This takes place in Season 1, post The Homecoming Job. It's AU. I haven't done anything of this style in a while so I hope you enjoy. (Any mistakes are my own. I was kind of rushing a bit to get this read over so I could post it today) I don't own Leverage.
To The Mountains We Go
Nate was sitting in his office doing puzzles on his computer. He was enjoying the new offices that the...team resided in. It was post their second job together and he was relaxing, for once not having a drink in his hand. As far as he was concerned (or knew) no one was at the office. His assumption was quickly proven wrong as the door to his office opened. Sophie walked in wearing a white summer dress, looking beautiful as always.
"Hey," She said quietly.
"Hey."
"How's it going," She asked timidly.
He frowned. Sophie wanted something. He could tell by the way she was talking and he stance. She had her right leg bent slightly, crossing it at the ankle and resting the tip of her foot on the ground. Her hands were together, pressed at the pads of her fingers. When he didn't respond she bit her lip nervously. He smiled. "What do you want?"
"I-I don't want anything," Sophie quickly lied. She knew her lie was like tissue paper. If he could look through most of her normal lies he would definitely see through this one. She bit her lip again.
"You're not even trying."
"I...I kinda wanted to ride in your red convertible...a Tesla I think."
"Okay." Nate looked around on his desk for his keys and them threw them to her. She caught them but didn't move. "What?"
"I thought maybe we could...go together," Sophie said nervously.
Nate felt the heat creep up into his face. He quickly shut his computer off and got up. "Yeah, sure, I, uh, I knew that."
She gave him a look. "Uh-huh."
Nate held the door open for her each time being the gentlemen that he is. She smiled at him, a slight seductiveness each time. This made the ride in the elevator even more torture. He was leaning up against the back wall in the elevator and she stood right in his personal bubble. Her arm brushed up against his, and he knew that she was teasing him now. Paired with her white summer dress she had blue sparkly ballet flats and what appeared to be a charm bracelet. He let his eyes travel back up after resting on her long tan legs for not as much time as he would've liked. Her hair was held up in a sloppy pony tail, a few strand falling out of it and hanging loosely around her face. There was a light pink lipgloss on so faint he could hardly tell it was there. He could only imagine the lip stick print it would've made on her coffee cup this morning (he could smell the coffee on her she was so close.) Her eyes were adorned with light blue shimmering eyeshadow that set her eyes off and made them an even lighter and more chocolate brown. He wanted to reach out and touch (and kiss) her skin that looked so silky soft and inviting. Somehow he managed to restrain himself.
Sophie was watching him out of the corner of her eyes. He was watching her, drinking her in by the way his eyes travelled up her body. She resisted the urge to smile. Nate was wearing a pair of long tan shorts with way more pockets then she thought a person could possibly need. On top he wore a plain white t-shirt. As far as she could tell he wasn't wearing an undershirt, which made her stomach squirm in excitement a little. God, he looks sexy in a t-shirt. Especially when he had his hair slicked back a little, which he did today. She could see the strong muscles in his arms and she wanted to wrap her hands around them, feeling him flex for her. Her mind was snapped back to reality when the door to elevator pinged and the doors opened.
"Ladies first," Nate said, his voice a little husky. Sophie's stomach flipped at his tone and she quickly walked out. He opened the car door for her and she got in delicately, crossing her legs. Nate didn't even bother opening the door and just jumped in. She saw the muscles in his arms bulge for a moment and she grinned.
"Have you been working out?"
He was a bit taken aback by the question. "Uh, yeah, a little bit," He admitted coyly.
Sophie bit her lip. "Um...can I...?" She asked as though she were asking to touch something she wasn't supposed to. She reached her hands out slightly and then retracted them, almost closing them into a fist.
"Hm?"
"Um, nevermind."
Nate looked at her, a little confused, and then started the car and drove off. He already knew where he wanted to go and he was sure that Sophie would like it. One, because it was beautiful and two because he would be there with her. It didn't take long for them to get out of the city and to the suburbs. Sophie had put on a pair of sunglasses and was grinning to herself.
"So what's the story behind your charm bracelet?"
It took her a few moments to realize he was talking to her. "Oh! It was a gift from my dad. I still have the charm he gave me on it."
Nate looked over at her briefly and smiled. "That's nice."
"Yeah. It's a key and a heart." She gently held the dangly piece in her hand, loving the way it glinted in the sunlight. Along with the key and the heart she had the Eiffel tower, a tea cup, a mask, a high heel, a music note, a cat, and a wine glass. She loved her charm bracelet...it was her.
