmed, and seemed outwardly unaffected by the events of the past few days.

That could very easily not have been the case.

Eliot knew he should have taken his shot at Moreau before Nate got this close. Taken their target out before anyone was in danger.

He could have done it, too.

Today had proved to Eliot that he was still the man he had once been.  Still capable of killing swiftly and efficiently, and without a fraction of a second's hesitation.

The elevator doors opened. Eliot watched intently, ready to move if anything about the occupants seemed threatening.  But it was just a group of tourists, laughing together, pretty drunk already, and without the least hint of danger about them.

But Hardison had stood up almost at the same time. If he was going back up to his room, that would be a problem. Eliot would have to decide where to situate himself, make a calculation regarding the potential dangers. Isolated in a room versus in a public area with witnesses.  One location easier to access but harder to achieve an unseen execution, the other more difficult to reach, but private.

Eliot would wait for privacy or a packed, bustling, environment to carry out a single target hit.  This bar was neither of those things.  Unless you could get poison subtly into a drink, it was a poor choice of location to carry out a hit.  A professional hitter would choose the hotel room or an empty hallway or elevator en route to the room.

Which gave him the decision - if Hardison chose to go up to his room alone, Eliot would follow.  Protect the more likely point of attack.

But Hardison wasn't going back to his room.

He was walking over and taking a seat beside Eliot, and he hadn’t brought his drink with him, so he was coming over to say something specific, not just to sit and talk.

Which was good.

Eliot didn’t feel like talking.

He felt frayed.

The ache in his back, his hands, and his knees that his hasty cold shower on returning had done nothing to soothe.  The much worse pain from all the memories seeing Moreau brought back. Seeing his men, seeing the man who had taken his place as Moreau’s personal lapdog, and feeling an infuriating hostility because some part of his mind still felt that was his position.

Eliot sat back in his chair so he could see Hardison without losing his view of the rest of the room.

He tried to appear unconcerned, indifferent. Hardison didn’t know what he had done, and he wanted it to stay that way.  He didn’t need to know that Eliot could still feel the weight of the guns in his hands, and that he could still smell blood and smoke and fire.

The hacker didn’t say anything for a while. He had come over for a reason, but he was struggling to get to it.

Eliot didn’t push.

He was too tired for that.

“Why’d you take me with you?” Hardison asked at last, “To meet with Moreau. You coulda handled it yourself. Did handle it yourself. And you would’ve been able to keep lying to us about you knowing Moreau.”

That last was said with an anger that was justified and understandable, but that point was one thing Eliot had no apology for.

He didn’t regret not telling them about his connection to Moreau, not one bit. If he had said something to them, Nate would have used it. Would’ve found a way to exploit that connection, go at Moreau more directly, and he would have destroyed them.

But Hardison should be angry. Eliot had put him in danger, done exactly the opposite of his job.  And, worst of all, he had done it for selfish reasons.  For pathetic reasons.  Because he was too afraid to go alone.

“Eliot?”

Hardison’s voice had softened. He sounded concerned, and he was looking intently at Eliot, examining him.

Could he see the smoke still on his skin, gunshot residue on his hands even though he had washed them repeatedly since returning?

“Hey man, look-“

“I shouldn’t have taken you,” Eliot cut him off, “I put you in danger…”

The sentence dissipated, his mind a confusion of what he should say, what he wanted to say, and the truth.

He’d never have let Hardison drown. He’d been counting the seconds, knew how long he had before he would have to save him, but that didn't justify putting him in that situation in the first place.

“So why did you?”

The gentleness of Hardison’s voice was wrong. It would be easier if he was angry.  That was the least Eliot deserved for what he had done.

But even when Eliot failed to answer, his voice was just as trusting, willing to understand, “It would’ve been the same outcome whether or not I was there, so just tell me why.”

“It wouldn’t. Have been the same,” Eliot replied, “If you’d not come.”

Hardison waited, silently asking Eliot to continue.

The hitter looked up, just briefly, met Hardison's gaze, “I'd have killed ‘im.”

“Atherton?”  Hardison shook his head in disbelief or disagreement, but Eliot cut him off before he could conjure some argument that framed Eliot as anything other than the killer he was.

“Moreau.”

The two guards at the elevator first so they couldn't follow and take his back. Eliot had already mapped it out when he approached them that day. How he would snap one’s neck, using him as a shield until he had a chance to get to the other. It would only have taken a couple of seconds.

Then he’d have taken their guns, felt the familiar weight of a weapon he had dismissed so long ago, and gone down to the basement.

