#but to me Nate and Eliot are very familial and Eliot is very much Nate's surrogate son

[firebirdsdaughter]

Rewatching again, and…

… There's no denying that 'Eliot, Parker, and Hardison' are a 'trio' w/in the team, but I'm also subject to an ongoingly increasing appreciation for the 'Nate, Sophie, and Eliot' trio.

[violetdaphne]

i love the scene in episode 10 of season 2 of leverage redemption when breanna says she wants the evil professor dude like bagged and gagged, and eliot and parker are just immediately like "okay bet lets fucking go nab this guy". like no questions asked, breanna asked for it, so they're going to do it. sophie has to step in to stop it and it just has me thinking like damn. breanna really has some of the most powerful and influential criminals in her pocket and wrapped around her finger. the very power she holds, the sway she has. can you imagine just other criminals in the leverage world just knowing this. like, just understanding that you lay so much as a finger on breanna casey, slight her in any way, then they're going to have the wrath of the og leverage team of leverage international against them, the full rage of eliot spencer, alec hardison, and the parker plotting vengeance. like just ugh i love this family and i love how breanna is their (eliot hardison parker) kid, the same way they were nate and sophie's. it's just a beautiful full circle that honestly has to be some of the best media ever written.

[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.

[leverage-ot3]

Is leverage redemption worth watching? I love Leverage but idk if i could enjoy the show if hardison isn't in most episodes or if the reboot sells out in some way.

okay so I showed up to this ask like four months late with a smoothie so I'm sorry about that BUT

does redemption have it's flaws? yes, I will be the first to admit that!

however, as someone who deeply loves leverage, the characters and what the show stands for, I still can find myself enjoying redemption.

there's one post that's in my drafts talking about the differences between the og and redemption and the so-called universe physics (how logic works in both shows and how they are the same/differ) and there are definitely some differences. there are some really good posts comparing them in the tags and I'll try to tag them as watch redemption when they come up!

I'm going to be really honest right now and say that (no shade) I feel like redemption s1-2 were lacking because john rogers was not a main writer for them. devlin and the others are great and know their stuff, but redemption was missing some of the grit (balanced with everything else) that the original run had. redemption is more fun and lighthearted (where the og was still fun and had comedic elements but also had a more jaded perspective). I think part of that change is the absence of nate as a character and what he brought to the table, but the other part of that is very much the way the show is written overall

I have seen some criticism about parker being a caricature of what she was in the original run (ex: how she goes to a child's psychologist and uses puppets sometimes, is overtly weird, more loud about stuff, etc) BUT I will say that I think there's some nuance to that

I don't think the child psychiatrist thing is infantalizing- some methods of therapy work for people more than others and that is me speaking as someone who works in mental health. if play therapy and stuff like that work for you as an adult, good for you! whatever works for you is more than enough the overtly and loudly being weird thing I really do think can be taken either way. in the original run part of parker's character progression was that she was learning how to interact with people normally (or at least more efficiently), but her being more out about that now can be taken as she is more comfortable in her skin and acting like she wants because she is surrounded by people who love and support her. maybe she doesn't want to (or have to!) mask all the time and I don't see a problem with that

HOWEVER! there are certain criticisms that are related to her characterizations and overlaps with her autism and I don't want to speak over the autism community about those aspects and how they have manifested in her character in redemption so I'm leaving it there

as for the hardison being absent aspect- I was REALLY afraid of that at first BUT the loss isn't so deeply impactful when you have characters like breanna and harry added to the mix. I went in ambivalent about harry and excited to have breanna (a canon queer) joining the team, but I have come to love and cherish both of them dearly and wouldn't want to replace them or lose them as characters in this found family ensemble. I think the writers handled aldis' packed schedule really well and even though he isn't there in most episodes, his presence is still very much around. parker and eliot talk about him and reference him when he's gone. so do sophie and breanna, even harry. he isn't on the screen but the relationships he's formed with the other characters and the impact he's had on them is very evident.

there are some takes from users about whether or not the ot3 was queerbait, un-canoned, etc in redemption. I have a lot of thoughts about it and a lot of them are incomprehensible but what I can say is that I have renewed hopes for the progression and canon development of their relationship now that john rogers is back as the main writer for s3

[dont-read-this-im-dead]

Here are my take aways from The Nigerian Job.

-"I like plan M," Eliot says after Nate explains that Hardison dies in that one. This implies Eliot made a snap judgement about Hardison that made Eliot hate him.

But Eliot saves Hardison when the warehouse explodes. So clearly, Eliot DOES care if Hardison dies. Which means Eliot doesn't hate him. So why?

My theory? Eliot had a crush on Hardison at first sight, but since his last not-relationship didn't go so well (Moreau), he's pretty much closed his heart off to everyone, letting off steam in one night stands. He probably reverted back to his childhood when boys were supposed to pick on the girl they liked.

-"Don't you dare. If you kill anybody, you'll screw up my get away," Parker warns. Which implies she HAS a getaway plan, but waits until Nate is awake anyway. Why? She said it herself. She trusts him because he's an honest man.

This also implies that while Parker and Eliot have the reputation for working alone, she's heard about him only to the point where she believes that's what he does. But even before Eliot considers the team his family, he doesn't kill people willy-nilly. He punches them and knocks them out. So why?

My theory is that Parker has heard rumors of Eliot while he still worked with Moreau, but when she met him, she did not know he was a different person than he was back then.

-"What the hell's a Sophie?" Eliot asked as Hardison and Parker follow Nate out. Which implies Eliot is the only one with any common sense left in them.

I believe Eliot has stopped blindly following people since Moreau. He did some bad things for a bad man, and when he woke up, he found he couldn't wash the blood off. He wasn't going to be brainwashed again. If that meant questioning Nate, the man he says he trusts because he's an honest man, then that's what Eliot is going to do.

-"Is she injured? In the head?"

To the world, Parker is insane. To Parker, SOPHIE is insane. This makes me wonder how she views the world.

-"I promised. That would be very wrong." Hardison sounds like he's trying to convince his Nana that he didn't break the law, and I swear, the FBI has the wrong guy!

Did he really think that would work on Nate, or was he just messing around? If it's the latter, that means Hardison already feels comfortable in the group, and trusts Nate like a surrogate father, just like he trusts his Nana.

-"It was a nice try, man," Hardison sighs when Sophie doesn't immediately land the gift with Dubenich. He's already put his trust in Nate, but now he's showing doubt. But that's because he doesn't know all the plans from A-Z in Nate's head. We see in later episodes that he finally understands just how deep Nate's plan run, and he's able to put all his trust in him-not an honest man or a surrogate father, but a fellow thief, a mastermind.

-"I checked. The airport shuttle leaves in 15 minutes," is the very first line of dialogue in the episode, directed at Nate Ford.

WHY?

Nate is broke, living out of his car. Where is he planning on going after the airport?? Is he planning on bumming a ride on a plane? What's his thoughts process here??

[fablesrose]

Ch 10 - The Two Live Crew Job

Series Rewrite Masterlist 

Pairing: Eliot Spencer x Ford!Reader

Description: Stealing a family painting back for the client becomes more complicated when a competing crew comes to town.

Words: 3273

A/n: I wanted to get this out earlier, but here it is. I hope you like it!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was supposed to be a simple job. Stealing a stolen painting, giving it back to the rightful owners. But no, not only did someone beat us to the punch, but delivered a bomb to Sophie’s apartment. Now I stood here next to Nate at Sophie’s funeral. Though she was being buried under a different name. After Eliot, Parker, and Hardison all spoke, Nate went and closed the casket, giving it a soft pat as the pallbearers took it away towards the grave. 

I watched the curtain under the table where the casket sat, to see if it ruffled. It did as Sophie looked out quickly, gave me a wink and snuck out the other side where no one would see her. 

Faking someone’s death was surprisingly fun, especially when trying to find her potential killer. The four of us left, leaving Nate (and Sophie in a disguise) to keep scanning the mourners to see if one of them had any potential red flags of being her supposed killer. Only one man fit the bill. 

Sophie started the slides once we got back to Nate’s apartment, “Marcus Starke, brilliant grifter, even better forger.”

We all gathered around the living room to hear Sophie explain who this guy was. Parker sat next to Sophie, staring at her curiously.

“It’s like you’re haunting us.”

“Parker, I’m not really dead,” Sophie said. Parker poked her testingly. “I’m not dead!”

Parker replied with an unconvinced ‘okay’ before leaving her alone. 

“We used to work together,” Sophie continued about this Starke fella. “We did the Copenhagen job of ‘97, the Berlin Polytech job of ‘98, and, Nate,” she turned to him specifically, “remember that great run in Moscow?”

“‘That great run?’” he repeated, “I chased ya for three months.”

“Well, technically, you chased us,” she replied, “sorry.”

“Are you saying that you saw other teams before us?” Hardison asked.

“Really just another Nate, before Nate,” Parker rebutted. 

“Let me ask you a question,” Eliot said to Nate, “what bugs you more, is it the fact that he was with Sophie first or that he outsmarted ya?”

There were a few beats of uncomfortable silence before Nate expressionlessly said, “Moving on,” in a gravelly voice that showed he was very much bothered. 

“Ouch,” I whispered, of which Eliot replied with a smug huff. 

“Um, Starke doesn’t keep a permanent crew” Sophie continued, “He specializes in whiz mobs. He puts a team together, they slam into town on one high-profile job, and then they scatter. But usually they do one sm-” she paused as recognition spread across her face, “they do one smaller job first just to work out the kinks in the team.”

“Like our client’s painting, for example?” Nate asked. 

“Wrong place, wrong time,” Sophie said, mostly to herself, “Starke must have seen me, and now that I’m one of the good guys, and decided to get rid of me because… why?” She continued to think out loud, “because… I know his scams. Because… I know his favorite scam: the Mona Lisa variant.”

“Ooo!” Parker clapped a couple of times, “that was the first one I learned! In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen, and the conman who did it made six identical copies.”

“And then they put it on the black market, and each buyer thought that they had the original,” Nate finished. 

“So the dude sold the same painting six times,” Hardison said. 

“Seven,” I corrected, “depending on what he did with the original… the six copies plus the original, right?”

Nate nodded at me in agreement, but a bit distractedly. I glanced at Hardison to see he was agreeing, but a little embarrassed. 

“Not that that particular detail matters right now,” I added, motioning for them to continue.

“Hardison, pull up all the auctions in Boston in the next two days,” Sophie instructed, tossing him the remote. “Starke never stays in a city more than two days,” she explained. 

