#and Hardison holding back Sophie and Parker

[lightthewaybackhome]

[iviin-855]

Au where everything is the same except Eliot Spencer was one of the fighting cooks of the baratie

[geeky-nightphilosopher]

M'Kay- I know I've posted A LOT about Leverage. But- guess what? I'm gonna be posting A LOT more! (Just posts, because I'm going off my phone and I'm technological challenged. 😆) Also, YES I know I'm late to the discussion- but just... go with it. Please?

I want to discuss a bunch of things.

Like how Nate isn't whole without Sophie.

Eliot and just- is he a natural at everything he does? Is that why Hardison hates him? Because I would too.

Hardison, Eliot, and Parker are honestly on the fence. And it wasn't exactly Nate Parker and Hardison were listening to. But Eliot. (Am I wrong there?)

Tara was definitely not the right fit- but I'm glad she was there.

Lucille. RIP. She was the best van Hardison ever had.

Parker's eye roll at Hardison.

Eliot's HAIR. WHAT. IS. HIS. SECRET?!

The sandwich isn't all that impressive since it's a reuben.

Just. The ENTIRE con. Start to finish. *chef's kiss.*

Hardison sabotaging the boat and finding Eliot.

Parker choke holding Tara over a roof. (She's been spending too much time with her older brother Eliot.)

Sophie. Is. Back.

Nate's deal with Sterling. (And only with Sterling.)

Nate getting shot.

Nate looking to Eliot to get them somewhere safe. Keep them safe.

That kiss and slap.

"I'm Nate Ford and I'm a thief."

I. Love. This. Show.

[scotchiegirl]

What's in a name:

The team leveraging Hardison's first name to get him to take them seriously.

It started with the Grave Danger Job. With Parker's panicked "I need you. Do you hear me, Alec? I need you!" It isn't something that's conscious or anything, but all of them lean into it occasionally.

"Alec, just drop it," Nate stares at Hardison, watching the young man realize maybe he'd been pushing Nate too hard on a topic that was a sore subject. Alec nods grimly and backs down.

"Hardison, how long have you been up?" Sophie asks gently, watching the genius wipe the grit from his eyes, his latest forging project laid out around him. When he mumbles something about not remembering, needing to finish, Sophie catches his chin in a manicured hand and holds his attention. "Alec, go to bed." He goes.

"Come on, man, get off the screen for a little while, let's go get some sun," Eliot pokes him after a long job on top of a new World of Warcraft update. Hardison can't even remember what he said back, something glib he's sure, but he remembers the hesitation in Eliot's voice. "Alec, please. You're gonna fuck up your eyesight before you're thirty, staring at blue light a foot away from your face. Please?" Hardison goes with him. They go to an outdoor gun range. Hardison rags Eliot about them both not liking guns, but listens as his best friend talks him through focusing on targets of different distances. He'll never have Eliot's skill, but it's a quick way to help his eyesight and he turns out to be half decent with practice.

"Alec, I'm serious!" Parker pleads with him, a picture of some conspiracy theory held up in her hands. "I need to know if this is real or not, please. Because it doesn't seem real and then it does seem real and Eliot won't give me a straight answer and Nate won't give me any answer at all, and I need to know if-" if I'm going crazy, she doesn't say, but he hears it now. He lays a hand over hers and explains that it's not real, explains the joke patiently until she understands and can laugh at it and "yes, and" Eliot when that particular theory comes up again.

"Hey y'all, it's Alec," he says, a gun to his head and a phone in his hand, one chance to get it right, to make them understand that this is serious. He can practically hear them all sitting up in the tones of their voices, in the grimness of the rapid fire questions, and he breathes a sigh of relief. They'll come get him. They know it's serious.

[frogs-running-in-circles]

leverage: the long goodbye job

y'all i just finished watching this episode for the first time and let me tell you. i. am. sobbing. it was a roller-coaster of emotions. anyways here are my thoughts:

the "job" being to stop someone from going through the same pain nate went through when is son died had me in shambles from the beginning

parker and nate on the roof. the passing of the torch. the "i trust your judgment" from someone who has spent the whole show planning everything alone. what the fuck.

the fake out. parker and hardison escaping through the elevator shaft. parker dropping hardison because she got shot. "i've got you, i've got you". eliot getting shot. the three of them die HOLDING HANDS. "did eliot make it". "im right here" parker dying last and alone. nate and sophie looking back and seeing that theyre dead before holding hands and driving off the bridge. because if they go out they go out together.

"WHY WOULD I LIE? WHY? I SCREWED UP, I GOT THEM KILLED! I LOST EVERVERYTHING, THE ONLY THING I EVER HAD! WHY! WHY WOULD I LIE?"

the worst possible senario for nate being loosing them. loosing his family. the tears in his eyes. sophie taught him well

enter sterling. he's mad at nate for getting his crew killed. "you would get them killed for that"->i am crying

JUSTICE OR ORDER

nate telling sterling that one day he will have to choose one.

the fake bodies. sterling starting to catch on. nate's gloat.

sophie playing every single part. THE grifter of all time.

nate was the patrol officer all along. eliot rolling his eyes when he gets shot. the recap. the goofy knight costumes so they can blend in on stage.

"justice is always easy". "now we’re even tell sophie to drive carefully". godamnit sterling stop making me like you.

THE PROPOSAL. "you've always stood by me". "you gotta say it"

"TAKE CARE OF THEM" "TILL MY DYING DAY". i am SCREAMING. you cant just say that. what the hell.

season one call back.