The gunfight would have been messy, but he would have the element of surprise and cover from the pillars near the door.

He could do it.  He knew he could.  He’d done it before.

He’d done worse.

But he would have killed Moreau’s men, killed Moreau himself, without any hesitation or conscious thought, acting on training and experience and the instinct to survive.

Maybe he would get shot a couple of times in the process. Maybe he would get killed.  But he would have killed Moreau so he could never get near to, could never hurt, the people he cared about.

“Then I’m glad I did come with you,” Hardison said at last, "Like Sophie said, that's not who you are anymore."

Eliot wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. The blood of fourteen men was still fresh on his hands, the scent of fire and iron still cling to his skin and hair.

He is that man. He always would be. There was no escaping that devil, and it terrified him more than any bad guy, any army, and torture or brutal execution ever could.

“Yeah, I am” Eliot said quietly, speaking into his beer as he raised it to his lips seconds after Hardison had left him, returned to Parker, and said something that had the thief looking briefly, but intently, over towards him.

Of all the crew, she probably already knew, even if she didn't know she knew. She probably saw what Eliot had done in some part of his expression, and she somehow understood that, no matter what the others said, Eliot was still a killer. He was always going to be a killer, and he needed to be that for them.

He had given into his fear of that part of himself, and Hardison had suffered for it.

It was a mistake he would never make again.

[aknolan]

I get the impression everyone in the team kind of has a soft spot for Parker in their own way.

Nate, for all his trauma as a father... is clearly paralleled to Archie. He's shown as a father figure in at least that one episode. One who listens to Parker, helps her grow in the ways she helps others, and who accepts that Parker wants to take a risk for that.

And it's just Parker who he takes on this sort of father-figure role for, because he cannot look at Hardison or Eliot in that way, he cannot have a son. Sam is gone, he has no son. But a daughter? He'd never admit it in so many words, but the way he acts in that episode is pretty telling.

Then there's Sophie, and the show is pretty clear on that front. Aside from Nate, the person Sophie gives the most advice to is Parker. And at least Parker actually wants the advice! She's also often watching out for Parker. When something's wrong, it's Sophie who notices.

It's Sophie who first suggests it's important to take Parker seriously in the juror #6 job, and it's Sophie who talks to Parker when she's visibly upset at dealing with a funeral place.

Hardison is... really very clear. I think the show makes it so obvious that there's hardly a point to arguing this. I'll stick with just the example of Parker2000, and how much he must have listened to Parker, how much time he spent with her. How much she means to him, to be able to make that.

Finally there's Eliot. And with Eliot... it's really pretty simple. He's hardly ever mad at Parker, aside from when she is literally poking his wounds. And then there's Parker asking, "does that make us bad?" and he tells her that's up to her to decide. I think Eliot does think it makes him bad, but not Parker.

He's not going to tell Parker what he thinks of himself for it, because she doesn't need to hear that. He sees how he and Parker are the same, and he does what he can to make sure that can be a good thing for Parker.

Every member of the team accepts Parker as she is, weirdness and all, and they love her and protect her and help her become who she wants to be in their own ways.

All of them have a soft spot for Parker and really, I can't blame them.

[vinelark]

do you have any whumpy fic recs (ideally romance, but gen would do in a pinch)? Open to any fandoms. I feel like I used to see them a lot more, but they are harder to find these days. Bbts really hits the spot tho btw haha.

ANY fandoms? oh boy do i.

Hotel Heart by Laughsalot3412 (and its sequel Safe as Houses): not quite romance but not NOT romance ot3 leverage psychics au where eliot is a hitman who used to be under the control of a horrible empath who left him with major mental scars and huge trust issues. he reluctantly ends up protecting another empath (hardison) and thief (parker) and sloooowly starts to work through the aforementioned trauma while they take down the aforementioned evil empath together. excellent series with excellent pangy plot. also i knew nothing about leverage when i first read it and it’s what got me to watch the show.

Hold my Eyes to the Sky by myrmidryad: an enjoltaire/les mis longfic set in a 1970s(?) wizarding au in which grantaire is a very sad and lonely werewolf and the idealistic activist he’s hopelessly in love with just got himself turned as well, and grantaire has to help him navigate the changes while dealing with his own self-worth issues and tragic backstory. you want whump? look no further.

Occultation by Geese_in_flight & pineapplesquid: a novel-length au of the book Winter’s Orbit, in which the main difference is that kiem, not jainan, is the one dealing with a previous, horrible arranged marriage. somehow this simple switch brings so much fresh potential to the characters (i loved seeing how this played into kiem’s self-worth issues, and also loved this exploration of what jainan’s character would be like if he had been able to flourish the last few years), with a whole new set of pangs. i recommend both the book and the fic!