“Wait a minute, not museums?” Eliot asked. 

“No, no,” Nate answered, “Starke likes to use auctions to figure out who wants the painting. He picks who he’s gonna sell the fakes to.”

“That bit was actually my part of the scam,” Sophie said. “I made that up, it’s good isn’t it?”

“That’s still a lot of paintings,” Eliot said. 

“Yeah, it’s high profile,” Nate agreed. “A scam like this requires a lot of publicity, paintings ten million dollars or more.” 

“He does all his own forgeries,” Sophie said, “post impressionists, late 1800s.”

The screen showed all of the paintings available at auctions in the allotted time frame and slowly disappeared as they were eliminated on the given criteria just given by Nate and Sophie until there was only a couple left. 

“There,” Sophie pointed at one in particular, “That’s it. Van Gogh. He has a soft spot for Van Gogh.” 

The painting was a street scene, focussing on what seemed to be a restaurant or cafe with outdoor seating. I could tell that it was Van Gogh from the painting style once Sophie mentioned it. It was a quiet scene, peaceful, but the bright colors gave it life and energy. I could see the appeal to it. 

“So we just– we call the cops,” Hardison concluded. 

“Why is that the first thing you thought of, considering what we do,” I asked. I then said to myself, “I thought I was becoming part of the team, because that was not my first thought.”

“No,” Sophie said to Hardison, backing me up a bit. “If Starke goes down for this, there’s no guarantee we can get that painting back for the Mercers. He even smells the police, he’s gonna run, and we’ll get nowhere near it.”

“He did try to kill you, Sophie,” Nate reminded her. 

“We risk our lives all the time,” Sophie said quietly. “No,” She continued more resolutely, “We need to barter. We need something to trade for the Mercers’ painting.”

“Such as?” Hardison asked. 

Sophie looked back at the screen that showed the Van Gogh painting, “That. That’s what he’s come for. That’s what he wants.”

Nate turned to us, “We just gotta get there first.”

I turned to the rest of the team, “I feel a bit over my head on this one.”

Parker turned to me with a puzzled look, “What do you mean? You help us steal things all the time now. This is no different.”

“This is totally different, I mean, we’ve had time crunches before but this is a race. Against other professionals. I have learned a bit here and there, but not enough to be an asset against professionals,” I emphasized.

Nate shook his head, “Nah, you’ll be fine. We’ll find something for you to do. Come on, let’s go.” He walked away and everyone started to file out after him. I sat there watching them for a moment before following with a shake of my head. This will be interesting. 

There were people milling about the high end auction place, looking at the paintings on display. It was a relatively relaxed atmosphere, with servers handing out flutes of what seemed to be white wine, but I didn’t know enough about alcohol to pay much attention and I declined when one was offered to me. I wanted to stay particularly sharp in case we ran into trouble. 

We all had our assigned roles, with me acting more like a floater. Nate was obviously doing his point thing, making sure everyone was on task and being the brains of the operation, Parker acting like a server to swipe security credentials from the auction house manager, Hardison on computers and cams, with Eliot and I doing other general recon. Sophie was stuck in the van with Hardison, at least she felt like she was stuck. We had to keep her behind the curtain so to speak with her supposed to be dead and all. 

Eliot leisurely sipped on a glass next to me, surveying the room. With his hair pulled back with a beanie and his glasses, he looked comfortable. I could tell he was on alert, his eyes always peeled, but confident. I couldn’t help but admire him out of the corner of my eye until Hardison gave a direction.

“Eliot, check out the back corridor. I think I see an access point.”

Eliot looked at me and nodded his head in that direction, silently asking if I would come along. I nodded and followed him. It wasn’t long before there was some static in the comms with a voice I didn’t recognize coming through. Hardison argued with the voice, talking about baby monitor frequency and hacker whatnot. 

“Hardison, what is going on?” I asked, still following Eliot.

The voice responded before Hardison, “Ooooh, now who is the owner of that delectable voice?”

The voice was so… greasy that I reflexively gagged, silently, luckily.

Still, Eliot caught my response and growled into comms, “Who are you?”

“Nuh uh, we are stopping that right there,” Hardison answered. “Switching to backup comm frequencies. Eliot, they’re here, they’re here!”

“What are you talking about?” He asked as we turned a corner. At the end of the hall, an absolutely bombshell of a beautiful woman suddenly stopped as we spotted each other. She had a hand to her ear which she was talking to, which clued me in that she was part of the other crew. Eliot saw it too and quickly but gently pushed me back behind the corner as he analyzed the threat. I was in a position where I was relatively out of sight, but could watch both parties. 

I simultaneously listened on comms to Nate trying to figure out what was going on when Starke approached, striking up conversation, clearly already knowing who he was. I listened as it seemed the crew members paired off with their rival counterparts, battling it out in their respective fields. At least, I assumed that was what was happening in front of me as Eliot and this chick shifted between different combat stances. When each of them changed their form, the other seemed to flinch, leading to the conclusion that this was a more psychological battle. 

There was a look in Eliot’s eyes that I wasn’t sure I liked, particularly looking at this unfamiliar woman. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, and I didn’t want to explore the feeling any longer, so I turned away from them to go search for that access point Hardison mentioned. I thought I found it when I heard the manager ask everyone to leave. I worked my way back to where I left Eliot to find that Nate beat me there to grab him.

“Done giving her bedroom eyes?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light and teasing, but I was sure there was a different undertone present.

The laugh he had on the tip of his tongue from the interaction (or lack thereof) seemed to fall, and he gave me a light scoff and eyeroll, “Whatever, y/n.”

I raised my hands defensively as we exited the auction house, “Just calling it as I see it.” I walked ahead of him, passing Nate to load into the van, claiming the passenger seat for myself on the ride back. 

Coming back to Nate’s apartment to debrief a bit, Nate had a new fire and determination about him. It seemed like Starke pissed him off a bit.We reviewed the other members of the team with Parker and Hardison mirroring Nate’s annoyance for their own rivals. Parker was up against a thief named Apollo and Hardison against a hacker who goes by Chaos. 

“Was that who I was hearing on comms? He sounded greasy, gross,” I commented.

Hardison laughed once, “Well he is, and unfortunately very much knows what he’s doing.”

 Eliot, on the other hand, seemed to admire the girl, Mikel, and her reputation. She sounded very skilled and very scary. 

Once the opposing team members were established in the debrief, Nate was scrambling through papers and information. Trying to retain as much as possible. 

Eliot turned towards Sophie, “How’s this gonna play out?”

“He’s been challenged, okay?” She answered. “His pride is hurt. His… his ego’s at stake. He’s gonna… he’s gonna come up with a bigger, riskier plan than…”

“You talkin’ about Nate?” Eliot asked.

“Nate, yeah,” Sophie agreed, though a little distractedly. 

Eliot looked towards me and I hesitantly nodded in agreement as well. I didn’t know this side of Nate as well as Sophie, but the more I watched as Nate became more frustrated, she was right. I knew Nate was competitive, he’s been like that as long as I could remember, but in this environment, with the constant undertone of at least a little bit of danger, it seems to be on a whole new level. 

“There’s no way. There’s no way this crew is gonna get to that painting before we do. No way,” Nate repeated, determined. 

“We’re not giving up on our only hope of helping the Mercers,” Sophie added. “They’ve waited their entire lives for justice and we are not gonna fail them now.”

“Yeah, yeah. That. sure. Yeah,” Nate haphazardly agreed. “But I mean, who does this guy think he is?”

I looked at the team cautiously, and it looked like we were all on edge. This might be becoming personal.

“We know their MO, their strengths, their weaknesses,” Nate continued. 

“No, no, no,” Hardison interjected. “I have noticed a distinct lack of weaknesses.”

“We know their target,” Nate reassured, “even better, we know their timeline. That painting is going up for auction tomorrow, and it gets sold, it walks out that door. That means they have to hit it tonight. We gotta go in hot. In and out before they even…”

“Tripled security since today,” Eliot reminded him. 

“We barely had time to check out the cameras, the motion sensors,” Parker added. 

“Whatever happens, one way or another, we are walking out of that auction house tonight with that painting,” Nate finished, “No matter what.”

There was a beat of silence, tension clearly hanging in the air. 

“You got it?” He asked.

We all nodded and voiced the affirmative. 

“Now, let’s go steal ourselves a masterpiece.”

 Before I knew it, it was go time. I graciously took a minor role with how technical this plan was, leaving Hardison, Parker, and Eliot to their specific niche. Nate was the main distraction to have Eliot and Parker sneak in, but I was there hanging in the background in case more attention needed to be drawn. 

It didn’t take long for Parker and Eliot to run into their rival counterparts and for Hardison to get in a hacking battle with Chaos, stealing security capabilities from each other. Nate was holding the attention of the guards pretty well, but he started to lose them after the motion sensors went off. I was about to step in when none other than Starke stepped up to aid in the distraction, posing as Nathan Ford, with the insurance company. 

That might have been as bold of a move as any. 

Starke led Nate away from the gates towards the park where I was hiding out. This was when we were put on our back foot. Parker was stuck with the lasers that Chaos turned on after he locked Hardison out of security. It sounded like Eliot was still fighting Mikel. 

“What do you want me to do, Nate?” I asked him through comms, staying hidden. I watched as he glanced at Starke and the time on his watch. 

“Come on out, I’m still thinking.”

I approached the pair and watched as Starke spotted me, a curious expression crossing his face. 

“Ahh, see,” Starke turned back to Nate, pointing at him, “we found information and learned about your whole crew,” he turned back to me, “with the exception of you.”

“Let’s keep it that way, shall we?” Nate replied, just as a police car pulled up to the auction house, lights and sirens blazing. 

“You all out of tricks, Nate?” Starke asked.

“Oh, I think he has one more,” Sophie called as she stepped out of the driver's seat of the police cruiser. 

“Sophie?” Starke asked, surprised. 

“Oooh!”

“You’re not-”

“Dead? Yes.” She stepped up beside Nate and I.

“You went through all this just to set me up?”

“Uh-uh. No. We went through all of this to save you,” Sophie corrected. 

“Now, Hardison,” Nate spoke smugly. 

I smiled as I heard Hardison get himself up and running again, activating the alarms as planned. Parker was acting as a police officer inside and ‘arresting’ the other thief and grabbing the painting; Eliot was ‘arresting’ Mikel. Hardison went in as a third officer to smooth things over with the guards. We as a group watched as they all walked out of the front door.

“This is saving me, how?” Starke asked. 

