An Unnamed Evening

by Electric Light Shadow Boxer

The sixth in the Unnamed series. Things have been hard for Eliot and Nate, but Nate is determined to try and make it up to his lover. More of Eliot’s past is revealed. Contains implied M/M action. Don’t read if you’re offended.

TITLE: An Unnamed Evening

AUTHOR: Electric Light Shadowboxer

RATING: R

CATEGORY: Slash

PAIRING: Nate/Eliot

DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor am I associated with Leverage. No copyright infringement intended. This little piece of insanity was written for fun, not profit. I make no money. Literally.

SUMMARY: The sixth in the Unnamed series. Things have been hard for Eliot and Nate, but Nate is determined to try and make it up to his lover. More of Eliot's past is revealed.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Takes place after The Stork Job and contains slight spoilers. Note that this series follows the order of episodes on the season 1 DVD's instead of actual broadcast order. Contains implied M/M action. Don't read if you're offended.

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: Midterms and the rest of rl is conspiring to keep me from writing. No worries though. There is another one waiting in the wings and I'm about to start on the follow up to The 12 Step Job. Thanks to all who have reviewed. I do appreciate it.

Nate checked the directions one more time and turned the heat down on the stove to let the pasta stay warm without overcooking. He rubbed his hands on a kitchen towel and glanced over at the clock. It was closing in on seven and Eliot would be home any moment. He checked the chicken in the oven and the sauce in the other pot.

One of Eliot's friends had come into town last week and was leaving for Nepal tomorrow. Since they'd been in Belgrade, Eliot hadn't been able to see his friend until today. Nate had gladly taken the opportunity to try and do something nice for Eliot. He'd used the day to clean up, not that Eliot's place ever got truly messy, and now he was attempting to cook supper.

He stirred the sauce again and set the wooden spoon down and turned down the heat under the pot. He picked up his glass and took another sip of whiskey, savoring it, forcing himself to drink it slowly. He wanted things to go well tonight. Things had been rough for so long, he just wanted to try and make it up to Eliot.

He checked the oven one more time before turning it off and taking the pie out of the freezer to thaw. Nate pulled a couple plates out of the cabinet and set them next to the stove. Next he double-checked that the silverware on the table. He felt his stomach roll nervously. This was the first time he'd ever done anything like this for Eliot. What if he didn't like it? Eliot was the cook, Nate was lucky he didn't burn water. What if Eliot felt like he was intruding on his space by working in the kitchen?

Nathan strode back into the kitchen and took a gulp from his glass, pausing a moment to let the burn settle into his stomach before taking another drink.

He heard the door in the living room open and choked. He wiped at his mouth and put the glass down on the counter. He walked around the bar to watch as Eliot closed the door behind him and tossed his keys in the basket on the table by the door. "Hey, did you have a good time?"

Eliot turned and nodded, pushing the hair out of his face. "Yeah, Michael and I haven't seen each other since Croatia. It was good to catch up." Eliot paused on his way into the room, cocking his head and studying Nathan. Not only wasn't he in a drunken stupor, he looked nervous as hell. Eliot glanced around the apartment and noticed that it had been straightened up a bit.

He turned to Nathan and narrowed his eyes. "What are you up to?"

Nathan couldn't help the smile that broke over his face, tentative, but there. "It's a surprise."

Eliot continued to look suspicious as he walked toward the other man, taking in the outfit he was wearing. He had on a deep blue Oxford shirt, un-tucked, and sleeves unbuttoned over a pair of black trousers. The blue of the shirt caught and brought out the color of Nathan's eyes. Eliot loved the way he looked in blue and Nathan knew it. He let his eyes trail over Nathan, appreciating the view. He'd made an effort at combing his hair back, something that Eliot hadn't really seen since before they'd come together as a team.

He paused again and sniffed the air. "Are you cooking?"

Nathan ran his hand through his hair, causing it to stick up on end. He nodded and tried not to look as sheepish as he felt. "Yeah, well, you know, you're always doing the cooking. I thought it would be nice if I did it for once."

"I see." Eliot nodded, a little unsettled and a lot surprised. Nathan had never taken an interest in the kitchen for anything more than a place to keep his bourbon. He could sense the other man's nervousness and finished walking across the room to where he stood. He wrapped his arms around him, tucking his nose into Nathan's neck before reaching up and kissing him. He pulled back and searched Nathan's eyes. "What's come over you?"

