Roadtrip
a/n thanks to my beta Taylor Hayes
They had only been driving for two hours, and Nate was already at wit's end. He hadn't heard "The Wheels on the Bus" since he was in grade school, and he wasn't happy to hear it now. To make matters worse, Sophie had assigned Nate to drive, so he wouldn't be having a drink anytime soon.
And the singing continued.
He would have gotten Eliot to force Parker and Hardison to stop, but the hitter had headphones in and was ignoring the rest of the team.
Finally, the tone deaf rendition of "The Wheels on the Bus" stopped, and Nate breathed a sigh of relief, happy to enjoy the silence.
Unfortunately, it didn't last as "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" started coming from the back seat.
By the time they were down to 87 bottles of beer, Nate lost it, yelling, "The next person to sing anything, I'm going to kick out of the car!"
Quiet resonated through the confined space.
Finally, Sophie spun to talk to the three in the back. "Why don't we play the alphabet game?" Then she looked out the window and frowned. "We're going to have to get creative though, since there aren't any signs or buildings around. Let's change it up a bit."
Parker looked confused, then happy, remembering when Hardison had taught her the rules to the game she'd never played as a child. "I know how we can still play the alphabet game!"
Hardison turned to his blonde partner in crime, "How?"
"We can say a law we've broken, or a crime we've committed, or something we've stolen!" the thief grinned.
Hardison raised an eyebrow. "How's that work?"
Sophie jumped in. "No, I get it. You start with A, and name a word or phrase which you've done that starts with that letter. Then we all go through the alphabet, and whoever can get the farthest wins."
Parker turned and began poking Eliot, until he angrily pulled out the headphones and demanded, "What?"
"Eliot, we're gonna play a game! Will you play with us? Please, please, please!"
Eliot rolled his eyes at the girl, then sighed. "Fine. I'll play."
The new rules were explained again, and Eliot started. "I've been charged with Assault and Battery multiple times."
The grifter went next. "Well, there was this one con that we ended up naming the Altered Dress."
"Does that count?" Hardison inquired.
"Considering I ended up walking out with several sculptures hidden inside it, and managed to tango and look stunning in it, I would certainly say yes," Sophie replied with a fond smile at the memories.
Hardison shrugged, thought for a second, then calmly announced, "Arsenic."
Everyone stared in surprise, but no one felt like asking.
Parker grinned. "For a lot of jobs, I use Alec Hardison."
Eliot laughed loudly, and Sophie giggled, while Hardison looked embaressed.
In the driver's seat, Nate's headache slowly ebbed away. He was glad the singing had stopped, but the progressing game made him feel more and more uneasy about the four people he was sharing a car with.
the end