爱不释手; never let me go by yiqie: a post-cql wangxian getting together fic with the classic amounts of yiqie pain & pining & h/c & devastatingly beautiful writing about the devastatingly beautiful experience of being in love. also blood. honestly most fics by yiqie probably fulfill this request (are you into vashwood, perhaps?)

Morning, keep the streets empty for me by feyburner: a wangxian modern au oneshot with self-sacrificing wei ying getting into trouble and landing himself in the hospital while pining very very hard for his cultivation partner. i’m reccing this one out of all feyburner fics because it has the obvious physical hurt but fey is so good at weaving pangs into fic that tbh there’s emotional whump to be found in most of them. also, god-tier writing in general.

the kite string and the anchor rope by fleurdeliser: a wangxian canon-divergence au that falls into the sickfic whump subgenre. the pangs! wangxian’s love for each other and for a-yuan and the way wwx’s desperation and powerlessness in the face of a sick child (and his own illness) clash with how the world perceives him at the time is so 🤌🤌. this is saved in my h/c favs folder for a reason.

The Long Way Home by itsnatalie: extremely whumpy batfam tim & jason fic, which i’ve definitely rec’d here before but if i’m reccing whumpy longfics it HAS to be on the list. good god this fic is a masterpiece, both for the angst and for the absolute beautiful worldbuilding/navigation of its horror tropes.

and since you like bbts, i’ll also self-rec a few of my older fics! i think you’d probably enjoy this river runs to you, a wangxian/mdzs modern cultivation longfic feat. (sort of) identity shenanigans, angsty backstories, self-worth issues, and the main character getting all manner of hurt. also: you’re the trouble that i always find, a wenzhou/shl dreamsharing/amnesia/sort-of-timeloop fic in which the main character is supposed to dream about killing his love interest but said love interest keeps dreamcrashing to change the plot.

this reclist could’ve been dozens of fics long tbh. i live for The Pangs which usually go hand in hand with good whump, and seek those fics out whenever possible, so as always this is a super incomplete reclist! also i welcome any and all recs in return.

[leverage-ot3]

I love how the ot3 are still taking classes to learn each other's skills. Do you think that we'll ever see part of those classes? Like the tail end of one at the beginning of the episode right before we find out about the person who needs to be helped?

omg bestie me tf too

I’d LOVE to see, like, hardison and eliot learning how to crack a safe, or eliot practicing fighting forms with parker and hardison, or hardison teaching eliot and parker how to create basic bugs

or parker taking them to a racetrack or something like that and backseat driving making them practice driving maniacally defensive driving

OR ELIOT TEACHING THEM HOW TO COOK (I know that isn’t technically a crime talent, but helloooooooo sharing your love language let’s fucking GO)

or in that vein, even just scenes of parker and eliot watching hardison’s favorite shows and actually paying attention would be really cute

also eliot holding the punching bag as parker and hardison take turns with it, gently critiquing them on their stances and punches. he isn’t gruff with them (unless they tease him) because he genuinely wants them to learn and be able to best protect themselves. he knows they’re both strong and fit and capable, but it helps him rest a little easier knowing that he has taught them better self defense moves

and parker teaching them how to pick out of handcuffs so they will never be trapped if she can’t get to them in time

and hardison teaching them how to deactivate self-destructs and other offensive technological security measures because he never wants them to feel like he felt stepping on udall’s bomb or feel like he felt waiting to hear if parker made it out of that potato safe

logically I know that we probably won’t see it in the show since it (unfortunately) isn’t really centered around the ot3 dynamic, but I’d surely sell my soul to see it on screen

[geekynightowl1997]

Hardison's; "He should be shot."

And Eliot's; "I mean- yeah- I-I can."

Is probably my favorite two lines of the boys wanting to protect Parker. She was hurt and in pain- and they wanted to make her feel better. The boy's at this point probably have learned some of her history. But they know her well enough to know she's not allowed to get hurt.

[vampiritea]

Okay since you like Leverage and 911, question for you:

Which Leverage character do you think would fit in best at the 118?

Hold on I had to phone a friend (aka my sister @werewolfsmile who is obsessed with Leverage and as soon as I read this question to her she was like I HAVE MANY THOUGHTS ™️).

So here's what she said (paraphrased tbh because she would not Shut Up About It):

"Nate is not appropriate cause he's an alcoholic and would trigger Bobby constantly.

