Fic: Put Down the Car Keys
Fic: Put Down the Car Keys (Or Someone's Going To Get Hurt)
Author: LMX
Fandom: Leverage
Rating: PG
Pairings: Nate/Eliot
Warnings: Slash
Spoilers: The Bottle Job
AN: Initially, this was the introduction to The Moment I Said It, but that ended up being a Gen piece, so... this is a sort of pre-quel which can be used as a Nate/Eliot modifier or read as a standalone. Imogen Heap for the Title and the quote.
Eliot forced down the sigh he could feeling rising in his chest and turned closer in to Nate's side as the other man slept on, oblivious to his unrest. Too many years of barely sleeping at all meant that his body didn't know what to do with the extra rest anymore, so most days he slept as long as he could and then dozed until he got bored enough, leaving in the early dawn for the allotment he kept on the edge of town. The allotment was riskier than growing his vegetables in his own back garden - a routine to leaving his house and driving across town that could be easily learned, but the soil in the suburban garden had been so bad he hadn't had much of a choice.
Today though, he was restless. The sky was still hours from even thinking about dawn and he hadn't slept at all, hadn't even managed to doze. Nate was warm against his chest, but asleep and staying that way from the looks of it. There were words - hell, a rant, sentences and all - bubbling up in Eliot, turning his thoughts around and around. He needed to talk to Nate, but the guy had looked wrecked earlier that night, and he'd even felt the need to bring his own alcohol, like Eliot was really going to have *that* fight with him right now. Nate knew what he thought of his drinking, that was enough for Eliot. Nate would put himself back on the wagon when he got over whatever was messing up his head this time around. Eliot didn't have the energy to try and do it for him. That was Sophie's gig.
It wasn't helping the whole issue though. Eliot rolled onto his back, picking another piece of ceiling to stare at. He was going to have to get that damp problem sorted one of these days. He shook the thought off. It wasn't as if he was staying. He rolled off the bed and grabbed his jeans and his truck keys. Weather had been bad the last few days, might as well make sure nothing needed shoring up.
Nate was just waking up as he walked back in, and Eliot took the time to get a shower, wash all the dirt off his hands and face and out of his hair, before getting back into bed with him. He tried to settle, but wasn't surprised when Nate turned to face him, a concerned frown on his face.
"Did you sleep?" he asked, quiet in deference to the hour. He didn't really need to ask, he could see the answer in the lines around Eliot's eyes.
Eliot gave him a half-smile and rolled onto his side in the warm hollow created by Nate's body. "Not yet." he replied, feeling the warmth overtake him. The peace of his work in the garden had settled him, his words forming something that could be said and not ranted. But not just yet, nothing was so important that it needed saying right now. Nate settled a hand in the curve of his waist and leant over him to press a kiss to his forehead. They had two hours before they needed to be anywhere, Nate laid back.
"Sleep well." he muttered, but Eliot was already gone.
Author: LMX
Fandom: Leverage
Rating: PG
Pairings: Nate/Eliot
Warnings: Slash
Spoilers: The Bottle Job
AN: Initially, this was the introduction to The Moment I Said It, but that ended up being a Gen piece, so... this is a sort of pre-quel which can be used as a Nate/Eliot modifier or read as a standalone. Imogen Heap for the Title and the quote.
Eliot forced down the sigh he could feeling rising in his chest and turned closer in to Nate's side as the other man slept on, oblivious to his unrest. Too many years of barely sleeping at all meant that his body didn't know what to do with the extra rest anymore, so most days he slept as long as he could and then dozed until he got bored enough, leaving in the early dawn for the allotment he kept on the edge of town. The allotment was riskier than growing his vegetables in his own back garden - a routine to leaving his house and driving across town that could be easily learned, but the soil in the suburban garden had been so bad he hadn't had much of a choice.
Today though, he was restless. The sky was still hours from even thinking about dawn and he hadn't slept at all, hadn't even managed to doze. Nate was warm against his chest, but asleep and staying that way from the looks of it. There were words - hell, a rant, sentences and all - bubbling up in Eliot, turning his thoughts around and around. He needed to talk to Nate, but the guy had looked wrecked earlier that night, and he'd even felt the need to bring his own alcohol, like Eliot was really going to have *that* fight with him right now. Nate knew what he thought of his drinking, that was enough for Eliot. Nate would put himself back on the wagon when he got over whatever was messing up his head this time around. Eliot didn't have the energy to try and do it for him. That was Sophie's gig.
It wasn't helping the whole issue though. Eliot rolled onto his back, picking another piece of ceiling to stare at. He was going to have to get that damp problem sorted one of these days. He shook the thought off. It wasn't as if he was staying. He rolled off the bed and grabbed his jeans and his truck keys. Weather had been bad the last few days, might as well make sure nothing needed shoring up.
Nate was just waking up as he walked back in, and Eliot took the time to get a shower, wash all the dirt off his hands and face and out of his hair, before getting back into bed with him. He tried to settle, but wasn't surprised when Nate turned to face him, a concerned frown on his face.
"Did you sleep?" he asked, quiet in deference to the hour. He didn't really need to ask, he could see the answer in the lines around Eliot's eyes.
Eliot gave him a half-smile and rolled onto his side in the warm hollow created by Nate's body. "Not yet." he replied, feeling the warmth overtake him. The peace of his work in the garden had settled him, his words forming something that could be said and not ranted. But not just yet, nothing was so important that it needed saying right now. Nate settled a hand in the curve of his waist and leant over him to press a kiss to his forehead. They had two hours before they needed to be anywhere, Nate laid back.
"Sleep well." he muttered, but Eliot was already gone.