WE PROVIDE...LEVERAGE ft. mastermind parker

[ziorite]

crying laughing (mostly just crying) over the long goodbye job rn because what the fuck guys. what the FUCK.

(spoilers for the last episode of leverage season 5)

i still had so much hope for them even after hardison fell and parker got shot. i was crossing my fingers because eliot will be there and they’ll get away because they always get away ?? right ?? but then they make it the van and eliot gets shot. right in the fucking chest.

THE VAN SCENE. I WAS DISTRAUGHT. DISTRAUGHT Y’ALL. AND THEN HARDISON’S LAST WORDS ARE TO WONDER IF ELIOT IS OKAY ??? “HERE I AM”??? WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT. AND THE THREE OF THEM FUCKING DIE HOLDING EACH OTHER’S HANDS WHAT DID THEY DO THAT TO US FOR. (something something parker dying alone when she’s finally learned what it means to have a family something something eliot dies first because to watch the people he’s dedicated his life to protecting die in front of him is to die a second and third time something something)

and then the cherry on top when nate and sophie look back and the three of them are dead and bleeding out and clutching on to each other in death what do they do ??? they don’t even consider giving themselves up they drive that van up the bridge and into the damn river.

nate’s enraged yelling at the agent had me wide eyed with my hand over my mouth. fucking STUNNED yall. nate is really no one’s favorite but my god the fucking pain in his voice. 10/10. BUT THEN of course that’s not all there is to it. the switch from grieving fury to composed nonchalance was both peak comedy and absolute whiplash.

AND HERE’S STERLING !! everyone’s favorite slime ball <3 and ho ho ? he’s mad at nate for killing the rest of the team ?? they grew on him didn’t they— like clumps of adorable mold that just keep coming back <3

and finally. the master plan is revealed. sterling did scare the living shit out of me shooting “hardison” like that but of course nate had a better plan than what they believed. crazy to think that the whole damn emotional rollercoaster was really just set up for the actual break in. (eliot’s exasperated eye roll and fall at nate’s “bang !” was everything.) starring sterling as the trojan horse! an amazing choice all around.

AND !! we have a proposal !! proposals plural actually because no way in fucking hell was that not a confession from eliot. that scene was the height of romance and i will be DAMNED if someone tries to tell me that was just normal best friend shit. OT3 IS REAL !!!

in conclusion: love leverage, they have the amazingest show to ever show and a finale better than any other out there. 200/10 would watch again and i am currently penning a love letter to john rogers and dean devlin.

[deconstructthesoup]

Thoughts on a Leverage-Dead Boy Detectives crossover that I'll probably never officially write but still:

-The Leverage crew (Redemption timeline because it lines up with the DBD show, but Hardison's there in person) is staying in London for a little while, mainly because Sophie's trying her best to reconnect with Astrid again

-They get hired by a woman who says that her younger sister, who was a student at St. Hillarion's (which went co-ed sometime in the 90's), died mysteriously and she's absolutely sure that the school covered up the circumstances

-And guess what? Meanwhile, the DBD crew's been hired by the ghost of the girl who died, and while it is a pretty personal case for Edwin and Charles, they agree that not solving the case would be a disservice to themselves

-So, the two teams make gameplans---Hardison, Eliot, and Parker infiltrate the school as teachers (Breanna is Hardison's TA, much to her irritation) while Sophie and Harry act as shady lawyers who tell the headmaster that they're very good at burying secrets; and Crystal and Niko get enrolled as exchange students while Jenny gets a position in the cooking staff (the Night Nurse absolutely refuses to actively take part in the case-solving, and of course Edwin and Charles don't need aliases)

-However, things start to go south for both teams pretty quick

-For starters, Sophie and Harry know Crystal, at least by way of her parents---Sophie attempted to pull a con on Maddy back in the day, failed, and convinced her to con her rival instead, and Harry helped the Surname-von Hoverkrafts out of some legal trouble when they still lived in the States

-Not to mention, Breanna's very tapped into the social media circuit, and she knows that a) Crystal used to be the epitome of the entitled rich showbiz kid, b) that she dated some guy named David and then went completely off-grid for weeks, and c) she's suddenly had a complete personality and lifestyle change

-And on the flip side of things, Charles is a little too interested in the weirdly high-tech things that the new computer science teacher and his TA have hanging around, which means that Breanna and Hardison are convinced that someone is sabotaging them when it's really just Charles accidentally breaking their gadgets

-This comes to a head when the OT3's having a lunch break on the grounds, Parker points out Niko, and Hardison and Eliot immediately begin making fun of the stuffy-looking kid in a bow tie that she's talking to... and when Breanna comes up with her sandwich in hand, she's incredibly confused, because all she sees is Niko talking to herself

-So, naturally, Hardison, Parker, and Eliot wind up scouring the school records until they eventually find a boy who matches Edwin's description... who, of course, vanished mysteriously over a century ago, along with five or six of his classmates

-Hardison talks Eliot and Parker into doing a stakeout of the computer lab, and they wind up catching Charles in his "fiddling with electronics" act---and, well, it turns out that a) Eliot can beat up a ghost, even one who's a fairly decent fighter himself, and b) Parker carries a pair of iron cuffs with her (why? she's Parker, next question)

-There's a little interrogation action between Charles and the Leverage crew... except, of course, Breanna and Harry still can't see him, and they don't understand why all of these legendary thieves are yelling at an empty chair

-And then the electricity cuts out and everyone hears whispers

-And suddenly someone puts their hands on Hardison's shoulder and he's thrust back into that time with the coffin

