Ficlet: Their Exits and Their Entrances (PG; Leverage)

[jedibuttercup]

PG; Leverage, Eliot & Hardison; 500 words. SPOILERS through Leverage 4.4 "The Van Gogh Job."

"Nate sent me to my room again, remember?" Eliot replied dryly.

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Title: Their Exits and Their Entrances
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Disclaimer: The words are mine; the world is not.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Leverage Season 4, up to current airing
Notes: Set post-4.4 "The Van Gogh Job", as a speculation on both the emerging season arc and some of the eyebrow-worthy character moments in recent episodes. Title's from Shakespeare's All The World's a Stage speech.

Summary: "Nate sent me to my room again, remember?" Eliot replied dryly. 500 words.

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"Hey, man."

Hardison gave a chin-up nod of acknowledgement as he fell into step with Eliot outside McRory's. He wasn't all grinning and starry eyed like he'd probably have been if he was headed out for 'pretzels' with Parker, so Eliot nodded amiably back, wondering what he was up to.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Aw, nothin' much," Hardison shrugged, trudging along. He glanced over his shoulder and up at the windows of Nate's apartment above the bar, then pursed his lips. "Take your earbud out yet?"

Ah; it was about that. Eliot snorted. "Yeah. Nate sent me to my room again, remember?" he replied dryly.

He could see the laughter in Hardison's eyes, but the hacker managed to swallow it back, summoning up a concerned expression instead. "You been pretty much taking the brunt of all the meta we got going on up in there. You okay with it? 'Cause I can try and get Nate to let me and Parker take some of the heat off you, if you want."

"Nah, don't worry about it," Eliot shrugged. He wasn't exactly happy about turning the team's base into the stage of an amateur drama, no. But he understood why. As long as it didn't take another six months to resolve things, he could handle it. "I'm good."

"You sure, man? Nate acting like an ass and taking lectures on showing off from Sophie ain't nothin' new, and we're mostly just playing our original roles. You're the one he's making out to be an idiot, and it ain't even for sure there's more bugs in the apartment."

"Would you have placed just the one?" Eliot expressed his opinion of that with his eyebrows. "Besides, it's either marginalized dumb muscle or questionably loyal, and it's a little too late for any of us to start pretending there's any chance we can be bought."

"Yeah, not after all the easy money we've all turned down these last few years," Hardison sighed, a momentary pang of wistfulness crossing his face. Then he shook himself. "You're at least having some fun with it, though, right?" The twinkle was back as he shot Eliot a sidelong glance. "Heard about what y'all were up to when I called from the supply closet."

Eliot remembered pinching Hardison's face down to a tiny square on the fancy display screen, and grinned at him. "Technically challenged, that's me."

Hardison shook his head in response, his own smile widening. "Then Operation Misunderestimation is still a go?"

Eliot couldn't help but groan at that. "Seriously? How long you been holding on to that one?"

Hardison planted a flat hand over his breastbone, putting on his best earnest expression. "Just trying to make it easier for all of us to keep helping people's wings take dream."

Eliot aimed an elbow at him. "Enough with the Bushisms. I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday, you know."

"Did I say that?" Hardison laughed, skipping aside to dodge as he held up his hands in surrender.


(x-posted to geteven_getfic & AO3)

Comments

[2cbetter2.livejournal.com]

You know I hope this is where the tension/hostility between Nate and Eliot is headed because otherwise it doesn't make that much sense since it came out of left field otherwise. Great job!

[jedibuttercup]

Thanks! I was really thrown by it in the 15 Minutes Job, but after that last conversation with Sophie about whether or not he knew what he was doing playing chicken with the spotlight, it occurred to me: yeah, there could easily be another bug. I hope this is the explanation, too. =)

[sulien.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this! I have the feeling you're right about the whyfor of Eliot appearing to be on Nate's shit list and I think the dénoument at the end of this season is going to be one helluva doozy. *g*

Also, I love the way you write the team's camaraderie, especially that between Hardison and Eliot!

[jedibuttercup]

Thank you! I love all the characters, really, but Hardison and Eliot are always fun to watch interact.

I sure hope so. Given all the meta from Sophie about fame and the scene with the bug-planting guy who knew right away what they'd done to the mark, I'm assuming at least some of what they say aloud is meant for other ears. The Eliot stuff would play right into that. *crossing fingers*

[lmx-v3point3.livejournal.com]

Genius, I hadn't even thought of this. And it's so much more palatable an idea than any other. I like it.

[jedibuttercup]

Thank you! It was Sophie's really pointed conversations with Nate that gave me the idea-- what if she was talking about him playing up to their spy, not just his usual arrogant nonsense?

[elebridith]

O_O And here I was, thinking Nate was just a jerk again... *lol* What an awesome explanation! Love it!

[jedibuttercup]

Thank you! I much prefer thinking Nate's being devious and expecting the rest of them to play along than that half the team has suddenly backslid in characterization. Of course, his treatment of Eliot could still be fallout from Moreau-- but he didn't act that way in the season opener before they found the bug, so. *crassing fingers*

[iulia_linnea.livejournal.com]

*snerk*

I enjoyed this.

[jedibuttercup]

Glad you liked it; I thought it would be more fun to work out my speculation this way than make a discussion post, even if it does end up Jossed (I sure hope not).

[neonhummingbird.livejournal.com]

Very nice, and count me in with the folks hoping this is the explanation -- it certainly fits! :)

[jedibuttercup]

Thanks! Glad you liked it! I much prefer this concept to a world where Nate is still peeved at Eliot about Moreau or something, especially considering this behavior didn't show up until they came down off the mountain and found the bug.