Nate nodded at me to go and help the others get everything sorted out. I still listened as Sophie and Nate explained how Chaos was going to double cross Starke and how he was the one who tried to kill Sophie. I flinched as Starke’s car exploded down the street, catching me off guard. 

“Easy, y/n,” Hardison teased, packing up the artwork.

“Explosions happen all the time, nothing to be afraid of,” Parker commented casually as she pushed Apollo into the back of the police car, even though it was unnecessary. 

I laughed, “Well Parker, I’m not used to it yet. Explosions don’t happen on the daily for most people.”

She had a puzzled look on her face, “Huh, weird.”

 It didn’t take long for it to come to the traditional celebration of a job well done. Both teams gathered at the pub for bonding and the exchange of paintings. Parker was racing Apollo in picking locks and Eliot was exchanging scar stories with Mikel. I tried not to linger my gaze on them from where I sat at the bar and moved onto Sophie and Nate. They had made Starke hand the Mercer’s painting back to the aging couple who were overjoyed at its return. Starke was only satisfied when he received his compensation in the form of the Van Gogh painting.

We all shared a knowing smile as he left the pub. We had snuck into their home base while they were gone and had stolen his forgeries of the painting. Nate had given Starke one of the fakes, sending the rest of the paintings, including the original, to the airport under Chaos’ name. That should be sufficient evidence to frame him for forgery and theft. 

I didn’t stick around the pub for very long. It, for some reason, felt a bit disingenuous to insert myself anywhere after playing the backburner in this job. No matter how wrong I knew that feeling to be, I couldn’t quite shake it. Hardison had joined the thief table with his laptop, but was mostly admiring Parker with her determination to beat Apollo. My heart warmed with his genuineness that I could read even from a distance. 

I caught Nate’s eye from his booth where he was sitting with Sophie and nodded my head towards the stairs to signal I was heading home. Once he returned a nod in understanding, I exited the pub. I put effort into not making eye contact with anyone else to reduce the chances of being stopped. All the same, I wondered if anyone else noticed I left, or if Eliot would tear his eyes away from Mikel to see me leave. 

I didn’t even want to know.

A/n: Reblogs and comments are welcome and encouraged! Thank you for reading!

Tags: @instantdinosaurtidalwave @kniselle @technikerin23 @kiwikitty133 @plasticbottleholder

[aardvaark]

I watched Leverage growing up and when I eventually discovered the fandom online/on tumblr I was genuinely shocked to see everyone hated The White Rabbit Job when it had been one of my favorite episodes as a teenager. I understand it's fucked up (part of why I liked it) and a little or really a lot campy/unrealistic (part of why I liked it) but I always like (as an exception to the norm ofc, it works best when it's rare) when the mark is sympathetic, and I liked the weird dream state stuff, and what the story brings out in Sophie and Parker's characters/narratives (and Nate, too, and his arrogance/brilliance/faith in the team). I don't think it's necessarily still one of my favorite episodes but I still enjoy it, although I understand better why some people don't like it. It's just funny to me every time I think about it because I always remember my initial reaction of "what do you MEAN people dont like the white rabbit job????" < totally mystified teenager me

huh, i had no idea it was so unpopular! definitely not one of my favourites, and i can see why it might not be well-liked, but i didn’t know how much people disliked it. i’m pretty new to interacting with the fandom here. im guessing the problems are how much they mess with a guy who’s fairly decent iirc and how the idea of that kind of psychological manipulation happening to you would be pretty terrifying. i can understand that. sometimes surreal things are kinda triggering for various reasons - paranoia, delusions, OCD, etc. and no it’s probably not the most realistic of their cons haha!

though mainly i liked the parker moments anyway, not so much the con. there’s:

one of the last major moments in the sophie & parker relationship arc, with sophie saying she trusts parker to talk to the mark alone.

parker proving that sophie was right to trust her, too, because she talks the mark down by herself, and she does it *as parker*, not as a grift and not trying to emulate sophie. she does it in her slightly awkward, very parkerish, completely valid way - she’s earnest and brave, and it’s not what sophie would have said (sophie would probably be very sweet and soothing) but she doesn’t have to talk to people like sophie. parker’s own way of connecting works, possibly better than sophie’s method would have!

parker opening up a little about her brother. and talking about her Feelings to a stranger!!showing a bit of vulnerability and sharing!!

parker coming back at the end and asking if they’re all good, sophie asking her if they’re all good, and parker saying they are.

THE line "they thought i was crazy, but i never was! i never was" which is SO important. parker’s always taken it on the chin when people say she’s crazy, insane, that there’s something wrong with her (and not in the now-affectionate eliot way). people have told her that for a long time. maybe she’s even believed it. but now she insists that not only is she not crazy now (ie after some time with her new family who’ve helped her heal), but that she was never crazy - not when she was a traumatized and grieving autistic kid, not when she was a scared and closed off teen or young adult, not when she does or says things that people call "weird". and she says it like a realization and she sounds so determined and insistent and aaahh!!! it’s just so important!!!!!

anyway yeah. i guess i don’t know about the episode overall, but i enjoyed the parker moments. she’s my favourite, im not even gonna pretend lol. i really like the sophie & parker relationship beats in this one and that it shows how incredibly far parker has come - without changing who she is at her core. that’s how i viewed it, at least! totally willing to hear other opinions tho :)

[these-modern-times]

Thoughts On Leverage: Redemption

I finally got around to watching Leverage: Redemption. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! I had such a great time watching the cast all back together and all the character growth. 

At first I was worried how the show was going to be without Nate since he was really the engine of the group. It was weird watching Redemption for like the first two eps and then I was totally fine with Nate not being around. I really like where all the characters are now, especially Parker, and I think if Nate had been in the show all the characters would’ve snapped to and gone back to being their old selves in certain ways. I think they would have been more reserved if Nate was still around (but they definitely would’ve called out his shit real fast). Parker has let her freak flag fly and I do not think she would have been that way with Nate back in the picture. Still miss Nate a bit but the crew is so awesome without him. 

I was also worried about how the show was going to be without Aldis Hodge being a regular but, again, it was fine. I loved when he came back but the show and characters were so good that I didn’t miss him as much as I thought I would. All the Parker and Hardison scenes were great. 

Parker will forever be my girl. Beth Riesgraf continues to just be amazing playing Parker (I want to know how she managed to keep a straight face with some of her scenes and lines or how anyone else did for that matter). I read someone’s review here on tumblr that the writers did Parker dirty. I don’t think the writers did Parker dirty at all, if anything they made her more fun and they really let Parker be herself. Think about all the times she almost started going off the rails with being really goofy (the pinata she dumped on the table in front of Eliot, the chocolate convention, the Ghostbusters scene/line, etc) and then she was pulled back. Parker is the leader now and Hardison and Eliot are used to her antics, they just let her go. I think Parker has always known when it’s time to have fun and when it’s time to be serious when it comes to being a thief and running a con. 

Sophie, for me, became a good character to watch. Gina Bellman always nailed the hell out of playing Sophie and I don’t think she ever gets the credit she deserves for playing the character. I loved how Parker, Hardison, and Eliot knew they had to see her and help pull her out of her deep grief. They gave her no choice and she went along with it. Sophie always looked like she had a great time on jobs in the original series and that fun was still there. I adored her friendship with Harry (”our Mr. Wilson,” a sweet, and very British, addition to her character). I’m glad there was an outside person for her to speak to and to ground her. She even said the team saw her as Sophie Deveraux they didn’t see her in the way he saw her as an outsider. There’s a lot of respect between Sophie and Harry and I enjoyed that a lot. 

Eliot was Eliot, the same hard ass with a very soft inside. He was grumpier and punchier then ever. He’s still the same big brother to Parker and Hardison keeping them in line. Eliot and Sophie have always had a very interesting relationship and dynamic and it was still good to see they had that in this series as well. 

Breanna is a great addition to the crew. Parker being her (reluctant) mentor was fun. Her line about college being a scam in 2nd season hit me right in the soul. 

Harry was a good addition. He brought the law side to the team and gave them a different angle to their cons. He’s also just a total goofball who had no choice but to join the family and just had a good time. As I mentioned, I like his relationship with Sophie. He was the other grown up in the family who balanced things out for not only Sophie but for the whole team. 

The throw backs to the original series through the new 2 seasons were perfection. Some of them were slight and some of them were super obvious. All of them gave me so much joy. Parker with the horse painting in the first episode made me laugh way too hard. 

There are so many good moments throughout the 2 seasons. Parker and Hardison’s scenes will always be a favorite. The team going to Sophie in the first episode is precious. Do not even get me started on Sophie’s line to Harry about Hardison, “He is his father’s son.” My soft interior definitely shed a slight a tear and a little heart rip happened hearing that line. In the first ep you can see Parker, Hardison, and Eliot were still grieving over Nate too and they needed their “mom.” The ending of The Paranormal Hacktivity Job made my day when I watched it. Hurley coming back was a great throwback and touch. Parker loving Christmas will never get old. Harry freaking out in the vents with Parker was hilarious. Parker pretending to be pregnant was probably one of the funniest moments of this series because she found it fun to hide stuff on her that way. Possibly the best thing was the team being afraid of the Canadian Mounties. These idiots have taken down the worst kinds of people and yet they’re all afraid of the Mounties. I can’t handle them. 

Just like the original series I love the stories that revolve around museums and the museum and art worlds. I have a BA in Art History and a MA in Museum Collections Management. I currently work in the museum field. The show majorly glamorizes museums and especially their security systems (maybe the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre can afford something close to what the museums in Leverage and Redemption use) but it’s fun to see what could be done if money wasn’t an object for museums. The last two eps of season 2 made me nuts with the air vents being so big and so close to the art works but it’s a TV show. My new dream job would be as a museum consultant for Leverage: Redemption, haha. I cracked up when Parker said she’s stolen three Rembrandts, a hat trick. 

My one and only complaint about Leverage: Redemption was the backstory eps for Sophie and Eliot. One of the reasons I absolutely love Leverage is because they never revealed too much about the characters. I love not knowing Parker’s full name and complete background. The fact that no one knows Sophie’s real name after all these years is brilliant. Even Hardison doesn’t have a super in depth backstory. The writing for the show has always been satisfying and great that I never felt the need or want to know more about the characters. Leverage is literally one of the only shows I don’t have an issue with in any way with character development and story writing. I just found Sophie and Eliot’s back stories to be a little dull. At least Sophie’s was about cons and grifters which fits into the overall show. I am praying if this show comes back for a 3rd season that they do NOT in any way really dive into Parker’s background. Keep her elusive and just Parker. 