-And Eliot turns around and sees the mean goth from the kitchens pointing a knife at him, and the two of them wind up facing off

-Everyone else is stuck in a full-ass vengeful haunting, but Parker notices Crystal holding onto Hardison, Niko sneaking over to Charles, and Edwin standing at the center of the room with his eyes glowing and a hellish aura radiating off of him

-Parker does the sensible thing and, after getting Sophie to pull Crystal off of the boys, takes the cuffs off of Charles's hands

-The haunting immediately stops, Breanna and Harry can definitely see Edwin and Charles... and both teams have some explaining to do

-Once they figure out that they're here for the same reason, Niko's the first to suggest that they work together

-There's a lot of arguing over that, but the general consensus is that they're after the same goal, they're on the same side, and clearly if they don't actively work together, things are gonna go sideways

-Also, once they start talking, Breanna is very psyched to know everything about the supernatural side of things, and Parker decides that she's going to make Niko her apprentice (mostly because they have been getting along in the girl's gym class---and yes, St. Hillarion's does have different gym classes for boys and girls, despite it being co-ed now)

-Once they begin comparing notes, Charles mentions that he recognizes the headmaster---it's the same one he had when he was a student, and the man was already ancient then

-And... yep, turns out that the headmaster is a supernatural entity that's been doing some seriously messed-up shit in order to stay alive

-The two teams settle on a double-pronged attack---some of them will figure out how to get rid of the headmaster for good, while the others will figure out a way to expose the school's habit of covering up hate crimes

-I don't know how it finishes, but... uh, yeah, if anybody wants to take a crack at this, in fic form or comic form, you're free to

(Also, Eliot pretty much adopts Edwin and Charles the second he learns how messed up their lives were, there's also a few schemes from Niko, Crystal, and Breanna to get Payneland together, and Sophie somehow finds out Nate's afterlife placement and is beyond relieved to find out that he's living his afterlife in peace after all)

[meanderingstream]

So I saw a poll a few days ago about whether your blorbo would survive if the person they loved the most died and they couldn’t save them. And so I was thinking about the leverage OT3, but specifically if both of the other 2 died and they couldn’t save them, how would each of them go on.

I think Hardison would survive. He would obviously be devastated and especially if he was trying to save them from his computer or something while they were in the field and he failed, he would never get over it. However, he has a support network both deep and wide in his nana, his foster siblings, and to some extent his online friends, as well as Breanna, Sophie, Harry, and other people he knows through Leverage. I think the loss of Parker and Eliot together would fundamentally change him, but eventually, he would be able to move on and find happiness and connection with others again both because he has that support network to hold him up and because connecting with people is such a fundamental part of who Hardison is.

I think Parker is a survivor. She has had to be a survivor for her whole life. She is used to surviving even when everything falls apart. I think she would try and use some of the coping mechanisms we see her use in the show of trying to attribute her emotions to other people or to past or future Parker, but those would be woefully insufficient to this devastation. I could see her for a time running away from people and trying to lose herself in jumping off high buildings and stealing things, but it would end in an utter breakdown. She might even regret becoming the person who had opened her heart and changed together with them and tried to do the right thing. She might almost wish she had stayed alone with her emotions locked away to avoid this current pain. Except she couldn’t ever regret knowing them. She would either come back or Sophie would eventually find her, and they would commiserate about losing their person(s). If Parker had failed to save the boys, she might feel a lot of guilt around Breanna, but Breanna would likely feel guilt about why she wasn't there / couldn't save them either. They would eventually talk it out and then be able to support each other. Parker would survive, but she might lose some of her progress in opening up to people. Someone else would almost certainly have to take over Leverage International for a while. I think Parker would make it through and recover, but would never be as open as she managed to get while she was with Hardison and Eliot. 

I think Eliot is the toughest call. On the one hand, he has survived so much that others didn't. From the army, to the PMCs, to working for Moreau and others like him, to (probably the biggest challenge) facing the guilt and shame of who he had become. Eliot got through it all. But now, after swearing to watch over them until his dying day, if he failed to save them, then he would prefer to die with them. Eliot is the most likely of the three to not survive the loss of the other two, but I think it would come down to whether he felt he was still needed. If Sophie, Breanna, Harry, and others that he cares about needed him to protect them, then he might just make it through for them. Eliot, of course, believes he is already damned, and he is not looking for redemption because he doesn't believe it's possible after the things he’s done, but he appreciates the opportunity to be useful. To his mind, he needs to be useful to the people who are redeemed and to doing good in the world, because it’s already too late for him. If losing his partners happened while it was just the 3 of them, I think he would go after those that did it and not intend to survive the process. But if he has the rest of the team, I think he would stay alive to continue protecting them. Especially because of Breanna. If he failed Hardison, he can at least protect his baby sister. Eliot would stay alive for exactly as long as he felt useful, but he would likely never be able to really try retiring from the physical parts of his job and would probably plan on going out swinging when he got too old to be a hitter. Depending on a lot of variables, the rest of the team might eventually be able to convince him that there were other ways to take care of them like cooking and advising and being there for people, but it would be a long shot and, either way, he would never forgive himself for failing to protect Parker and Hardison or for not being the first to go.

[trekscribbles]

The Bushwhack Job: Chapter Two

Chapter One

The building wasn’t supposed to explode.

Well, it was, but it wasn’t supposed to explode yet.

Parker had the C4 charges in her bag, ready for her to plant them against the support beams in the basement at the half-constructed LanCast offices. The blast wouldn’t take down the building, just shake the foundation enough that the resulting investigation would find the cheap ash mixture in the concrete, and they’d be able to prove that Stephen Lancaster had embezzled the city grant money that was supposed to go into his new high-rise company building.