Nathan pulled him back in and burrowed his nose into Eliot's hair, taking a deep breath. He wasn't exactly sure when it had happened, but Eliot had started smelling like home. Like Maggie had smelled at one time. Before the memory of Sam and the smell of alcohol had dulled his senses and ripped his life apart. "I wanted to do something nice for you. I know . . .," He trailed off, clearing his throat, uncomfortable. "I'm cooking chicken marsala."

Eliot pulled back and studied the other man's eyes, searching for the dull haze that clouded Nate's blue, blue orbs when he was drunk. Lately, that haze had been a constant presence. However, now, he couldn't see it. He narrowed his eyes and leaned in for a kiss.

Nathan opened to him, letting Eliot's tongue stroke him, taste him. He closed his eyes and buried his hand in Eliot's hair pressing his mouth to his, trying to crawl deeper inside.

Nathan broke the kiss, breathless, cock already sensitive where it was pushed up against Eliot's belly. "I can turn the stove off and we can forget about dinner."

Eliot searched his eyes, lips turning up in a small smile. "You've been drinking but you're not drunk." He licked his lips and leaned in for another kiss.

When he pulled away Nathan was panting and groping to undo Eliot's shirt. Eliot smiled and stilled Nathan's hand, kissing the tip of his nose. "Let's eat. We have plenty of time for this later."

Nathan started to protest but finally nodded. This was Eliot's night. If he wanted to eat first then they'd eat. He nodded and leaned in to give Eliot a quick peck before turning and surreptitiously adjusting himself. He headed back into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner.

Eliot licked his lips and watched as Nathan turned to the stove, stirring whatever he had cooking there. He was really at a loss for words. He'd sort of been dreading coming home. He'd had such a good time with Michael, catching up, and he just knew that when he came home he'd find Nathan drunk, possibly passed out on the couch.

He watched as Nathan stirred something and then bent over to pull a couple of dishes out of the oven. God, he loved that ass. He walked over to the bar and watched as Nathan arranged food on the plates.

Nathan finished fixing the plates and then grabbed a Miller High Life out of the fridge for Eliot and carried the beer and plate over to the table. He turned and rubbed his hands on his shirt tail, trying to dispel the sweat on his palms. "Here, have a seat while I grab my plate."

Eliot walked over to the table and sat down, attention divided between the plate in front of him and Nathan in the kitchen. He watched as Nate grabbed his own plate and a glass sitting by the stove. He licked his lips and gestured to his plate as Nate sat down across from him. "This looks good. Where did you learn to fix it?"

Nate blushed, looking embarrassed. "I got the recipe off the internet."

Eliot blinked down at his plate, looking skeptical before taking a sip of his beer and picking up his fork. He watched, surreptitiously, as Nathan sat across from him, taking a sip out of his glass. If Nathan was going to actually eat something he'd do without sex for a week. Eliot picked up his fork and stirred the pasta and chicken, catching a mushroom on the tines of his fork. He scooped up some of the chicken and brought the fork to his mouth.

He started to chew. Nathan had taken a bite off his own dish when his taste buds alerted him that something wasn't quite right. He stilled his chewing and tried to breathe around the food in his mouth. He tried to think of some way to get it out of his mouth without hurting Nathan's feelings. Across the table, he saw Nathan's face blanch and decided it wasn't something he could hide. He opened his mouth and used his tongue to thrust the offending substance back out into his plate. Eliot grabbed up his beer and took a swig, trying to wash away the taste.

Nathan brought the napkin up to his mouth and spit the foul tasting stuff into the cloth. He wiped at his tongue with the linen before grabbing his drink and chugging.

Once Eliot had his breath back and was sure that Nathan wasn't going to choke, he poked at the food on his plate. "How much salt did you put in this?"

Nathan looked up, eyes still watering and face flushed. "I just put what the recipe said."

Eliot narrowed his eyes down at his plate. "I think the chicken is still bleeding."

Nathan threw his napkin down on the table. "Fuck." He picked up his glass and drained the rest of the contents. He started to get up for a refill but Eliot was there, hands on his shoulders.

"Hey. Don't worry about it." He stopped Nathan from moving around him, was tempted to draw him into a hug but was afraid Nathan would react badly.