I think Leverage: Redemption is a lot of fun because it is different. I’m so happy the show is still the same in a lot of ways but it’s not, it’s its own thing. I can still see the same characters from the first episode of Leverage, they’ve all grown but the people we were first introduced to are still there. The show made me laugh and it made me happy in a lot of ways from the writing to the acting to the stories to the complete silliness of so many lines and scenes. I am so hoping for a 3rd season of Leverage: Redemption, I’m fully ready for more fun adventures with this group of crazies.  

[asphyxiatedredherring]

This is my gift for @fourdollarwords in the Leverage Gift Exchange! ( @leveragegiftexchange )

I decided to make a playlist of songs I felt fit the show in general, the thiefsome, and as well as each character!

It is quite a weird mix of music

I tried to keep it short, and some characters were easier to come up with more songs than others, but everyone got at least one.

Under the cut, I'll list each song and why I chose it. (It's sorted in categories as well as the order they appear on the spotify playlist, which I recommend listening to it in).

I hope you like it!

Nate:

Another Shot of Whiskey by The Gits - it's about drowning your problems in alcohol, I think we can all see the connection.

Behind Blue Eyes by The Who - the villain theme for the rock opera that never happened. The villain doesn't want to be the villain though, he was forced into that role and no one can see the grief that caused. It really lines up with Nate's story line.

Renegade by Styx - This is a song about a criminal who has been caught and is about to be executed. This song makes me think of The Maltese Falcon Job.

Well Respected Man by The Kinks - I think this represents the life Nate wanted for himself, Maggie, and their son where they are all happy and healthy but in reality Nate knows this is not how his life went and he is not this well respected man.

Breaking the Law by Judas Priest - the song seems to be about a man who was fired from his job so he started breaking the law. I'll let you draw those connections.

Alcohol by The Dropkick Murphys- he's an alcoholic from Boston what more can I say?

Sophie:

Who Do You Want to Be? by Oingo Boingo - its the art of the grift. Sophie makes herself into different people, deciding who she wants to be each day, everything is an act, a character maybe even losing herself along the way

What's Behind the Mask by The Cramps - as a grifter Sophie is always wearing a mask, Sophie isn't even her name. Her family wants to know what's behind her mask, let her know that she is safe to be herself.

Hardison:

Maneater by Hall & Oats - we know Hardison loves Hall & Oats. Best if listened to while Parker autism bites him.

Shout by Tears for Fears - I headcanon that Hardison loves synthpop and this song is a perfect example of that

Rebels With a Cause by The Dropkick Murphys - This song reminds me of the line where Nate calls Hardison "a 24 year old genius with a smartphone and problem with authority." He may have been ignored as a kid, but he's making a difference now. "Don't be angry with the kids Be angry with the greed."

Parker:

Runaway Train by Soul Asylum - I feel like this song really represents Parker's childhood

Never Go Hungry by Hole - I think Parker would have started with stealing food and this is like her internal monolog rationalizing it because stealing became a key part of her personality

Been Caught Stealing by Jane's Addition - Stealing, simple as that. She's a thief. If she wants something she simply takes it. I think it's just a fun catchy song she'd like.

Eliot:

The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel - Despite their wishes, Eliot left his family and became a fighter just like the protagonist of the song. No matter how hard he tries to escape, the fighter remains. I could write an entire essay about how the story of this song and Eliot's story line up.

Guilt Within Your Head by The Gits - Eliot has so much guilt built up in his head over his past, being unable to forgive himself he created his own hell but he can escape it through forgiveness and redemption.

Bullet With Butterfly Wings by Smashing Pumpkins - I feel like this song fits Eliot because like the song says Eliot still feels like he can not be saved and is trapped in a cage, despite how angry he is.

Rooster by Alice in Chains - Even though it's a song about the Vietnam War I feel like it can still represent Eliot's life, joining the military and his career as a hitter in which people are constantly coming to kill him, yet he won't die.

Harry:

Ironic by Alanis Morissette - I think Harry would love Alanis Morissette. Hands down. No further notes.

Breanna:

Just a Girl by No Doubt - People frequently underestimate Breanna and I think this feminist anthem conveys her anger with that.

Seasore by The Regrettes - "You're talkin to me like a child Hey I've got news, I'm not a little girl" So much of Breanna's character is wanting to prove herself, that she is capable and not just someone's kid sister and I think this song conveys the anger that comes with being underestimated and judged for your age or gender.

Youth Gone Wild by Skid Row - Breanna isn't interested in conforming to society's idea of what she should be. She has been called a problem child, but she doesn't care because she will stand tall and be herself.

The Thiefsome:

Love in an Elevator by Aerosmith - Hardison would think it's funny but Parker would latch on to it. I'll be citing the first episode for this one.

What I Like About You by The Romantics - I may be stretching this one but the parts of this song can be applied to aspects of the ot3 and them expressing their love for eachother. "Keep on whispering in my ear" fits Hardison talking to Eliot and Parker through the coms, "you really know how to dance" represents Parker's acrobatics and thief skills, and "you keep me warm at night" Eliot is a grounding presence for them at night and they love eachother.

Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls - they are all broken in their own way and it doesn't matter what the world thinks, just that they have eachother.

The Crew in General:

Head Like a Hole by Nine Inch Nails - the people with power have the money and they aren't using it properly. But Leverage won't bow down despite what the mark wants. I just think this song encapsulates the anger they have with each mark and their desire to give the mark what they deserve.

And Justice for All by Metallica - I debated putting this song under Hardison but I think it could fit the whole crew. It's about how money has corrupted the justice system. The truth is gone but the crew is working to bring it to light and reinstall justice (in their own way).

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephant - there is no rest for the wicked and no shortness of evil in the world which makes Leverage necessary. "The rich and powerful take what we want. We steal it back for you."

We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister - I think this song does well to represent how Leverage is fighting the system and the people that abuse it.

Take Back The Power by The Interrupters - I could also write an essay about this song and its correlation with Leverage but to boil it down, Leverage is working to fight the corruption of the world and fix what they can. They are taking back the power.

Hunger Strike by Temple of the Dog - this is practically the Leverage theme song. "I don't mind stealin bread from the mouths of decadence But I can't feel on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled" It's a song about stealing from the rich, class divides, and how the rich get richer but the narrator refused to join them and would rather starve than be like the rich and feed on the poor.

The Men Who Rule The World by Garbage - a song about corruption, money, and violators, the very thing Leverage aims to destroy.

[fallenangelontheceiling]

Leverage 1x07

I’m starting to buy the tension between Eliot and Hardison. Eliot just learned basic photoshop lol. Love Hardison's attempts at awkward bonding, I buy that way more than they straight up dislike each other.

I’m sad we don’t get to hear Gina Bellman do a Jersey Mafia Wife accent.

Aww Sophie has a friend!

Yeah, why is Hardison being so down on himself??

At first I was like, I hope they let the daughter be a Mafia Princess Bitch. The cynic in me just does not have a lot of hope for sociopathic families. But the minute she was like, “Uh, Mom… I think releasing the doves is a bit much…” - “Shut up, Maria,” all my Say Yes To The Dress instincts perked up. Screw Mom! This is YOUR wedding! Seat your college friends wherever you want!

Parker telling the bridesmaid that yes, the dress does make her look fat, and not even picking up the social queues after the fact, is the first real Awkward Social Situation I’ve bought from her. Most of the stuff prior could be read as charming (I’m not like other girls I don’t like shoes, haha I taught this kid how to pick a lock). I absolutely see how Parker could become isolated.

Also REALLY buying the Parker/Hardison tension in the bridesmaids’ dress. “You really think I look good?” “You look perfect.” Stawp.

Side note that’s only relevant to me: I’m a little fascinated by the mob wife. I think she’s so picky because she doesn’t really know what she wants or what’s “high quality,” she just knows there’s a nebulous, upper class ideal she’s desperately aiming for. Explains why she would marry into money, despite the cheating and general immorality. (And sorry not sorry, I legit know so many women from Long Island that are like this.)

“I didn’t do anything wrong for her [my high school sweetheart] to dump me. I liberated Croatia.” “Do you think the Butcher of Kiev will recognize you?” Ooh, I’m suddenly very invested in Eliot’s backstory this episode! Fun B movie vibes 🥰☠���

“And that bride - what’s her name? - I’m not gonna let her down either!” I’m dying 😂

Between that, the incompetent FBI, and Eliot’s cooking, this is the funniest episode.

Omg of course the step mom is wearing white to this wedding. I kinda like the 80s prom look for the bridesmaid dresses tho ngl.

I hope this marriage is still legit despite the fake priest officiating lol. (Pretty sure all that matter is the certificate).

Nate/Sophie - I love mess 🥰 They're just projecting their own issues all over this damn wedding. Real Parent Energy. I love that for them.

“A wedding’s just a big con, huh?” “I never said there was anything wrong with that.” The ROMANCE this episode, istg!

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Cross My Heart Job

leverage 4.09

(team comes down an escalator toward the main floor)

Sophie: Well, that trip was a complete disaster.

Hardison: It was a train wreck.

Eliot: No, it was a shipwreck. And you know how I know that? 'Cause I was in the wreck.

Hardison: Hey, man, I don't want to hear you complain. At least you don't have to fix th-the ear buds. You know what?

Eliot: Man, don't talk to me about the ear buds! I just fought three ex-Brazilian combat divers with spear-guns, underwater!

Hardison: I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it.

Eliot: You believe this? (taps Sophie’s arm)

Sophie: Ow, don't touch me. I am sunburnt everywhere. I hate playing the French heiress on the topless beach.

Parker: Oh, I don't know what you're complaining about. I didn't even get to see the emerald.

Hardison: Are you for real?

Eliot: Oh, my god, for the last time, it's not an emerald. All right? It's an island. It's the "Emerald of the Caribbean."

chaotic family on an escalator

- - - - -

Parker: The heart could be anywhere by now. They could have jumped in a taxi and driven off.

Sophie: No, no, we have to assume it's still in the airport, that they're planning to fly it out.

Parker: Why?

Eliot: 'Cause otherwise, we've already lost

- - - - -

Eliot: All right. They're in there. We're gonna need a distraction.

(Sophie takes off her pants and uses her long shirt like a dress, then shakes out her hair and pulls a pair of heels from her purse. Parker counts some cash)

Parker: All right, they told Linda to call from a pay phone for instructions once she made the drop.

Eliot (hands Parker money): Better hurry up, or they're gonna start getting suspicious.