The plan had been for her to place the charges an hour ago, but she’d gotten distracted by the candy store down the road and had been late. Now, she stood on the sidewalk across from the burning office, watching their evidence literally go up in flames, listening to the firefighters yell directions as they fought to control the destruction. Normally she enjoyed a good explosion, but this one made her feel the way Hardison said he felt when he jumped off buildings.

She was supposed to be inside.

“Guys?” she tried again, holding her finger to her earbud. “Can anybody hear me?”

The coms had been silent all afternoon, but she hadn’t thought anything of it. Hardison had pulled an all-nighter getting their paperwork together and was napping back at the hotel, and Nate and Sophie were across town distracting Lancaster so Parker could break into his building. Eliot was probably out shopping for organic groceries at the nearest vegan market. She’d asked him to make her brownies to celebrate the her birthday (which wasn’t for another two months, but Eliot never asked), and he’d only agreed after she promised to eat some vegetables first. He’d said something about a vegetarian bourguignon, but she’d tuned him out when he started listing ingredients.

She’d give the Centenary Diamond to hear him ramble about beans and onions now.

More sirens cut through the air, and Parker drew back as a police car and a black SUV joined the dozen law enforcement and first responder vehicles already parked on the street. The back door of the SUV opened, and Lancaster threw himself out of the car with a cry of dismay.

A police officer stopped him as he ran for the building, and Parker slipped across the street to join the crowd gathered outside the ring of cones and police tape.

“Mr. Lancaster,” the officer said. “We need you to confirm that no one was inside the building.”

“I don’t know,” Lancaster answered breathlessly. “The foreman said he might stop by to check on something. How did this happen?”

The officer guided Lancaster toward a group of firefighters, and Parker followed in the crowd. “We’re not sure yet. Captain Stanley should be able to give you more information.”

They moved out of earshot, but it only took a few minutes for Parker to duck the tape, find an unattended coat and helmet, and move to the side of a firetruck behind Lancaster and the captain. “—can’t believe this happened,” Lancaster was saying. “I never imagined the threats were real.”

“What threats?” the officer said.

Lancaster put a hand in his pocket and handed over a folded envelop. “This showed up in my downtown office yesterday morning. It says there’s a group of thieves targeting me, and that they were planning to blow up my building. I get so many threats each week, I never thought anything of it.”

Parker glanced over her shoulder. “Nate,” she hissed. “I really need you to hear me now. We have problems.”

“I’m going to have to ask you to come in to the station to give a statement,” the officer said. “Anything you can give us about this group of thieves will help us...”

He kept talking, but a shout from the crowd pulled her attention away. Hardison. She started toward him, relief washing through her, but let out another cry that cut through her chest like a bullet. “Parker! Move, please, I have to—”

He tore through the police tape and broke toward the building, but two other officers blocked his way and dragged him back from the fire. “Let me go, she’s inside—please, let me go. Let me—”

“I got him,” Parker said, pushing between the officers and setting her hand on Hardison’s arm. “Come on, sir, this way.”

He fought her for a moment, still intent on forcing his way through the barricade, until she put her hand against his cheek to turn his face from the fire.

“Please,” he whispered, already sagging against her.

She held him up, moving to block his view of the building. “Hardison,” she said firmly, hating the way the flashing lights highlighted the anguish on his face.

He blinked at her, opened his mouth, and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Parker?”

“Yes,” she said.

He threw his arms around her, crushing her against his chest and burying his face in her neck. “Thank God,” he sobbed. “Girl, I thought—I saw the news, and I couldn’t get you on the coms, and I thought—”

Guilt prickled through her. Hardison was always so careful about the way he touched her, making sure she had space and choice and an escape route. But his shoulders shook against her cheek, and she pressed back into his hug as a silent apology. “I hadn’t gone in yet,” she murmured.

He pulled away, but kept his hands on her shoulders. “What happened?”

“I think we’re blown,” Parker said, frowning at the building. “Lancaster just showed up and said he received a warning that a bunch of thieves were going to blow up his office.”

“But you didn’t...?”

Parker shook her head. “It was already burning when I got here. What’s going on with the coms?”

“I don’t know.” Hardison’s eyes were on the fire now, too, and he let go with one hand to fish in his pocket for his phone. “I woke up and saw this all on the news, and when no one answered their phones, I thought...”

Right, phones. Hardison kept saying she should carry one of those with her, but it never made sense when they had the earbuds. Who else was she going to talk to?

“Where are the others?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Hardison said. He showed her his screen, which flashed no service across the top. “I can’t get ahold of anyone.”

Parker shivered as a pulse of worry worked its way down her spine. No coms? No phones? Lancaster's warning, and now the building? Something was wrong.

“Eliot said to go back to base if the coms ever failed,” Hardison said, breaking through her spiral. “I guess that’s the hotel.”

Parker nodded. He’d walked them all through it—how to take winding routes that changed direction without warning, how to spot a tail, how to get rid of it. How to approach the base carefully in case it had been compromised. Unease fluttered in her stomach, but she pushed it down and gave Hardison a small smile.

“Can I drive?”

Hardison groaned, sighed, and handed over his keys.

*

Nate and Sophie were waiting for them at the hotel.

Eliot was not.

They’d made it back without trouble, even if the extra turns and backtracking had cost them extra time. Sophie met them at the door and ushered them into the room, where Nate was planted pensively in front of the window. He spoke without looking at them.