Nathan sat back down in the chair, empty glass in hand. Eventually a smile crept over his face. Pretty soon he was laughing at the absurdity of it. "Damn, I worked hard on that."

Eliot felt the tension leave he shoulders, couldn't help but chuckle right along with Nate. He'd have to try to figure out what had gone wrong later. He didn't want to add insult to injury by doing it in front of him.

The laughter was dying away and he could see the disappointment once again cloud his lover's face. He picked up his cell phone and came to stand in front of Nate. "I know. We'll order take out from that Vietnamese place on the corner you like so much."

Nathan shook his head and sighed. "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I messed up your kitchen."

Eliot stepped forward, nudging Nathan's knees apart so he could stand between his legs. He ran his hand over Nathan's head; pushing the hair off of his forehead and making him look up at him. "Come on. I'll order the Com Bi Cha Thit Nuong and we'll cuddle up on the couch and catch up. What do you say?"

Nathan looked up into Eliot's blue eyes, swallowed, and nodded. "Yeah, okay, I'll clean up the kitchen while you call it in."

* * *

They sat on the couch, Eliot's feet propped up on the coffee table and Nathan curled into his side, head on his shoulder. He took another sip of his beer, content in the silence. He'd been pleased that Nathan had eaten nearly half of his dinner. He'd also been sipping his whiskey instead of gulping. It felt so good, so relaxed, sitting here with Nathan curled into him. He was a solid warmth against him. Eliot could feel Nate's breath tickle his neck and it made his heart flutter. Lately it seemed they'd gone through one crisis after another. It was nice to be able to breathe for a change.

Eliot felt a grin quirk his lips. "Hey, Nate."

When Nathan looked up at him Eliot leaned down and kissed him gently on the mouth. When he pulled back Nathan was smiling and Eliot held up his beer bottle in toast. Nathan quirked his eyebrow but brought his glass up and tapped it against the beer bottle. He took a drink and snuggled in a little more closely.

Eliot kissed him again, smiling against the other man's lips, teasing them open with his tongue. When he pulled back Nathan was licking his lips. Nate reached up to kiss him again but Eliot brought his beer bottle up between them and tipped it toward Nate before bringing it to his lips and taking a drink.

Nathan brought his own glass up to his lips and took a sip. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and he sat up, pushing at Eliot. "Cut it out."

Eliot couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his throat as he took another drink. "Come on, you were enjoying it."

Nathan tried to glare at Eliot but couldn't help the grin that broke out over his face. "I'm going to have to have a talk with Sophie about teaching you her tricks. Pretty soon I'm going to be outnumbered."

Eliot pulled him back in, kissed him again. He looked into his eyes, grinning. "You already are."

The grin faded from Nate's face, leaving his eyes shining with heat that had nothing to do with alcohol. "You don't have to use those tricks on me."

Eliot put the bottle of beer on the end table and grasped Nathan's face before pulling him in for a more thorough kiss. He broke off and nibbled along Nathan's jaw, down onto his neck where he lapped at the pulse point.

Nathan set his glass down on the coffee table and started unbuttoning his shirt. Once he had Eliot's bare chest exposed he ran his hands over the warm flesh, lightly twisting each nipple.

Eliot gasped and pulled away. "Get on the floor."

Nathan scooted off the couch and down into the floor, undoing his pants.

Eliot stood from the couch and disappeared into the bedroom. Nathan heard him open the door to the nightstand and he gulped the rest of his drink. Eliot came back out of the bedroom, lube in his hand.

"Strip and bend over the couch."

* * *

They'd eventually ended up in the bedroom. Nathan curled into Eliot's side, leg thrown over the other man's. He ran his hand over Eliot's stomach before splaying his fingers along his ribs.

In the next room a cell phone went off and Nathan groaned. He didn't want to know. He started pushing himself up but Eliot sat up and laid a hand on Nathan's shoulder.

"I'll get it."

Nathan watched as Eliot ran into the living room, muscles moving under tanned flesh. He came back in and tossed the phone to Nathan.

Nathan glanced at the screen and groaned before hitting the connect button. "Parker."

Eliot climbed back into bed pulling the sheet up over his lap, and leaned against the headboard.

"No, Parker. No, I promise I'm not mad."

Eliot sighed and pulled his hair back from his face.