Parker: It's a good thing we didn't stay on that island to see those emeralds.

Eliot: Parker, I just t...

(Sophie leans on Eliot to put on her shoes)

Eliot: You carry high heels in your purse?

Sophie: I always travel with heels. (takes Parker’s scarf and ties it around her waist) How's this? Distracting enough?

Parker: Hmm.

parker and eliot both look away, partially to give her privacy but partially to act as a wall so that other people won’t see her changing

notice the stark contrast between this scene and the other changing scene in this episode

- - - - -

(the clerk closes the doors. Inside, Eliot pulls the kidnapper between two tables while Parker talks to Tanya)

Paker: Yeah, that will work. We'll get you a little taser, carry it with you wherever you go-

parker and her tasers + being surprisingly good with kids

- - - - -

Nate (to Eliot): What do you got on this guy?

Eliot: He's not a professional. He has no combat training. Lousy Zanshin.

Parker: The what?

Eliot: He's a loc... It means "personal awareness." Thug for hire, but very well funded. (hands Nate tickets) Two first-class tickets, one for him and one for the girl, and that's how they got past security, and (hands gun to Nate) plastic gun. One or two shots in the barrel warps, but that's pretty much all you need, very pricey hardware.

Parker: Why would someone pay for that but not hire a professional?

Eliot: He doesn't want a professional. He wants a local so we can't trace him back to him.

- - - - -

(Eliot uses a cord to tie the kidnapper’s hands)

Eliot (to Sophie): Don't suppose you travel with handcuffs.

Sophie: No, not on this trip.

👀👀👀

- - - - -

Parker: Plus the ear buds are busted.

Hardison: And I burned our phones and our credit cards so we can't be traced.

Sophie: Most of our money went on bribing the waiter.

Eliot: We're operating in a secured area.

Parker: And my lock picks are checked.

Hardison: And airport wi-fi is a joke. Face it, we're practically naked.

- - - - -

(Eliot and Parker walk out of the Restaurant and part ways. Parker approaches a kiosk that sells computers and looks around, then crouches to look at the locks before walking away. Eliot approaches an electronic store before yelling catches his attention from a check in desk not far away)

Platinum Flyer: You guys! Hey! Platinum flyer over here. Come here. Somebody look at me.

Airline Clerk: Sir, please calm down.

Platinum Flyer: Ju... let me stop you right there, okay? I don't care what seats you have left, all right? Do you see this? (holds up a card) I am a vista Atlantic platinum flyer, all right? Is this card gold? No. Look at it. Is it silver? No.

(Eliot looks around, sees a magazine and picks it up)

Platinum Flyer: It's platinum, all right? So if you think that I am sitting back in coach with the rabble, you got another think coming, all right?

(Eliot puts the magazine over the Platinum Flyer’s briefcase as the man tries to drop his wallet into it)

Platinum Flyer: You can just forget it. I don't even want to talk to you anymore. Who's that? Thing one and thing two, come here. You guys. Hey!

(Eliot walks back to the electronics store and pulls the Platinum Flyer’s credit card from the wallet. He enters the store and grabs several packages of walkie talkies, then flags down a clerk)

Eliot: Yo, yo, yo. Come over here.

(Parker tries on various sunglasses, stealing a pair before walking away. She walks past again and steals a snow globe. On another pass she steals a bag. She returns to the computer kiosk and breaks the sunglasses to picks the locks, revealing an old style CRT monitor)

all this competence porn, it’s SO GOOD

- - - - -

(later Parker and Eliot take apart the walkie talkies at a table while Hardison uses an old computer at the bar with Sophie and Linda watching while Nate paces)

Nate: Hardison, come on.

Hardison: Look, man, this is like stone knives and bearskins, okay? Nobody's asking Eliot to fight a guy with a nerf sword.

Eliot: Damascus, 2002.

Hardison: Like you've been to Damascus.

domestic parker and eliot taking apart walkie talkies? eliot legit sword fighting with a nerf sword? amazing

- - - - -

(the clerk watches from behind them, amazed)

Hardison: Wh-what? Come on, man. Like you've never seen a man travel with a desktop before. Go.

LMAO

- - - - -

Nate: Right there! Right there. Him.

Sophie: Dean Chesney?

Nate: Dean Chesney, CEO of Vertronics defense contractor. I had my eye on him for quite a while, but he was never a high-priority target.

Hardison: Why not?

Nate: He was dying.

- - - - -

(Eliot sits down and his feet hit against the struggling kidnapper. Eliot kicks him in the head but he continues making muffled sounds)

Nate: Are you done?

(Eliot kicks the man again)

Eliot: Yeah

- - - - -

Hardison: After we get out of the public areas of the terminal, we work on level two. It's ground crew, tarmac access. It gets us from here to the private terminal.

Parker: How do we get that? Break Eliot's wrist?

Hardison: What? N-no, no. We just pick one up from where the ground crew left it.

[Locker Room]

Parker (opening combination lock): Yeah, this will keep my stuff safe, from a 6-year-old with the DTs.

(Parker opens the locker and removes a jacket. Eliot closes the locker and hits the lock on the one next to it, opening the lock. He pulls out a level 2 badge and hands it to Parker)

Eliot: That's two.

(Parker and Eliot begin to change clothes)

🔥🔥🔥 scene tho 🔥🔥🔥

also, notice how they start getting changed without turning around or anything, like hardison would have immediately turned around because that’s who he is. she literally immediately takes her shirt off without a care. he doesn’t even blink at it. eliot and parker have a very strong, nonverbal, physical bond because they’re similar entities. they understand each other on a deep level because of their pasts and there isn’t that type of need for modesty between them.

also they’re literally so close to each other when they’re doing this??? literally, personal space? they don’t know her

ALSO, eliot throws his shirt at the camera and idk it feels like he’s giving parker privacy from the “onlookers” (aka the camera) if you get what I’m saying,,,

- - - - -

Sophie: Well, we have to lure them out.

Parker: Oh, okay. Set Nate on fire?

Eliot: Settle down

she mouths “no” back at him and they have a silent exchange where she ends up smiling I love them

- - - - -

Hardison (pacing): Come on, Eliot. Come on, come on. Come on, man.

Announcer: Mr. Picard. Mr. Kirk Picard, please meet your party at door "E.

ELIOT KNOWS HOW TO GET HARDISONS ATTENTION. HE KNOWS TO MAKE A STAR TREK REFERENCE AND BAM HARDISON KNOWS WHATS UP. WHAT D O R K S

- - - - -

(Eliot gets into a cart that Parker is sitting in. She holds up the keys and hands them to him)

Parker: Let's ride

her SMILE and EXCITEMENT

- - - - -

Hardison: Excuse me. Uh, something's wrong with my pin. Can you reset it for me?

(Hardison hands the card to the guard, who scans it)

Guard: Can you confirm your old pin?

(the screen shows that the card belongs to a woman and the guard looks at Hardison in surprise)

Guard: Uh...

Hardison: What?

Guard: Wh—

Hardison: what? You got a, you got a problem? My little transformation? Go on, speak your mind. Yeah, I had some surgery, huh? A little nip, a little tuck, a little pop, okay? And now I am who I'm supposed to be. I used to be Francesca. Now my name is Frank!

Guard: Um...

(a second guard turns to look at Hardison)

Hardison: You got a problem? You... excu—excu—I didn't know this was the club. You all up in the mix, don't even know the flavor. What's your problem? (walks around the desk aggressively) You got a, you—everybody got a problem with this? Look, racism, sexism, anti-semitism? That's how you y'all want to play this? Cool. I thought it was a no-no in airport security, but I see y'all profilin' me right, left, and center, everywhere. You know what? Shame on you. Shame on your mama. Shame on your kids.

(Hardison glances at the monitor to see the pin number, then walks back around the desk)

Guard: I-it's fine. I-it's fine. I got no problem with anything. Uh, it-it looks like you used to, used to be a-a really pretty girl.

Hardison: Used to be?

Guard: A-and n-now you're a-a very handsome gentleman.

Hardison: You hitting on me?

Guard: C-can you confirm your old pin?

Hardison: It's 5135.

Guard: Uh. (scans the card) Okay, there. Try that.

Hardison: Thank you. (looks at second guard) You better re-adjust your peripherals.

Guard 2: Real smooth.

(Hardison returns to the card reader and scans the card, entering the pin)

Reader: Pin accepted.

Hardison: Don't care what anybody else says. Next time, I'm taking the train.

I can’t tell if this scene was transphobic or not ??? like, it could have been worse and he called out people who would be judgmental of his “transformation” ???

like there was like one other kinda transphobic thing they did in the show but I forget the episode

- - - - -

Nate: I know what you're gonna say.

Sophie: I think you should have a drink.

Nate: Okay, I didn't know what you were gonna say.

Sophie: Look, we don't like it when you drink, (pours him a drink) but we trust you when you do. We both knew this was gonna get personal. We need you to stay clear-headed. You let it get to you now, it's gonna go bad for all of us. Be very careful, Nate.

- - - - -

Nate: Sam would have been 13 this year. A teenager. Almost a man. I mean, you know, probably a big pain in the ass, but… Joshua Spin is getting out of that hospital bed.

(Sophie nods. Nate sighs and takes the drink, looking down at Sophie’s hand over his)

- - - - -

hardison’s GRIN when he sees all the computers in the tower 🥺

- - - - -

Parker: It took us 8 minutes to get there. It's gonna take us 8 minutes to get back. Wait. (goes around to the front of the cart)

Eliot: What are you doing? Wait. No way!

(Parker lies on the ground and reaches under the cart)

Eliot: Come on, Parker, we got to go! We got to get-- Let's go! What are you do-- Quit monkeying around under there!

(Parker stands up holding a piece of electronics)

Eliot: Did you just pull something out of the engine?

Parker: Yeah. Spark regulator, keeps the cart from going more than 25 miles an hour. Now we'll get there in 4 minutes.

(Eliot starts the cart and takes off quickly)

Parker: Hey! Whoa! Whoa! Yeah!

- - - - -

Nate: Last week on that island, you faked a volcanic eruption. How is this harder?

HE DID WHAT NOW

- - - - -

Nate: You just sell it to the tower.

Sophie: Massdot special?

Nate: Massdot special.

Linda: Massdot special?

Sophie: Yes! (takes Linda’s phone and makes a call)

[National Weather Service]

Rachael: National Weather Service. This is Rachel.

Sophie: Oh, thank God!

[Crab-a-Rama]

Sophie: I was just out walking my dogs, and I saw a tornado touch down!