“Lancaster ducked us. We lost him. What’s going on with the coms?”

Hardison dropped onto the couch and dragged his laptop across the coffee table. “I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to look into it.”

“Do you think it was Lancaster?” Sophie asked. She had closed the door behind them and was pacing before it, her shawl clutched tight around her shoulders.

Parker sat on the arm of the couch. “Or whoever warned him?”

“Yeah, about that,” Hardison said, without looking up from his laptop. “Who the hell could have warned him? Our aliases are air-tight, a’ight, didn’t nobody see through those. Maybe someone on his staff recognized one of us?”

“We would have recognized them, too,” Sophie said.

Hardison shrugged and opened his mouth, but Nate cut him off. “The phones aren’t working, either. Have either of you heard from Eliot?”

Parker shook her head, and Hardison scooted closer to his laptop.

“I might be able to track him. Give me a sec.”

Nate waited. They all did, tense under the weight of anxiety and silence. Hardison tapped his keyboard, Sophie rubbed her forefinger over her thumbnail, and Nate stared out the window. Parker tried to remember what kinds of vegetables Eliot said he was going to make her eat that night. She liked it when he picked the weird ones—black carrots and watermelon radish and fiddleheads. She liked to stand behind him and sneak the pieces he’d chopped up and smile when he stuttered at her to stop. She liked to share the space with him while he created.

She did not like the way Hardison’s eyes squinted up as he read his screen, or the way he covered his mouth and took out his phone. “Does anyone have service?”

One by one, the others shook their heads.

Hardison glanced at Parker. “Okay. We’re looking for a signal jammer—a walkie-talkie, or another phone, maybe even a router. Something that’s not supposed to be there.”

She bounded to her feet and threw herself into searching/destroying the room, upending chairs, de-shading lamps, ripping down curtains. The others took slightly more reserved approaches, but Parker was the one who found the cellphone taped to the back of the register.

Hardison held it in his palm and frowned. “Uh-oh.”

The balloon of hope that had been inflating in Parker’s chest popped. She couldn’t voice the question, but Hardison answered anyway.

“This isn’t a jammer… it’s more like my EMP emitter. This is what knocked out our coms, and our phones. It sends out a small, targeted signal, probably only has power in this room, but when we were all here yesterday, it would have been enough.”

“Can you reverse it?” Nate asked. 

Hardison shook his head. “I can turn it off, but we have to wait for our devices to come back online. What I can do, though, is transfer the info on our phones over to new ones, so we’ll know if Eliot tries to call.”

Nate spoke to the window. “Do it.”

Parker frowned at Nate as Hardison went back to work, but Nate was busy with his own phone. This was taking too long. If they’d been found out, if someone had gotten to Eliot—

“Okay,” Hardison said. “I need new phones. Parker, can you—?”

She was out of the room and halfway down the hall before he finished talking. Nate didn’t like it when she stole from non-marks, but she didn’t have time to find a phone store, and she’d return them all before this was over. There were plenty of people in the lobby, and it only took a few moments to lift four shiny new-to-her phones from their pockets, bags, and purses.

She took the stairs back up to the room, keeping an eye on the other hotel guests the way Eliot had taught her. Remember the faces you see. Find details that stand out and hold on to them. Facial features, voices, walks. Things that are harder to change.

She noticed those things easily enough, but she’d never understand how he could remember so much about the people in the background.

How much he saw. What he thought was important.

She ran faster.

“Got them,” she said, slipping into the room and dropping the phones on the couch beside Hardison. He lifted one and pried the back off, then pulled a chip out of Nate’s already half-dissembled phone and stuck it into the new one. He snapped the back closed and turned it on, then held it up with a nod. “There. Eliot called two hours ago, and he left a voicemail.”

He tapped the screen and held it out so they could listen on speaker.

“Nate.”

Parker swallowed. Eliot’s voice on the message was cold and flat—she’d never heard him like that before.

“We’re burned. Get Sophie and Hardison and go to another hotel—new names, new cards, everything. Get rid of your phones. Don’t leave a trail—I’ll find you. I just got a text from an unknown number with a picture of Parker on her way to the LanCast building, and then a message saying they had her.” There was a pause, the crash of a slamming door through the speaker. “I’m on my way to her now. Be ready.”

The message ended. All eyes went to Parker, who could only stare back as her body went cold. “They didn’t have me,” she whispered.

Nate swore. “They set a trap. Hardison, can you get a track on him?”

Hardison’s eyes were wide, and filled with all the terror coursing through Parker’s veins.

“Last location was the LanCast office,” he whispered. “But the signal went dead an hour ago, when...”

He didn’t finish.

He didn’t have to.

[lemissingmask]

I don’t know why, but I absolutely adore when any of the team hold Eliot back from violence with a simple gesture or by putting themselves in front of him. And Hardison is the first to do it, right in the pilot episode 😌 But they all get a turn, like Parker in the inside job and Sophie in the snow job, or Nate several times.

[geeky-nightphilosopher]

The Rashomon Job is hands down the best episode and nobody can tell me otherwise.

Like, your gonna tell me all of these *professional criminals* can't recognize each other five years later? And each of their stories are somehow accurate to how they perceive each other- even without them noticing at first. I couldn't get over how Hardison, Nate, and Parker all have Eliot holding basically a sword to Hardison's throat. 🤣 Sophie and Nate's were the probably the most accurate.

The ending was so sweet too, because it's all a redo. Even though they had Sophie, Parker, and Hardison running to go steal it and leaving Eliot and Nate at the bar- the viewers still get the implication that they'll steal it as a team. Especially when you get that little amused smile/nod from Eliot and that confirmation from Nate.