"So why'd you want to come for a ride in my car?"
Sophie tried not to show her nervousness. She was hoping he didn't ask that question. "Um, I just wanted to see if it was a nice car...I was thinking about buying one too."
Nate knew she was lying. "If you wanted to do that I could've just drove it around the Walmart parking lot."
"Oh. Where are we going then?" She asked curiously. The suburbs had started to thin already and they were heading into the county side. She could see mountains and forests off in the distance.
"You'll see."
The speed limit was boosted up on this road and he drove faster. Sophie had taken her hair out of its ponytail and was now letting it fly back in the wind. He grinned. She threw her hands up in the air and laughed, enjoying the feel of the wind in her hair and the feeling of a strange freedom she had never felt before. He started heading towards what appeared to be the smaller mountains. As they started to go on the long twisty road he slowed down so they weren't putting themselves in danger.
"This place is beautiful Nate!" Sophie said in awe. At one point they were already far enough and high enough to see the city of LA sparkling in the sunlight. Hills and farm fields rolled on below them, contrasting nicely with the clear blue sky. She could see forests of red woods every now and then as the road went up a little higher.
"Wait till you see where we're going," Nate said excitedly. It took only two more minutes to get there. They hadn't gone up much more because he knew at some point breathing would become a bit difficult. By the looks of the altitude markers they would be fine for a while. The road disintegrated into grass and he parked there. Sophie was looking around in amazement. They were on a fairly large plateau in the small mountain that over looked a forest. It was facing the complete opposite side of town and there was no spot of civilization anywhere.
"This place is beautiful Nate. How do you know about it?"
"Eh," He shrugged, "I feel like keeping it a secret."
She rolled her eyes and gave him a look. "How long can we stay here?"
"As long as you'd like."
She nodded and smiled. The view was absolutely stunning and it was a nice day out: there was no one around...no cars making sounds...no complaining from the other thieves. They were just alone. Together.
"So what would you like to talk about? Or do you want to just admire the scenery in peace?" Nate asked slowly. He was having a hard time not staring at her in that dress she was wearing. It kept sneaking up a little higher and then back down and it was driving him mad.
Sophie looked at him and leaned forward just slightly. "You know how I asked you if you had been working out?" He nodded. "I was, um, I was just wondering...if I could...if I could..."
"Spit it out!"
"!" She said very quickly, almost too fast for him to understand.
It took him a second to process her words. "Um, alright." Nate held his arm out to her. She reached out cautiously, as it it would set on fire any moment and wrapped her hands around it. Her hands didn't even fit all the way around! Nate looked at her briefly, her soft warm hands on his skin like that making him want to sigh happily. He bit his tongue. He flexed the muscles in his arm and could hear her gasp quietly. Sophies hand fit around his arm even less as the muscles went hard under her hands and veins popped out slightly. She wanted to moan so bad at the feeling.
"Wow Nate. You've got some muscles," She tried to tone down her surprise with boredom. It didn't work.
He smiled - was that shyness he felt? "Uhhh...yeah." He stopped flexing and she brought her hands back. That's when it hit him how close she was to him. He could smell her again and it made him squirm a little in his seat.
Sophie was looking into his beautiful blue eyes once she pulled away. The cool gray had now been replaced with a light blue. Her lips parted as she realized something. "You're sober!"
"Post-job adrenaline," He smiled a little and shrugged.
He's sober. The words rang through her head. They were alone with no one around them for many many miles, he was sober, he was single, and the tension between them was growing by the second. This was her shot. Normally she would've cared that they would be in the car but almost 11 years was enough waiting for her.
Sophie leaned in, eyes slipping closed, and kissed him. He gasped a little in surprise. Her stomach flipped again. They were both inching closer to each other - needing to be pressed against one another. Her hands fumbled as they tried to get the seat belt undone. She heard the click through the haze in her mind and slipped out from it. Nates hands were in her hair as he kissed her again. She pulled away and crawled over to him so she was straddling his lap. Her eyes went wide slightly. She looked down and then back up at him. He looked embarrassed. Before she could make a comment about it he kissed her, forcing her mouth open and slipping his tongue in. She moaned into his mouth at the feeling and kissed back hard. Nate had one hand tangled in her soft hair and one on the small of her back. She pulled away, panting slightly.
"It's hard," Sophie breathed, a grin spreading on her face. She rolled her hips into his and he moaned loudly at the feeling.
"S-sorry," He mumbled, head clearly in a daze.
"I like it," She whispered in his ear. Gently, she bit at his ear lobe and then moved to kiss his jaw line and then his neck. He still had his hand in her hair and he used that to pull her lips away from her neck.