(Nate pulls up pictures of tornadoes on the computer)

Rachael: Are you sure?

[National Weather Service]

Rachael: The current forecast don't indicate any severe-weather patterns.

Sophie: I'm sure.

[Crab-a-Rama]

Sophie: I took a photo of it with my phone. I'm sending it to you now.

(Nate sends a picture of a tornado to Rachael as he dials the phone)

[National Weather Service]

(Rachael looks at the picture in shock)

Rachael: Uh, please hold, ma'am. (places Sophie on hold and takes another call) National weather service. This is Rachel.

[Crab-a-Rama]

Nate: Are you asleep at the wheel? There's a tornado out here by the airport right now! A freaking tornado! Come on!

[National Weather Service]

Rachael: Bill. Bill!

Bill: What is it?

Rachael: We got calls here. I think we need to issue a tornado warning for the Cincinnati metropolitan area.

- - - - -

Chesney: --to make the top of the list. This is my only chance. I've planned for months. I have eight backup contingencies. I'm fighting for my life, Mr. Ford! What are you fighting for?

[Crab-a-Rama]

Nate: I am fighting for that 15-year-old boy that you're going to kill.

[Chesney’s Room]

Chesney: God helps those who help themselves.

Nate: And I help people who can't.

[Crab-a-Rama]

Nate: And God help you if anything should happen to that boy, because if he spends more than one second longer in that hospital than he needs to, I will make it my mission in life to end you.

[Chesney’s Room]

Nate: I will ruin you.

[Crab-a-Rama]

Nate: I will ruin your name. I will ruin your company. I will bring down everything you have ever touched. And when I am done, I will hunt you down--

[Chesney’s Room]

Nate: --and I will kill you myself.

[Crab-a-Rama]

(Nate hangs up the phone)

- - - - -

parker yells “yee haw” a lot and I love her for that

- - - - -

Pilot: Tower, field is in sight.

Program: We have you in sight. Clear to land on runway 1-8.

Hardison: Okay, flight 4-0-9. W-we have a visual. You are clear to land on runway 1-8.

Pilot: Roger. Clear to land.

(the airplane lands safely)

Pilot: Tower, we are down.

Hardison: Yes! Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about.

Pilot: Say again, tower?

Hardison: I'm sorry. No, no, I'm sorry. It's cool. It's cool. It's cool. Celebrate with me. All right.

hardison managed to land an airplane with 300 people on it with nothing more than a computer and a flight simulator and we STAN our intelligent man

- - - - -

eliot was always standing next to hardison in all the extra scenes in this episode and we love to see it

- - - - -

(Eliot looks at Nate and Sophie, then nudges Hardison)

Eliot: Let's go.

(Eliot grabs Parker on the way down the hall, Hardison follows them)

his lil pat on hardison’s shoulder? how he places a guiding hand on parker’s arm, leading her away? we LOVE to see casual touches and casual intimacy between them

- - - - -

so hardison likes to assemble model helicopters in his spare time sometimes and nate assembles model ships in his ???

- - - - -

Chesney: So now what? You can't report me without exposing yourself. And what's to stop me from trying again?

[Leverage HQ]

Nate: I am. (hits remote to bring up information and a video feed on the monitors) I'm watching you. I'm watching your money, your people, your company. What have you got there, a pulse rate of 86?

[Chesney’s Room]

(Chesney looks around in alarm)

[Leverage HQ]

Nate: Oh, look at that.

[Chesney’s Room]

Nate: Just jumped up to 104. That can't be good for you.

[Leverage HQ]

Nate: Make your peace now, Chesney. (continues putting model together) Because if I see anything, anything I don't like...

[Chesney’s Room]

Chesney: Well, Mr. Ford it seems you've killed me after all.

[Leverage HQ]

Nate: Oh, I didn't kill you. God killed you. I just made sure it took. (hangs up)

[geeky-nightphilosopher]

Okay, so I finished re-watching Leverage Season 1... well minus The Second David Job, but I remember alot of that episode.(just to make sure I have everything semi-correct. Obviously my goal is to have ALL correct- but I am aware that I miss things.)

So- let's talk Leverage and Leverage Redemption. Let's discuss the characters, cons, and just- everything shall we?

As many of you know- my favorites hand down are Eliot, Hardison, and Parker. There's just something safe and comforting about their friendship/relationship. There is just something easy going about the three. From the very beginning- they worked together effortlessly. They connected well with each other and you don't see that a lot. Each of them had their part to play and they didn't overstep the boundaries of each other. Like Hardison didn't play the hitter or thief- that wasn't his job. Eliot didn't play the thief or hacker nor did Parker play the hitter or hacker. And if they did- isn't wasn't to take control; it was because they were in a jam and desperate to get the team out safely.

Now- Nate, Sophie, and Harry are my next favorite. Nate was definitely the drunk dad. However- he wasn't dangerous and Sophie did an excellent job of keeping him in line. Would he make snide remarks at times? Absolutely. Did he push to hard at times? Yes he did. But if you think about it- it was good for this ragtag team. Nate knew what they could do- what he wanted to know was- what was their breaking point. How far could he push- before they all had enough? (I'm pretty they each had their moments- but like Eliot said once; "Nobody tells me to walk away. I decide that.") Nate was a good mastermind. Sophie is definitely the annoyed/exasperated mom. Not only does she have to cut off unnecessary arguments between the children- but she has to deal with a drunk father. She's good with people. Knowing what they want and how to give it to them. That's her job to know people. It's how she's survived so long. Harry is definitely the struggling uncle. This man doesn't know where he fully stands. All he knows is; he's done a lot of bad in this world- and he wants to be redeemed. What better way then to be a good bad guy. If Nate see's the world in black and white- than Harry see's it in shades of grey with blobs of color.

Now- I don't know how you all feel- BUT I'm not a huge fan of Breanna. For me- she's like that annoying cousin that follows the older cousins. She's just too much all at once. I understand that she wants to prove herself- but she just felt like she took over the whole room. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to bring to the table- it's just... she was a lot. ( I don't know how else to describe it.)

Over all- I love Leverage and I'm on the fence about Leverage Redemption. I love how they all work together. How it's literally a family.

I love how they don't know how to work together- but still seem flawless at working together. I love that easy going banter between the OT3. How Eliot allows Parker to poke, prode, and put hats on him. How Parker feels safe around Eliot. I love how Hardison and Eliot respect Parker. Sure she might be crazy- but only they can say that. Only Eliot can say that Parker has something wrong with her. That Hardison understands Parker? I love that! The way Hardison isn't really that upset with Eliot whenever he does geek speak and Eliot is all huffy. Or how Hardison does his own way of poking and proving Eliot. (I love these three your honor! I do.)

I love how Eliot isn't afraid to call Nate out. How Nate isn't afraid to push... as long as he puts himself in the same position. I love how they aren't huge fans of Sophie's acting- but are impressed with her acting. I love how they get so use to each other.

I love how they don't mind ribbing each other! The ribbing doesn't even change when Harry and Breanna join. They all do it. It's what makes them a family.

The cons are just as flawless as the characters. There are certain episodes that resonates with me. Just like there are episodes that resonate with you all. And they just give me hope that everything will be okay. The Low Low Low Price Job and The Belly of the Beast Job are the two that affect me the most. Though they aren't my favorites. Still, they pull it off and it gives me hope. Makes me feel all fuzzy and warm. Their criminals- and their looking out for the little guy. Watching the team actually care about the clients helps humanize them.

Lastly- I love their quips. The quotes they say. I can't tell you how many times I quote the team. Between things like; "No stabbing." To "You think she dresses like a nun for no reason?" "It's Parker." To "Not Lucille! Get that look outta your eye." To "Parker made me do it." To "You do trust me, don't you Eliot?" To the more heartfelt ones like: "We are all addicts! We are addicted to our past!" And "Depends on the torture, depends on the man." And "I'm not crazy!" (I can't think of any Harry and Breanna quotes at the moment.)

Watching this show- it makes me feel like I'm part of the team. It makes me feel like I'm apart of the family. And I so want to be.

Finally, Leverage is the literal definition of the saying; "Blood of the covenant is strong than the water of the womb."

If anybody ever asks me for a found family recommendation: Leverage is it!

Thoughts anyone?

[qwanderer]

Kinda hope I get inspired to write more leverage redemption fic over the course of my s2 rewatch, but I don't think it's going to end up as epic or interwoven as the previous parts of my series. I could be wrong! I could find all kinds of things I want to weave into the open places in the season. But I'm looking at the season in comparison to the others I've written the series through and it's different.

Listen, the ot3 have obviously loved each other since leverage s1, and from s1 to about mid-s4 I can believe that we see the important notes of that onscreen. But I started writing fic in my first late s4 rewatch because a) I saw them falling in love with each other in a sort of irrevocable way and b) there were things going on canonically! Offscreen in their romantic lives. Leverage said "at some point between late s4 and early s5 Hardison and Parker started dating and you don't get to see what that looks like" which is so interesting because. We see so many of the ins and outs of Nate/Sophie, when they're together and when they're not, the tensions, the sex, it's pretty clear onscreen. And with Hardison and Parker it's just. No. Their private lives are private. And Eliot is visibly close to them in the same ways they are visibly close to each other with the exception of the information "hey we're dating" and a few related behaviors.

It's interesting because the information that Hardison and Parker are dating is almost all told rather than shown. If we want to know what that looks like, what changes for them, we have to imagine it for ourselves. And I happen to imagine that Eliot has been involved as well from basically the beginning. But the key is I have to imagine it.

Then in leverage s5, there was a whole host of things that looked very different with that picture in my imagination, things that needed to be reconciled with that. And the same was true for redemption s1. "See, canon is true, but it's not the whole truth," I said with my fic.

Redemption s2 has been different. There were things that I needed to reconcile with my fic series, or, no, actually! What's different about this season was I felt the need to adjust my series to fit canon because I like the way canon does it better.

I dropped one of my stories from my headcanons because the version of the same story presented in canon was more vivid and true and appealing. And there were other details in s2 that made me look at my fic series and go, "oh, I see now! These fics are true but they're not the whole truth." So I wrote new fics that merge my series into line with canon.

One reason I think s2 feels so different is that there is so much love onscreen. So much sharing in love as a family, so many examples of caring things like date nights and "are you all right" and "Nana knows to expect us" and all of it. They really managed to show us. Despite physical distance and despite all we don't see. The important stuff is all there.

Who has sex with who, that's all just the details. And I think I've covered that pretty well already.