Nate was practically telling Eliot- Go. Watch their backs. Then he went to because he didn't want to be left out.

Also- Parker's imitation of Sophie is how I think she processes everyone's voice. 😂🫣

[independent-fics]

Inde watches “The Rollin’ on the River Job”

Leverage Redemption 1x03

“Hardison had to have a lot of practice before Eliot agreed to open those van doors” yes please missing 12 years lore (or original run lore) either way I love

I kinda love how Sophie just keeps referring to Harry as our Mr Wilson it’s cute. She really working to make him feel included

Oof growing pains with Sophie coming back and Parker being the mastermind

Really love Hardison’s algorithm. Love how he’s still helping them find clients

Ahhhh callbacks to learning it’s not always about the money with clients

“I lost count of my marriages, but I only had one husband” my heart

15 MANUALS WHERE

Sophie being happy to be back on a stage

”I’m Parker” yes you are

“We have to rob the vault” “YES” Parker my beloved she deserves all the vents and vaults 

Brennas “trash bags from couch, couch” the implications there

Telling Sophie to walk off after her “let’s go steal” get her back in the groove hahaha

a con with a flow chart Hardison making those for her and helping her ahhh I love them

“Are you using a flow chart for all your interactions” SO WHAT IF SHE IS and where can I get one

The Mark being upset about not being verified on Twitter goodness, they really thought these guys through 

Goodness, Eliot transitioning into OK I was a cop why is he so dramatic 😭this man closeted theater kid I swear the slight accent and tone change? Man suddenly sounded like he’s been through 40 years on the beat like what

I don’t like the cgi clay birds (idk why it bothers me like it would be cool if they learned ig )

I am not getting enough Parker and Eliot brainstorming moments together

Sophie that pink suit is stunning

Breanna already out and aboutttt

Gahgh nvm already benched

Gah the parallels of the newer team members growing like the originals

Parker’s you don’t like my dress? 🥺(also love that this is kinda mirroring the original run episode 3 bridesmaid dress? In a way)

Eliot bonding over cooking with the other security guard ahhh my heart

Ahhh more leverage friends??? I want all the lore

“It’s a very distinctive- hold on” the writers just couldn’t forget that love it

Ice cave, gorilla enclosure, catered a wedding I love these mentions

“Food sensory experience” Eliot you nerd

Harry’s little thumbs up to Breanna I love this duo

Nooo not Eliot’s new friend

Why they always go for typical Russian names we got Ivan Dimitri then the bodyguard is Jake??

Parker making Eliot smell the money haha I love them

Breanna coming in with the ideal gas law you smartical partical

Awww Eliot helping Dennis still and having game night (and the 7 shirt!!!)

THAT WAS MY CAKE PARKER (I love them so much)

Always trust the person inside the van (ugh Hardison I love your notes)

Ugh yeah Breanna me too about the world and the timeline of my life. I would love to kick it in the junk too.

With the pearl yes Parker!!! My beloved world famous thief

[security-chief-odo]

The Gala Job

Eliot Spencer x Reader

*NSFW in chapter 3

Description: You are sent to charm the team's target on the final leg of the current job. You get in a sticky situation that Eliot has to get you out of. After the job your feelings for Eliot become undeniable, but surely he doesn't feel the same, right?

Smut in the 3rd chapter, a fade to black ending at the end of the 2nd if that's not your thing.

• • •

Your job this time wasn’t to fit in though, you were here to stand out, and that you did. You wore a velvet dress that hugged your figure tightly before flowing out at your legs. Adorned with matching jewelry, you certainly weren’t comfortable, but you definitely stood out among the crowd.

Usually it fell to Sophie to charm her way through a case, but she had already had a run in with Mr. Whitehall and you couldn’t risk him catching on this late in the game. All you had to do was get his flash drive, have Parker make a copy, and escape. It had all of the evidence you would need to bring both Edgar Whitehall and Apex Systems Limited to justice.

The room is buzzing with idle gossip and far too much champagne. You try to subtly keep an eye on the whole room spotting Parker in the server’s uniform to your left, Nate in the opposite corner of the room from you, nursing a drink he probably wishes was whiskey, and Eliot in a simple, flattering suit by the door, acting as a security guard, surrounded by several older women who were almost as enamored by his southern charm as you were.

Spotting your target at the bar, you gracefully head that way. You hear Sophie in your earpiece “Now slowly approach and place your hand between his shoulder blades. Pretend not to notice until after you order your drink.”

You did as she said and gently placed your hand on his upper back as you flagged down the bartender. “I’ll have a vodka soda, please.”

You remove your hand from Whitehall and turn towards him, now having sufficiently caught his attention, “I am so sorry about that, Mr.” you trailed off waiting for him to supply you with his last name.

“Whitehall, Edgar Whitehall. Please just call me Edgar.” He pauses for a second placing a hand on your arm. “Now, what may I call you my dear?”

The touch sent a shiver down your spine and not in a butterflies kind of way, but still, you kept up the act. “Y/N.” The bartender places your drink in front of you, you pick it up with a nod and place a tip down on the bar.

“Well, Y/N, would you join me at my table? I am starved of pleasant conversation at these events and starved even further of pleasant company.” He holds out his arm for you to loop yours around, and reluctantly you do. You let him lead the way, using the distraction to reach into his pocket and grab the USB.

As you sit down next to him, you sneak the flash drive into your purse and hear Hardison chime in through your earpiece, “Great job. Now hang on tight and keep him talking.” That one may be easier said than done.