"Control freak," She muttered. Nate ignored him comment and kissed her neck, nibbling at the skin lightly. She moaned softly as he made his way further down. His hands were all over her body; her arms, her back, her legs. Sophie felt his hands rest on her upper thigh, tracing patterns as he moved back up to her lips. He kissed her fiercely, almost angrily, devouring her mouth like a hungry wolf. They moaned into each others mouth. His hand moved higher up her thigh, pushing her dress up more. Her hands had slipped under his shirt and skimmed over his stomach before she slipped her fingers into his boxers just enough to tease him. Just as his hands slipped up a little too far and she sighed happily he pulled them back.
"N-Nate," She struggled to get the words out as her head spun with desire. "Nate, no teasing."
"Why not?" He sneered. "You teased me all those years...I think I deserve revenge."
"You-you can have your revenge," Sophie grinded her hips into his, trying to feel any type of friction. "Just one time first." Nate could see the desperation in her eyes but he wasn't about to give in that easily. "Please," she whispered.
Nevermind.
He shifted a little underneath her and started trying to get the buttons to his jeans undone. She pulled her dress all the way off and he stilled. He reached out and let his hands travel over her wondrous curves, her skin so soft under his touch. Then he stopped.
"Wait."
She looked at him, annoyed. "What?"
"Shouldn't we..." he made a gesture with his hands.
"No."
"What?"
Sophie grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him forward so their noses were almost touching. "Did I stutter?" She looked at him, searing holes into his eyes with her black lust filled ones that were now glazed over with a slight anger. He just nodded his head. She smiled. Her hands went to his jeans and she quickly got the button undone and zipper down. Finally after 11 years of waiting she'd finally get what she (and her body) so desperately craved.
Sophie felt the like the bones in her legs had disappeared and her muscles were on fire. Her body was still shaking slightly, her arms and legs twitching sometimes. Everything ached. But it was a good kind of ache. "God Nate..." she breathed.
"I know," Nate replied in a rough voice. He was completely worn out. "I can't believe we just did that."
"Me neither."
They had sort of managed to get dressed afterwards and were now sitting back in the car trying to relax. Nate would've started the car and gotten to driving away but his muscles in his legs were cramping up.
"This never happened," Sophie said suddenly, "one show only."
"What? Why?" Nate looked at her, almost incredulously.
"I'm not doing this when you're drunk, Nate. I'm just not going to allow myself to succumb to standards like that."
"Oh come on, don't say that."
"Why shouldn't I?"
He sighed and looked over at her, his eyes already fading to a light grey. "Because it degrades me."
"You're degrading yourself Nate," She reached out and gently caressed his face. He looked so sad. No! If she hadn't fallen for that before she wasn't going to fall for it now.
His smile turned wry. "Well I was going to say we could go back to your place and do it more but I need a drink before my body goes through withdrawal."
She looked at him, flat out disgusted. Her mouth tipped into a frown and she scoffed. "I can't believe you."
"You can not blackmail me in something that benifits you both ways. You can't blackmail me in general!" He started to raise his voice as he became angrier with her.
"I'm not blackmailing you!" Sophie shot back angrily. She already knew how the rest of this argument would go.
"Oh really? You're trying to get me to stop drinking by offering me sex!" Suddenly he felt the stinging pain in his face as she slapped him. Hard. He blinked a few times to regain himself. "Ow."
Sophie slumped back in her seat and sighed. So many things were tugging at the tip of her tongue but she knew she couldn't say them. The sex was...as good as it could get for being in a small car with no backseat. Her body screamed for more though. The resolve of her not screwing him when he wasn't sober fading quickly. "Fine...fine you can have a drink when we get back to my place. Just half a glass of scotch...that's it."
Nate smirked smugly. He started the car and backed out and back onto the road. "Alright." He knew she wouldn't be able to hold up her deal. She needed him too much - even if she didn't say it he knew it. Even that was enough to make him smug about it. He knew that she wasn't going to admit she needed him because she didn't want to feel vulnerable - he felt the same way. "I'm guessing you don't want to talk."
She grumbled. "Not exactly."
"I don't get why you're angry with me!"
"I'm angry at you because you're a drunk!" She snapped back at him furiously. God, she was tired of playing this stupid game with him. He could be such an oblivious ass sometimes. Suddenly the car stopped. She looked at him almost a little stunned. He looked at her with boiling blue eyes.