I don't know if I'll find much more to add.

[yoyomarules]

#like he REMEMBERS SHIT. about eliot. he's kept tabs on him. he wants eliot to remember past shared experiences. he's fascinating#like i do not think he's capable of genuinely legitimately loving a human person but. he's not apathetic despite everything else#he unarguably does to some genuine extent Care about eliot. not his wellbeing in a big picture sense but like. ITS COMPLICATED#AND THATS WHY ITS INTERESTING and thats also why its hard. to map it out and call it bad and leave etc [via @darkfinch​]

the thing about moreau is that like...he's cruel. he has a sense of humour. he sits on desks and swings his legs. he sees people as either assets or liabilities, but things he owns either way. he makes deliberate note of eliot's preferences and remembers them years later. he has absolute faith in eliot's loyalty to him. he's ready to kill him at a moment's notice. he thinks the thing with the puppy is funny and cute. he trusts eliot's judgement, as much as he trusts anything, so eliot gets a longer leash than anyone else. he knows him. he likes him. he gives him the benefit of the doubt. he watches him listen to hardison drown with rapt, amused attention.

like, he's a horrific person, but he's not just one-note, and that's what makes it tricky (when you're eliot and you've been with him for 8 years and you're trying to weigh out your options). like he's not apathetic? he's not uncaring. he just cares in the worst way possible

[thegeeksideofsr]

Pretending or Not.

I didn't know what reason to give for them to be in this situation, so I had to wing it.

Content: A fake marriage, bed sharing, talk of having kids and a family, a smidge is steamyness, a dash of self doubt and miss understandings, and probably an absurd amount of fluff.

I hope you enjoy.

Being the newest to the team was, interesting. They offered me a place on the team after they need my help with a forgery piece of jewelry for a con a almost a year ago. They asked me to be their forger, and occasional grifter. Grifting wasn't my normal thing, but I can pull it off when I need to, plus Nate had more options for cons with one extra person around. It was nice having a team, but I spent most of my time behind the scenes with Hardison.

Spending as much time together as we do, Hardison and I bonded pretty quickly. He was an amazing forger, but there was somethings he wasn't able to do that I could. He was great at making fake badges, coats for various agencies, uniforms for almost very profession that required one, and the occasional statue of a saint. My area of expertise was paintings, gems, coins, and a verity of antiquities. Plus we had similar tastes in things outside the job like movies and tv shows, books, and movies.

Parker and I got along well. We bonded over a mutual love of shiney things and her teaching me how to lift and pickpocket, a skill we both used to mess with Hardison.

Sophie and Nate were harder to get to know. Sophie was helping me improve my grifting, while trying to keep Nate from going of the rails. And Nate was, Nate. He was drunk most of the time, but when he wasn't as drunk as normal, he was planning the next job.

Eliot was the most difficult. He was friendly and we had been paired up for cons occasionally, he even kept me company while I was working on a forgery. He never said much, usually reading a book, or watching something on the TV quietly. We even cooked dinner for the whole team together a couple times.

I could help but fall for him. I had witnessed his kindness towards the people we help, especially kids. His protective streak for the team is a mile wide, his cooking is out of this world.

Then there's his looks. His blue eye that seem to change color depending on the light, his honey tone skin, soft brown hair that is obviously well taken care of, and his smile that could make any girl swoon.

I kept how I felt to myself though. I had seen how he put the charm on to women at random places. He had never done that to me, and that made it clear I was just part of the team.

That didn't stop me from admiring from afar. Hardison nearly caught me ogling him once, but I managed to play it off as starring off into space, in his general direction.

At least today he wasn't in my line of sight, just sitting right beside me as Hardison went over everything he had dug up of the Price's.

The Price's were a middle aged couple, with no kids, and way to much time on their hands. They took over management of an apartment building a six months ago and decided that the fixed rent that tenants were paying wasn't enough, and raised the rent. A few families moved because they couldn't afford it anymore.

Our client was a young father named Eric Thatcher, who was maybe twenty eight, who's wife had an emergency cesarean with their second child and was still healing, and was having trouble managing everything. He was taking care of his wife, a new born, a four year old, work and house hold chores.

Apparently, taking care of everything in a household can cause bills to be paid a little bit late, who knew? Eric and been making all his payments, just a few days late. Mrs. Price said that if he didn't start paying on time, his family would be evicted. Eric had tried to tell her that she didn't have the power to do that, but that just made it worse. She had her husband make up some official looking papers saying that she could.

Poor Eric knew they weren't real, but he had no way to fight her on it.

Eric came to us to make her back off, or get her arrested for extortion or breach of contract, for the sake of his sanity and the other families in the building.

That's how I ended up playing house with Eliot Spencer.

While we posed as the new couple in the neighborhood, Nate got close to the Price's at work.

We 'rented' the apartment next door to Eric, establishing ourselves as his sister and brother-in-law to help out with the kids and her recovery. We made sure to bring him and his wife, Kate, in to the con to make sure the Price's wouldn't get suspicious. Kate was more then willing to help, and their four year old, Jemma, was young enough not to really know if we really were related or not.

We kept our first names so Eric and Kate wouldn't accidentally slip up, and Hardison built us an entire history for us, photos and everything. He even managed to get rings that looked like a set, that happened to fit us both perfectly. I don't even want to know how he knew our ring sizes.

We 'moved in' with help from Parker and Hardison. They helped us set up the apartment so that it looked presentable. The apartment had two bedrooms, but we decided to share one in case the Price's got curious and went snooping.

Hardison giving me a wide eyed look repeatedly when we where bringing stuff to the bedroom.

Of course, with in two hours of us being there, the Price's made their way to our apartment to introduce themselves. They put up a friendly persona, Mrs. Price was obviously checking out Eliot, which was a little creepy, Mr. Price seemed unfazed by his wife's blatant ogling.

It was after dark and we had a couple boxes left in Eliot's truck. He climbed up to pull them from the bed of the truck and handed them to me, to set on the ground, he hopped down from the tailgate, turning to me to take a box from my hands. His eyes moved over my right shoulder, and his posture changed slightly.

"What? What is it?" I ask.

"Mrs. Price. She walking her ankle biter, keeps looking at us trying to be inconspicuous, but damn she's bad at it."

He puts on a flirty look I'd seen on him a dozen times, he takes the box I'm holding, set it on top of the other box, then pulls me in close to his chest.

"We need to sell the part. You up for that?" He whispers in my ear.

I nod, his close proximity making my brain shortcircuit. His hands come up to either side of my face, his fingers landing just behind my ears. I let out a squeak of surprise, as he pulls me into a kiss. I freeze for a second, then relax and kiss him back.

He pulls away, just barely, before we both move in for another kiss, completely losing our selves in it. His hands travel from my face to the back of my neck, down my arms, then around my waist.

I bring my arm up behind his head, one hand tangling in his hair, which is softer than it looks, and the other cupping his jaw.

We finally pull away when the need for air is to much to ignore. We stand there, breathing hard trying to come back to reality.

He lifts his head away, his blue eyes looking into mine, a lock of hair hanging in his face. I bring my hand up and tuck it behind his ear. It's a intimate moment neither of use were expecting. The air around us thick with tension.

He glances behind me quickly.

"She's gone." He says in hoarse tone.

The bubble bursts when he speaks, the memory that it was just an act hitting me like a rock.

I don't even acknowledge him. I untangle myself from his arms grab the top box from the stack and practically run back to the apartment.

I leave the box in the kitchen, then head to the bedroom to grab some clothes then lock my self in the bathroom. I can hear him enter the apartment, then walk down the hall to the bedroom, then some movement and drawers opening and closing.

I tune out the sounds of his movements, and start a shower.

Once I finish, I take a deep breath, before walking to the bedroom. The only light on is the small lamp on his side. Eliot's already in bed, sitting up against the head of the bed with a book in his hands.

He looks up when I come in, he marks his place then sets his book aside. He doesn't say anything, he just watches me get ready for bed, then crawl in next to him. I lay on my side, my back to him.

"Are you ok? I should have asked if it was ok before I ki-"

"It's fine, Eliot."

I hear him take a breath, then let it out. He turns out the light, and lays down himself.

I don't fall asleep immediately. Neither does Eliot. I can tell by how rigid he is. We don't say anything, we just lay there, back to back, until sleep finally takes over.

*****

The next morning I wake up alone. I sit up and look around, Eliot is now where to be found. The clock on the wall says it's only eight thirty, so I decide to get up. Once I'm dressed and presentable, my ear bud in my pocket, I make my way down the hall, with still no sign of Eliot. The only sign he's been there was a pot of fresh, hot coffee. I make my way through the kitchen and fix my self a mug.

I begin to make myself a light breakfast, when the front door opens. Eliot comes walking in, dressed in a janitor jump suit, a scowl on his face. Hardison obviously annoying him this early in the morning.

He sees me and his scowl softens.

"Mornin', Y/N," he says, then rolls his eyes. " Parker and Hardison say hi."

I laugh as I pull my ear bud out and tuck it in my ear.

"Good morning, gang. How's it goin'"

*****

By the end of the day, Hardison had been able to hack into the Price's accounts, and discovered that Mr. Price had some serious gambling debts, and they had raised the rent to pay it off. He also worked for a crime family as their accountant.

Parker broke into his office and found all the original fixed rent contracts, and records of the crimes his boss committed, in a safe, that according to her, so easy to open, baby could do it.

Once we set up the next step in the con, we quit for the night, so that we could start fresh in the morning.

A knock came on the door just as we were starting to collect items for dinner. It was Eric asking if we could watch Jemma and Fern for a few minutes while he and Kate made dinner, and focused on a few chores.

He introduced us to the girls. Jemma warmed up to us pretty quickly once she realized that Eliot wasn't as scary as he looked, she pulled him off to look at her rock collection, while I was holding baby Fern. She was adorable and had that sweet baby smell. It was nice being able to give the Eric and Kate a few moments to them selves, even if it was just a room away.

After Jemma was finished showing off her collection to Eliot, she decided it was my turn. So I handed Fern to Eliot and followed the little girl to her desk in the corner of the living room. She began going through the box one by one, telling my which ones where her favorites and why, which ones had stories behind them, and which ones were 'enchanted'. After she was finished we talked a bit more about rocks, flowers, and our favorite colors.

Kate soon called Jemma for bath before dinner, leaving me at the small desk. I watch them leave the room hand in hand, when movement from Eliot's direction catches my attention. I look over at him and my heart nearly stops.

