Sprain (or The Damn Job)
Sprain (or The Damn Job)
“What the hell were you thinking?” Nate demanded as Eliot closed the door to his office. The girls were out there cooing and coddling Hardison and glaring nasty looks in his direction and the last thing he really wanted was to deal with Nate’s attitude today.
“I was thinking it was about time the boy learned to defend himself. I can’t always be there Nate. That isn’t how we work and the quicker he learns the better.”
“So you took it upon yourself to spar with him?” Nate asked, sitting at the edge of his desk with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Don’t.” Eliot warned. “I’m not some damn school kid and you’re not the principal. Hardison wants to learn and who else is going to teach him? Who do you think I would trust to teach him?”
And that’s the bone right there. There are plenty of people who could train Hardison but Eliot wants to make sure his teammate is trained in the right way. It’s all well and good to start with the basics, but they don’t have time for that. Instead, Eliot pushed him into what he needed to know, with the full knowledge that they’d work on perfecting the form if they lived long enough for it. Not always a given in their fields.
He’s older than Hardison and for all the kid’s intelligence there are things Eliot can help him with and he does. He wants to. It’s like having a kid brother when they get old enough to teach all the cool things to and they still think you’re the best thing in the world. Hardison has a healthy dose of hero worship on Eliot and they both know it but it’s not hurting anything and it’s making things run smoother than ever.
Well, except for the sprained ankle Hardison is currently sporting.
Nate was suddenly up, pushing Eliot back against the wall. “So you’re just teaching Hardison out of the goodness of your own heart?” Nate asked, something darker in his voice than Eliot was used to. “You’re not getting anything out of it?”
Eliot frowned. “I get back up. I get someone that might be able to help himself if there’s trouble and I can’t get to it. I get to do something that doesn’t require me to wait until everything’s gone wrong to feel appreciated on this team.”
There was a soft knock and someone tried to open the door only Nate still had Eliot pushed back against it, was still pressing his hands into Eliot’s shoulders like he couldn’t let go.
“Everything okay in there?” He heard Sophie ask and then Nate lets up. Eliot pushes back but nothing more than a ‘fuck you get off me’ kind of shove. He could have gotten up. There’s nothing in Nate that could take Eliot down except that Eliot has given him that power, allows him to push at him in ways he’s massacre anyone else for.
He pulled open the door and walked out. “Everything’s fine.” Eliot said, walking over the table. “You alright Hardison?” He asked.
Hardison gave a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m good. Be even better once it’s not swollen and I can learn to kick your ass.”
It was all bravado because there was no way he’d ever get up to Eliot’s level, but his pride was obviously more hurt than his ankle now. Eliot smiled as he clapped Hardison’s shoulder. “I look forward to you trying.”
He ignored the way Nate was staring at him, eyes possessive and with something dark that he refused to acknowledge in those eyes. Christ, when had everything gotten so damn confusing? Instead of answering anything else, he left. He needed a clear head and everything in the office today was just confusing the hell out of him. Hardison and his damn need to make Eliot proud and Nate and that look in his eye.
Damn them all damn him for not walking away in the first place.