You tried to make pleasant conversation with him, asking about his work, telling him lies about yours, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. Soon Parker approached, offering complimentary wine to the people around you.

As she approached you and Edgar, she pretended to trip, spilling pinot noir all over his suit. You felt bad for Parker as he started to berate her, but were able to cut him off while keeping up the act. “Edgar, I believe there is a bathroom just down the hall, why don’t we go get you cleaned up?”

He looked frustrated but turned it off in a way that seemed disturbingly calculated. “I certainly can’t turn down the opportunity to have you alone Y/N”

You could hear the others discussing the drive in your earpiece as you slid his jacket off and started to try to get the stains out of his shirt first. If you could drag this out long enough, you should be in the clear. Until then, you dabbed the wine out of the shirt with a wet washcloth. There was no shot in hell of this stain coming out, but there was nothing else to do until the team was ready for you.

Once you got the green light from the team, you started wrapping things up with Whitehall. “I’m sorry Edgar, but I think we may have to just get you a new shirt altogether. I really should get back out there” You slid his jacket over your arm to carry back to your seat, hoping to slide the flash drive sneakily back into his pocket once you got back to your chairs.

Much to your chagrin, he took the jacket and slid it back on. As you head back to your chairs, he starts to panic “Where is it? I know I had it with me tonight.”

“What’s wrong Edgar?”

“I had a thumb drive in this pocket and now it's gone. I lost it.”

You calm your breathing. You can handle this. “I’m sure it’s around here somewhere. Let’s just notify security and get back to our seats. I’m sure someone will find it”

“No, that’s not good enough.” He started to spiral. “ Maybe it’s in the bathroom or on the floor. Maybe someone stole it.” He froze, and turned on his heel to face you. Getting in your face and backing you into the wall he accused “You took it didn’t you? My father always said you couldn’t trust the pretty ones”

You tried to plead with him, “I didn’t take anything. It probably got lost in the commotion. I’m sure everything is fine.”

He spoke over you “Don’t try to tell me everything is fine.” You saw him raise his hand to hit you, but before you had a chance to process it, he was laying on the floor, out cold. You glance up to see Eliot smiling at you, only his hair out of place.

“Ma’am” he offers his hand to you in an obnoxiously chivalrous move to guide you over Whitehall’s sleeping body.

“I could have handled him myself” you huff as you head back to grab your purse. You sneak the flash drive back into his jacket pocket and hope he doesn’t remember a damn thing about this night.

Eliot and you both exit the gala. "I didn’t need you to save me, Spencer. I can handle myself.” You storm off ahead of him.

“He was going to hit you Y/N. I’m sure you can handle yourself, but you were cornered”

“I was handling things Eliot” you spat with a venom you didn’t really mean, but it was frustrating to not be trusted to take care of things. “Why were you even following so closely after us anyways?”

“I was just looking after you darling, besides –”

“I am not your darling”

You don’t quite hear Eliot whisper “Not yet”

Suddenly you hear Nate’s voice in your ear “Guys!”

“Sorry” you and Eliot say in unison as you walk up to Lucille. Getting in, you see everyone already seated and ready to head out.

You were grabbing drinks to celebrate another job well done, but you were far over dressed. As Hardison parked out front, the others piled out of the van, leaving you and Eliot to change into outfits more fitting of an Irish pub.

You both turned your backs as you grabbed your spare clothes to change “Sorry for snapping at you El. I know you were just trying to help.”

“Nah. I’m sorry Y/N. I should have trusted you to handle things. I know you are more than capable of handling a single man in a fight.”

“Thanks,” you said softly as you struggled with the zipper on your dress. “Um, Eliot, would you mind?” you asked, glancing behind you to see him shirtless and in jeans. That is a sight you could get used to.

“Of course darlin’” he said, stepping behind you softly. You don’t object to the term of endearment this time, smiling softly to yourself at hearing it.

Eliot undoes the zipper, certainly slower than was necessary, doing everything in his power to avoid staring at you. God did he just want to stare at you for hours, but he peeled his eyes away. Tur ning back to his own clothes.

“That dress looked great on you by the way” he said as he buttoned up his shirt.

You can almost feel your walls go back up as you say “I’m not quite that easy Spencer.” You wished you believed he meant it, but he often just flirted for flirting's sake, though you could hardly judge in that regard.

“I mean it. No one in that room could take their eyes off of you.”

You brush it off with a scoff as you both exit Lucille and head into the pub.

• • •

Let me know if you want to be on the taglist for this pairing, or my general taglist! Thanks for reading!

Chapter 2

[shutupineedtothink]

Look I’m not saying I can match everyone in the coven with members of the Leverage crew…. But yeah I definitely can. And it’s not even a stretch. (The relationships don’t cross though.)

Agatha ➡️ Nate

The reluctant leader

Brings the team together

Knows everyone’s skills and brings out their best

Holds information back

The One With the Plan

Secretly cares about everyone’s wellbeing, will absolutely not show it (except when they do)

Dead son and has a lot of unresolved feelings about it

Lilia ➡️ Sophie

Emotional center of the group

Teaches everyone how to deal with their feelings

Most experienced and takes the craft most seriously

Starts the show with a bad performance but quickly shows her real skills

A little kooky/dramatic/weird but absolutely on top of her shit

Does not suffer fools

A little scary underneath it all

Alice ➡️ Elliot

The Protector

Family Trauma TM

Constantly guilt tripping themselves

Also pretty emotionally in tune, once they look at their shit

Takes their role very seriously but tries not to show it too much

Former cop/military, left for unspecified reasons

Jen ➡️ Hardison

Creates stuff out of random but specific shit

Constantly saving the group

Most versatile knowledge & knowledge is their strength

Becomes more confident in their skills as time goes on

Under appreciated tbh

Rio ➡️ Parker

You bet your ass I saved the best for last

Insane TM, but also misunderstood (what is she??)