"Yes, I understand, but you have got to be more careful." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, you did put the rest of the team in danger but we'll talk about it later." He glanced over at Eliot. "Yeah, I will. Good night to you too, Parker." He disconnected the call and slumped against the headboard. "Parker says hi and she's glad we've worked things out."

Eliot shook his head. "Not to get stuck on the subject but there really is something wrong with that girl."

Nathan sighed and tossed his phone to the foot of the bed. "Yeah, well, she's insane."

Eliot shook his head and put his arm over Nathan's shoulder's, pulling him against his side. "No she's not. You know the definition of insanity just as well as I do. She knows the difference between right and wrong. She's not insane."

Nathan shrugged. "Okay, but she's not exactly the picture for mental health either."

Eliot snorted. "Hell no."

Nathan laid his head back so it was resting against Eliot's arm. "Well, I mean, she had a horrible childhood. It's not really any wonder she's like she is."

Eliot laid a kiss against Nathan's temple before pulling back and searching out the other man's eyes. "You know a lot about us."

Nathan shrugged. "Not a lot. I know more about the others than I know about you." He turned and looked up at Eliot. "Before the age of eighteen it's like Eliot Spencer didn't exist."

Eliot tensed beside him, shrugged. "Yeah, well, I know how to cover my tracks. A person in my line of work doesn't last long if they don't."

Nathan sat forward and scooted around, so he was facing Eliot. "Do you trust me?"

Eliot snorted. "You know the answer to that. You're still an honest man. I don't care what anyone says. You don't have the heart of a thief."

Nathan licked his lips and grabbed at Eliot's hand before he could pull away. "I know you were in the army but I don't know what you did. Your record is sealed tight."

Eliot nodded. "I can't tell you that."

Nathan nodded, tried to catch the other man's eye. "Tell me about Eliot before he joined the armed services."

Eliot sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "You don't want to hear about this, Nathan. Can we drop it?"

Nathan squeezed his hand. "Yes I do. Tell me about your sister."

Eliot shook his head, closed his eyes. "Nate . . ." He opened his eyes and looked at Nathan, chewing on his bottom lip.

It was the most vulnerability Nathan had ever seen him display.

"Her name was Shannon. She was four years older than me." He coughed and sat forward. "She had a hard time of things." He stopped, staring into the distance.

Nathan squeezed his hand. "You said she killed herself."

Eliot nodded and ran a hand down his face. "She killed herself about a year after I got out of the army."

Nathan rubbed his thumb over Eliot's scarred knuckles. "I'm sorry, Eliot. It must've been very hard on you."

Eliot sighed and leaned back. "She raised me." He stopped and glanced quickly at Nathan. "Momma died giving birth to April. I don't really remember her. All I remember is Shannon."

"Do you know why she did it?"

Eliot's eyes turned cold. "Yeah, I know." He pulled his hand away and scrubbed at his face. "I'm tired. Let's get a little sleep."

Nathan thought about pushing but knew that Eliot wasn't going to give up any more tonight. He nodded and turned around to lie down next to his lover. He gathered Eliot up in his arms and laid a kiss along his spine.

* * *

Eliot woke with a gasp, Shannon's name dying on his lips. He threw his head back and took deep, cleansing, breaths. Eliot concentrated on swallowing down the fury and pain that had followed him up out of the dream. Once he'd walled that part of himself off again, he ran a hand over his face and opened his eyes. He turned to make sure that he hadn't woken Nathan.

He scowled at the empty sheets. Eliot reached out his hand and felt that the sheets were already cold. Worry had become second nature so he wasn't surprised to feel his heartbeat pick up at his lover's absence. "Nate?"

When there wasn't an answer he got out of bed and walked into the living room. He squinted in the light from the table lamp and sighed, shoulders falling as he saw Nate passed out on the couch, an empty bottle of Jameson at his side.

He knelt down next to the couch, grabbing the afghan off the back and spreading it out over Nathan's body. He pushed the hair off of Nathan's forehead and tried to quell his disappointment. It wasn't like he thought things were just going to get better all of a sudden. But he'd hoped that maybe, for at least one night, Nate might have been able to stay mostly sober.

"You just couldn't help yourself could you?"

The only answer he got was Nathan's soft snores. He placed a kiss on Nathan's brow before standing and turning out the light. He stood in the dark a moment, reassured by the sound of Nathan's breathing. "Good night, Nate."

*The End*