Eliot holding a baby is something I never expected to see. She looked so small in his arms, he's swaying slightly as he holds her so gently. He's not even looking at me, or scanning his surroundings, he's just looking at the baby in his arms.

I would have liked kids some day, with the right guy, but it never happened. And now being a criminal and working with a team that went after powerful people, my life too dangerous for kids. But damn, Eliot holding a baby, and interacting with Jemma, that made me reconsider things.

But he didn't see me as anything but a coworker. So I would have to stow these memories away, for when I needed a smile.

*****

When we got back to the apartment we cooked dinner together again, working in comfortable silence.

I couldn't get the image of Eliot and Fern out of my head.

"Did you ever thing about having a family?" I ask.

He looks at me, his eye brows raised in surprise.

"Nevermind. It was stupid question."

I turn back to the stove, mentally scolding myself for asking that.

"A long time ago. Before I joined the army. The life I live now, ain't safe for a family. Even if I tried," he answered after a few minutes.

I turn to look at him, finding him already looking at me.

" I understand."

We stare at each other for a moment, before turning back to our cooking.

****

I let out a huff as I laid down against my pillow later that evening.

"You ok?" He asks, walking towards the bed.

"Yeah, just tired."

He nods, then climbs in next to me. We lay back to back, with a gap between us. I toss a little bit, trying to get comfortable.

He suddenly rolls over, wraps and arm around my waist and pulls me across the bed and into his chest.

Once the shock of what he just did wears off, the feeling of being spooned settles over me. The warmth of him seeping into me, the weight of his arm around my waist, the feeling of him breathing against my back, the combination making me calm a little bit.

"What are you doing, Eliot?" I whisper.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Cuddling me. But, why?"

"Because you keep wiggling, tryin' to get comfortable and I thought this might help. Do you want me to let go?"

"No."

A silents falls over us, his warmth seeping into me.

"Can we talk about the kiss last night?" He asks after a few minutes.

"What about it?"

" You kissed me back."

"You kissed me first."

He chuckles at my response. His arms squeezing me briefly, before relaxing into a soft hold.

I roll over into his chest, tucking my head under his chin. He lays his hand on my back, and starts to rub circles into my spine, lulling me to sleep.

*******

I woke up to my phone ringing, I go to grab it, but an arm around my waist tightens when I move. I open my eye to see Eliot scowling, barely awake. I untangle myself from his arm, and grab my phone.

It was Hardison, calling to tell us that he intercepted an email Mrs. Price just sent to Eric, saying that because of all the late payments, his family was being evicted, and he had two weeks to find a new place to live.

Nate decided to bring up the time line. We were taking the Price's down today. The con was already in motion, we just had to push them over the line.

After hanging up, I turn back to Eliot, who's now wide awake and leaning on an elbow. I scoot closer to him, and begins filling him in on what Hardison told me.

"Alright. We better get going," he says moving to get out of bed.

I grab his wrist, stopping him from getting to far. I hold his face with my free hand and kiss him. He leans into the kiss, his hands cupping my face.

He leans in more, he brings a hand down to my waist and gently pushes me backwards onto the bed, holding himself above me with one arm.

The kisses become more intense and hands starn to wander. His hands slip under my shirt, and graze my skin. I grip his tank top, and pull it up slightly, exposing his skin. I runs my hands over his skin, his warmth seeping into me.

His hand travels up my torso, landing on my ribs, his thumb grazing the under side of my breast. He runs his thumb along the side of it, causing goosebumps to appear.

He pulls away when I let out a small whimper when his kisses move from my lips to my neck.

"We should stop. If we don't meet the others, they'll come lookin' and I don't want to be interrupted." His voice low, and ruff." And when this job is done we are having a long talk."

I nod. He pulls his hand from my shirt, sitting up slightly, before leaning in and kissing me one more time.

He finally pulls away, as he stands I can see a clear bulge in is sleep pants. He follows my gaze, then look back at me with a smirk.

"If we had more time, I'd make sure you wouldn't leave the bed for as long as I could."

And with that last comment he walks out of the room, leaving me a mess in the bed.

I hear the shower turn on, and have to stop my self from imagining him in there, other wise nothing would be accomplished today.

I drag myself out of bed and get ready for the long day ahead.

*****

After the job was done and the Price's were charged with forgery and extortion, I sat at a booth with Parker and Hardison, half listening to them bicker about something, I was still thinking about the kisses between Eliot and I earlier. The way his hands held my face, his smell, the feel of his hands against my skin, the intensity of the kisses and how his lips were softer then I was expecting. It easily became the best kiss I'd ever have.

I get up to get another round of drinks. While waiting, I hear Sophie and Eliot talking.

"You two are practically made for each other!"

"Damn it Sophie. Leave it alone."

"You're in denial, Eliot."

" I'm not in denial."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't feel anything for her. Or it was all just the job?"

" Sophie. Let it go," he growls.

He doesn't deny it. That it wasn't all the job.

I bring the drinks back to the booth, then head back to pay the evening's tab. While waiting for the receipt, I think about all the things that happened over the con.

"Y/N."

Eliot's voice pulls me from my thoughts. He's sitting on the stool next to me, an open beer in front of him. He's changed clothes from before, now he's in black short sleeved button front shirt, the way he's leaning against the bar top accentuates he's arms and shoulders.

"You ok?"

I clear my throat as I force myself to look away from him.

"Mmhm. I'm fine. Just tired, it's been a long couple of days."

He nods in agreement, then takes a sip of his beer. He sits there quietly, looking deep in thought.

He doesn't bring anything up though. He acts like nothing happened, like it was just another day. It makes me realize how stupid I was thinking that something changed, that he felt something for me.

I get up and dig through my bag for some money, tears start blurring my vision.

"You leavin'?" He asks, in a worried tone.

"Yeah. I wanna sleep for a week after this. Who knows what Nate has planned next."

I finally manage to pull a few bills from my wallet, I see that I'm still wearing the ring Hardison gave me for the con. Tears finally blur my vision completely. I set the bills down then pull the ring off. I place it on the counter next to Eliot.

"Can you make sure Hardison gets this back, please?"

"Wait, we need to talk about -"

"It fine, Eliot. You did a great job of making people believe you love me. Nearly fooled me too."

I practically run out of the pub. I can hear him call my name as I leave, but I ignore it. The crisp night air is refreshing after being in the pub. I hear footsteps behind me after a second, I recognize them as Eliot's, but I continue to ignore it.

I almost make it to my car, when he catches up to me. His hand catches my elbow, making me stop.

" Wait! Would ya stop runnin'?"

" 'M not running. I just want to go home."

"Come on, Y/N, you look like you are about to cry. What did you mean, nearly fooled ya?"

I clench my eyes shut, trying to force the tears back.

I finally feel calm enough to look at him. He has a worried look on his face, his jackets not even on right. I reach up and fix his jacket, I rest my hand on his chest for a second, then pull away.

" Good night, Eliot."

"Y/N, wait -"

I tune him out and flee to my car, once I'm in I start it and pull away. I glance in the mirror, seeing Eliot standing in the sidewalk where I left him.

Once I'm home I finally let the dam break. I let my self cry for a few minutes before gathering my self up, and taking a nice, hot shower. When I'm done I put on my favorite sweater and comfy pants then take care of my hair. I head to the kitchen for some water. Half way through my second glass, a knock on my door echoes through my apartment.

I set my cup down on the counter then walk to the door. Looking through the peephole, I see Eliot standing on the other side. I let out a quiet groan because I know my eyes are still red and puffy.

I open the door, and look at him. His eyebrows aren't in his usual scowl, he has a more hopefull look on his face.

"What do you want, Eliot?" I ask, with a slight croak.

"You."

A bolt of surprise shoots through me.

"What?"

"You said I fooled everyone in to thinkin' I love you, even you." He says, taking as step closer, nearly touching me. "I wasn't pretending."

" Eliot, I heard you with Sophie. She asked if it was just for the job, and you didn't say it wasn't."

He lets out a sigh.

"I didn't say anything, because I wanted to talk to you first. I fell for you months ago. I didn't want to admit it to myself, because I thought you didn't feel the same way. And I was pretending, at the beginning, that it was just for the job, then when I kissed you that first time, it was like someone slapped me up side the head. Then you kissed me back and it was like all the puzzle pieces fell into place."

His hands come to the sides of my face, holding me still at he looks me in the eye.

"I'm in love with you. And the past few days made me realize just how much, and it scares me."

The weight of his words makes the world fade away. Words seem to escape me, so I do the next logical thing. I grab the collar of his shirt and pull him down into a kiss. Pouring as much feeling into it as I could.

His arms wrap around my waist, pulling me in till my front is flush against him. I move my hands from his collar to his face, holding him as if he was a precious artifact. I pull away from the kiss when my lungs begin to burn, both of us start taking deep breaths.

"I love you too, Eliot," I whisper, holding his face in my hands.

A smile spreads across his face, crinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes.

" I never pretended after that first kiss. And seein' you with Jemma and Fern, I made me feel things I didn't think I could feel any more," he whispers. "You think you'd be willing to give me chance?"

"I think I can do that."

[innytoes]

Leverage Redemption 2.06

-aka The Daddy Issues Job.

-Sophie no, you can’t axe the gloat. The gloat is the best part. It’s in the Leverage International handbook! The hackers have a ‘best gloat selfie’ competition going. Drones are involved!

-Breanna is the best little sister in the world I love her so much.

-I do love the implication there is no other reason for Eliot to ever go to the state of Oklahoma.

-Breanna: He has a father? 100% Hardison at one point told Nana’s kids that Eliot was a super solider grown in a vat.

-Eliot: I’m a loooone wolf Parker: okay buddy Breanna: surejan dot gif

-HOLY PLOT TWIST BATMAN. (Also dancing from fandom: Eliot and Jake separated at birth twins y/y.)

-They’re all trying to be there for Eliot my heart.

-Love Eliot’s dad walking in to his house being taken over. They did it to Nate, they’ll do it to any vaguely dad-shaped person.

-Okay I get speeding off dramatically but Harry was still inside and the front door wasn’t locked???? I am??? No??? (Also I am very mad their sham house has a place for a dog yet no dog.)

-PLAID SHIRTS RUN IN THE FAMILY.

-So do cheesy one-liners.

-Breanna is like: Okay now I have a Nana and a grandpa.

-FINISH telling him about the robot bodies. Just... Eliot sitting on the couch grumbling while Parker tells his dad stuff and every time he tries to cut her off his dad is like: no I want to hear this.

-Just me making high-pitched noises at the end there