Something’s wrong with that girl

Will stab you without thought or remorse

Has something to stab with on her person at all times

Appears out of nowhere

Probably the most powerful of them all, given a little time

Drives everyone else crazy in one way or another

Weird and specific interests

Nobody ever knows what’s going on in her head, don’t try, just go with it

Will growl/bark/make random noises at you and act like it’s normal

Bonus: Teen ➡️ Brianna

Baby queer

Are we… the bad guys?

Excited to be there tbh

Smart as hell and very good but still learning

Everyone else is at least a little parental toward them

… you see what I mean. Did I miss anything obvious??

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

prompt from @creativepromptsforwriting:

"You almost died!"

"I think we should really focus on that 'almost' part."

tags: @eclecticwildflowers, @illiana-mystery

warnings: mention of death, swearing, blood, injury

I slammed the door to the apartment we were using, Eliot flinching at the noise. Hardisons head popped up from the couch and Parker paused in front of me. I stood staring at Eliot, ignoring Nate and Sophie opening the door.

“Eliot.” I growled. He flushed and went wide eyed. Everyone was still as the tension grew in the air. “You dumbass.” I marched over to him and drew my hand back. Eliot flinched and I paused. “How could you?”

“(Y/N).” He whispered, eyes roaming behind me at everyone else. “Can we not…”

“what? Afraid your friends will hear?” I snapped. “Afraid they’ll find out that you actually care about someone enough that you’re scared when you piss them off?” Eliot swallowed thickly and brought his gaze back to me. When he shifted his weight, I sighed and turned to everyone else in the room. “Can we have the room?” Nate nodded and started to usher everyone out. Hardison took a little bribing but he eventually left.

“look (Y/N)…” I hit Eliot’s arm and he immediately grabbed it. “Ow. Hey ok. What’s wrong?” He turned back towards the sink and continued wringing out the rag he’d been holding to his eyebrow.

“you almost died!” I screamed at Eliot as I hit him again. “You almost died and I had to sit there and hear it over the comms!” Eliot caught my hands easily and started to rub his thumb over my knuckles.

“I think we should really focus on the ‘almost’ part.” He whispered. I tried to tug my hands out of his grip but Eliot held fast. “Hey. Look at me. Look at me.” Eliot ducked his head to hold my gaze as I looked down. “Sure I almost died. But I’m a hitter. The best in the business. They can’t kill me.” I shook my head at him.

“el…” I whispered as I finally looked back up at him. Eliot dropped my hands and cupped my cheeks, wiping at the tears that had spilled. “You’re more than a hitter. You know that.” Eliot smiled at me before kissing my forehead. “But I worry anyway. Best in the business or not.” Eliot nodded and he pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me tightly as I cried into his shoulder.

“I know.” He whispered. “I know.” Leaning his head against mine, Eliot held me as I cried. “I’m sorry.” I pulled away, wiping my cheeks as I gazed at Eliot.

“no you’re not.” I said softly. “You’re not because if you hadn’t put yourself on the line, Sophie and Parker would have been caught. Nate would have had to abort and hardison would only have half a drive.” Eliot watched me carefully as I reached up to play with his hair. “And I would have had to go back in there to plant the transmitter that would allow Hardison to access it remotely. All running a higher risk than the one we took.” Letting my head fall against his shoulder, I hugged Eliot tightly. “I’m sorry for going off on you.”

“don’t be.” Eliot chuckled. “You have every reason to worry about me just like I have every reason to worry about you.” I pulled back to look at him.

“you worry about me?” I asked. Eliot nodded, kissing my nose.

“all the time.” He responded. “It goes both ways you know.” I chuckled and Eliot smiled. “Besides it’s fun to see the looks on their faces when you do that.” Leaning into him again, I sighed as he rubbed my arm.

“so you want me to keep doing that?” I asked, closing my eyes and savoring the moment.

“yes please.” Eliot laughed.

“will do.” I agreed as he pulled me tight.

[kitkatt0430]

I love how The Long Goodbye Job cons the viewer. Sure, Nate is telling the lie to an interrogator, but it's shown to the viewer in flashbacks. It looks exactly like a plausible con they'd pull off.

But there is foreshadowing of what's really going on. Parker realizing that Nate's grooming her to become a mastermind type herself (hinting at Nate's intention to retire after this job). Sophie's performance in Macbeth is very similar to the one she gave in the pilot episode because that's the performance Nate is actually recalling - the costume she's wearing looks almost exactly the same, if it isn't the same, as the one she wore in the pilot. Nate makes a very obvious and unlike him mistake with the radios...

And of course they're not gonna kill off 4/5 of the main cast before the episode is even halfway over.

Every time I see Eliot, Parker, and Hardison holding hands in the back of the van during the chase scene all I can think of is that post talking about how Nate must have been emphasizing how they were all holding hands back there before they died. Gotta really make that super clear. They died holding hands. All three of them. (Right before Nate and Sophie hold hands to drive off the bridge together, and they're in love too...)

The slow reveal of what the real con was is so good. The alternate theory flashback that gets slowly a bit closer to the truth...

Nate revealing how he knows he isn't in the hospital after all, but is actually still in the Highpoint Tower. Right where he wants to be.