Sophie lol. She's not gonna be a firefighter at all. She would be like the mum who drifts in and hangs out to chat, but doesn't bring any food and ... she's totally stealing things when she comes in. (Parker even more so).

Next Parker. She'd be incredible at the rigging side of things. But she wouldn't fit in because she likes fire TOO MUCH and might become an arsonist.

Hardison would love any new tech coming out and would do okay in the physical setting but he doesn't cope well with blood and guts. So that would be his failing point.

Whereas Eliot is the most protective out of the whole lot of them. Always going off con to help other people (particularly kids). He'd thrive in this kind of environment where he can help people and be part of a team. Also he would look really hot in the firefighter uniform. He would be so done with Buck all the time, but he'd bring in recipes specifically to help Buck with his latest health kicks. He'd be terrified of ever letting Hardison and Chimney in the same room because they'd get on like a House on Fire and the jokes would be so bad he'd just die. And he'd get on really well with Eddie because they both served, and they'd gang up together to pick on Buck. ... Ignoring timelines they also probably totally served together at some point."

Uhhh yeah sorry, I totally palmed this question off on my sister 😅

But I (unfortunately) think she's right. Eliot would be the best fit. He's strong and super caring. The 118 would become a little family of cooks omg can you imagine him and Bobby arguing about the best way to do a recipe? Also I feel like he would have a lot in common with Bobby, in terms of wanting to do Good Deeds to outweigh the bad.

Do you agree??

Thanks so much for the question!!! 🥰😘💕

[trivalentlinks]

leverage prompt:

So we all know and love those fics where Quinn has an instant rapport with the others on Eliot's team (except Nate) but here's something very different:

So Quinn has called in the favour. Since then, he and Eliot have passed that favour back and forth a few times, have worked together a bunch, have hung out occasionally, and are something almost like friends.

However, except for the TLDJ job, when Quinn works with the team it is exclusively as Eliot's backup, so he doesn't interact much with the others. Also, they only ever call him when the job is going to be particularly dangerous for or hard on Eliot, so much so that even Eliot will admit that he needs backup.

As a result, Quinn has a biased view of what Team Leverage's jobs are like, and consequently a warped idea of how expendable the rest of the team think Eliot is. As far as he knows this team keeps taking jobs that are really dangerous for and hard on the hitters. (Also maybe Quinn has worked with other teams who by and large considered hitters to be expendable, so this basically confirms his priors.)

(Look, he didn't go to regular school and has never heard of sample bias.)

Of course, Quinn knows Eliot loves and trusts these people, and Eliot's a grown adult who can choose who he works with. Anyway, Quinn has never really had a team, so who's he to say what they should or shouldn't be like? So he never expresses his concerns.

It comes to a head post Season 5, when the team is still getting accustomed to just being the three of them: a job against some unexpectedly powerful and high-firepower bad guys goes very wrong, Eliot gets captured, and Parker and/or Hardison is seriously injured.

They can't go to a hospital because if they do, the bad guys would definitely find them.

So at the last minute, right before communication is cut off, Eliot gives Parker and Hardison a way to contact Quinn and asks them to send Quinn a message that is essentially, in hitters' cant (thieves' cant, but for hitters), a plea for Quinn to patch them up and protect them, and a description of who they're up against (so Quinn can keep them safe), because Eliot knows that Quinn has steady hands and a lot of combat medic skills and experience, so he's the next best thing to a hospital, which Eliot knows that Parker and/or Hardison needs.

Of course, Quinn can't say no to Eliot, who's the only person who knows Quinn, really understands what kind of man/weapon he is, and still seems to want to keep him anyway

So he does what Eliot asks, he spends hours patching up Hardison and/or Parker while constantly monitoring the perimeter and dealing with any threats to their safety, despite his low-key bias against them.

But the bias is really not helped by the fact that Parker and Hardison are blaming themselves (because Eliot got hurt and captured protecting them, and also they feel they should have assessed the threat better), so when Quinn asks a question that amounts to "was it your fault that he's been captured and is probably being tortured?", their answer amounts to "yes".

(Also maybe Parker and Hardison thought that Eliot's message was about telling Quinn how to rescue him, so they're just like. Thanks for patching us up, but like. Are we rescuing him or not? (Does this guy not care about Eliot? Or is he too scared to try to go up against these bad guys?))

(Quinn is planning to go rescue Eliot, he's just prioritizing getting Parker and/or Hardison stable, because that's what Eliot all but begged him to do.)

And in the end they go rescue Eliot and all the misunderstandings get resolved.