"Do you know what it's like Sophie? Do you know what it's like to have your boss deny the claim to pay for a treatment that would save your son. Do you know what it's like!" His voice escalated into yelling. He let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes as he regained his composer. "Do you know what it's like to have your kid ask you if everything's going to be okay and then not be able to tell him that everything's okay because you don't know? And then when you see them die in front of you. Die, Sophie. You see your only kid die."
Tears were threatening in the back of her eyes and she felt herself get choked up a little at his words. Sophie put herself in his shoes for a moment. To see your only kid die in front of you...the burden he must feel upon his shoulders. And then to have Maggie file the divorce shortly after. He must've felt like a failure as a husband and a father. For two years he was alone with no one to care for him and no one to help him. She visited him once after the death but that was before he got divorced. Other then that she made no efforts to find him or reach out to him. "I...I should've been there for you Nate...I should've been there when no one else was. You were alone for all that time...and-and no one cared. I-I-I...I know I can't relate to what you're going through...but I-I want to help. And I know you don't...you don't really like opening up to others but I'm-I'm...here."
Nate looked at her, a little nonplussed. "Are-are you trying to say that you're sorry and that you're here for me...?"
"I'm-I'm sorry Nate," Sophie choked the words out, "and...and I'm-I'm here for you."
He leaned over to her and kissed her slowly. She sighed contentedly into his mouth as his tongue explored hers. He had his hand on the back of her neck, fingers grazing her arm. His mouth was lazy against hers but it was romantic. She kissed back with a little more force but he pulled away. "I'll try," Nate whispered, forehead pressed against hers, " for you."
"Thank you," She whispered back. Nate sat back down in his seat and started the car again. The rest of the ride was spent in a happier silence. It wasn't exactly happy but it was happier. Nate pulled into a parking space in front of her apartment building and quickly got out. She got out, grimacing in pain from her legs, and quickly followed him into the building. The need was building again as she thought of how nice it felt to be pressed up against him. How nice it felt to feel like she was wanted.
Nate furiously jabbed at the elevator button. He couldn't wait much longer. His own need was crawling up his stomach like a toxic poison. By the way Sophie was taping her foot and looking around he knew she felt the same. She was so beautiful. This next time he would admire her, drink in all her beauty with his eyes. He would memorize the way her dark curls splayed out over the pillow. His mind transported back to their tryst in the car earlier and he couldn't help but remember the way she gasped and moaned at the same time - the sound of her feeling needed. It rang in his head causing a punch of desire (and not to mention arousal) to him. It seemed like 20 minutes had passed as the elevator made its torturingly slow descent down to the lobby floor. Finally it pinged and the doors opened.
They both got in quickly. After he pushed the button he pinned Sophie up against the wall. He kissed her fast and fiercely, moaning into her mouth as they fought for control. It took all of his own personal control not to just rip her clothes off then and there. Sophie was grasping at his hair with both of his hands as she tried to force him closer and closer.
"Nate," she moaned loudly.
He kissed her again, quicker this time. The doors opened seconds later and they both rushed out. Sophie fumbled to find her keys in her purse and then fumbled to get the door open. Once she got in and slammed the door shut Nate was already pulling his shirt off.
"Wait there!" She kissed him lightly on the lips and rushed off to her bedroom. She dug around in her dresser, pushing her clothes around carelessly. "I know an have it in here somewhere...aha!" She pulled out the blue tie that had been buried underneath her t-shirts that were covered with holes. It was actually Nates tie. She had stolen it way back when. Quickly, she ran back into the living room to see Nate was standing there looking a little annoyed. Her eyes went down to his shorts and then back over his chest. It quickly made sense why he was annoyed.
Nate saw her standing in front of him holding a blue piece of fabric, wearing a wide grin on her face. "Is that my tie?"
"Maybe," Sophie bit her lip to try and contain her grin. She tied it around his neck quickly, hands flying with the fabric as she tied it precisely. Once it was tied she took a step back just to admire him. She then grabbed him by his tie and dragged him into her bedroom. She kissed him passionately as her hands travelled over his body and down to his short. Working quicker this time she unbutton them and pushed them down his body, leaving him only in his boxers and a tie. When his hands brushed her inner thigh she moaned into his mouth. Nate kissed her with reckless abandon. Sophie pulled away and pulled at his hair a little more with her hand. "Now..." Suddenly he felt metal around his wrist as she spoke. Handcuffs. "The fun begins."
THE END
(As awkward as it is to have to say this…) The part when Sophie says it's hard and the two bits of dialogue after it are from the movie Moonrise Kingdom. So that's not mine. But anyways, HAPPY RETURN OF LEVERAGE! Who's excited?