A/N Some of you might know I'm presently working on a several chapter Bones fic. It's not abandoned, promise, but with the short season I've found myself watching Leverage more and since I'm a child of the 90's I always think of David and Christian collectively anyway, lol...So this is a plot that popped into my head and wouldn't get out when I was thinking about Christian Kane's Angel days...see, it all connects.
"No," Eliot shook his head vigorously. It always amazed Sophie when this big, strong, hitter acted like a 2 year old.
"It's not going to be believable if you don't do this."
"Can't I be a veteran?" Eliot whined.
"No," Nate said frankly, sipping his alcoholic beverage. "The con calls for someone on active duty, and you're the only one that is even remotely in the shape of an active duty Marine."
"But…"Eliot trailed off. He didn't really have an argument for that, not only was it true, but it was also somehow a compliment. Hardison was too scrawny from a life behind a computer, Parker would have never passed the armed forces psych eval, Nate was too old, and Sophie was British.
"It's only hair, Eliot." Sophie shook her head, "It will grow back."
"ONLY HAIR!" the hitter exclaimed, reverting back to his tantrum. "You think it's convenient for me to have it long? No, but I do because I like it! It's the one part of my life that's me. It's not a part of some persona I have to adopt, it never changes, and all the ladies love it. It's not just hair it's a part of me! God!
"I know it grows, but do you know how long it took me to get it this perfect? How many awkward in-between stages there were? A LOT! It sucks, man."
"But you can't argue with Nate, can you? You know you're the only one who can do this, and you know it won't be believable if you don't have short hair." Sophie raised an eyebrow at the hitter.
"I'm not saying you have to get a high and tight, Eliot." Nate casually set down in his chair. It was amazing how calm he was in the face of Eliot's fit, so matter of fact. He was probably a great father, Sophie thought, even though the thought made her wince internally. "It just needs to be short. Plenty of active duty men still keep their hair a bit longer then regulation. You could be in year five of a six year hitch, we could just go with a business cut."
"I got'a go take a walk or something," Eliot mumbled, shaking his head. "You'll know my final answer in a couple hours."
He left the apartment and wandered down the block, his mind sorting through the debris of thoughts.
On one hand, all the things he had screamed at Sophie were 100% true. On the other hand, that included the part about it often times being a real inconvenience for him.
And Nate was right. He was the only one who could play the part convincingly. Should the occasion arise that he would need to react like a combat ready Marine, he was definitely the only one who could pull it off. It wasn't just about his muscle; it came down to reflexes and combat knowledge as well. No one else had that, at least not like him.
He went back and forth on the issue and kept walking. His hair was part of his individuality. He took off his knit cap and ran his hand through it. But maybe this was just a sign that it needed to change. Thinking about it, he had probably felt that way about it for a few months, but couldn't find a good enough reason to cut it.
He looked up from the sidewalk and saw he'd managed to walk into the city proper. And lo and behold, he was standing in front of a barber shop. While he didn't consider himself particularly religious, he did believe in signs, and a giant barber shop sign was above his head. Maybe the universe was trying to tell him something…
He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly steeling his nerves for what was to come and walked in.
"Hello!" a nice looking old man said from behind his chair. "Have a seat, young man and I'll be with you in a minute."
Eliot did as he was told and watched the barber finish up with the man presently in the chair. He unhooked his cape and brushed the hair off his neck all the while chatting about someone who Eliot assumed was the man's son, judging by the look of pride in his eyes as he rattled off baseball statistics.
"You got a good boy, Jim!" the barber said shaking the man's hand as he handed him the payment, "I'll see him in two weeks now, ya hear?" he laughed jovially and the man left the shop with a nod and a smile.
"Now," the barber walked over to Eliot and offered a hand. Eliot stood and shook it, "I'm Henry."
"Eliot, nice to meet you, Henry."
"Well, Eliot, how can I help you today?" Henry led the way to the chair. Eliot sat and studied himself in mirror as Henry threw the cape around him and got him set up for this monumental moment. At least it felt monumental to him.
"I…Well…obviously I need a haircut." Eliot sighed, "but I haven't said anything other than 'just a trim' for so long I don't even know what to tell you. Short, I guess would be a good start. What's your thought?"
"Well, you seem like the type of guy who isn't very clean cut in your personal life, but my guess is work wants you to be. We could do a faux hawk. It can be a business cut for work and then spiked up when you're off. How short do you want it?"
"Pretty short," Eliot smirked a little, "If I'm gonna do it, might as well commit, right?"
"Good call," Henry laughed and began combing his hair.
It felt like a rain cloud opened up above his head as Henry wet his hair down with the squirt bottle.
"Also," Eliot said searching for a way to work the military issue in without saying it was for a con, "My boss is ex-Marine so it needs to be something he'd approve of."
"Oh, ex-marine, aye? Better go a little shorter on the back and sides then," Henry nodded.
"What are you going to do if he won't do it, Nate?" Sophie asked running her finger along the rim of her wine glass as she stared into it pensively.
"I guess plan b, which is send Hardison in and hope no one asks him for a demonstration of his Marine skills," Nate shrugged swigging his scotch.
"Jesus," Sophie muttered, "Eliot better come back with a haircut or we're cooked."
"Yep," Nate seconded, downing the last of his drink with a raised brow.
Twenty minutes later, Eliot found himself examining his new haircut in the barbershop mirror. The sides and back had been reduced to a number four at most with the clipper and the top tapered to about an inch and a half at the center.
"See," Henry stated rubbing some styling gel into it, "You can just leave it tussled like this or comb it into a business cut," he demonstrated, "or spike it up into a faux hawk." Again he showed Eliot how it was done. "I think it looks best just slightly tussled though." He fixed it back to the original style and removed the cape, brushing Eliot off.
"I like it," Eliot smirked at his reflection, "Thanks, Henry."
"Oh, not a problem," Henry laughed as Eliot paid him, including a hefty tip.
"Keep the change, and I'll see you in a few weeks."
"Sounds like a plan." The old man smiled and waved good bye as Eliot headed back toward the apartment.
It really did feel nice to feel the wind brush the back of his neck and when he thought about how much less hassle it was going to be he actually sighed with relief. Not to mention that he did look pretty good. The ladies were still going to love him. Of course, most of the ladies loved his sweet ass-kicking skills any way, the fact that he was hot was just a bonus.
Modesty was not one of Eliot's strong suits.
He put back on his cap and put up the hood of his sweatshirt before reaching the door of Nate's building. He knew Nate and Sophie would be watching on the closed circuit and wanted to make sure he was there to see their faces when they saw his new do, no sneak peak at what his decision was before hand.
Nate buzzed him in.
"Hey," he said as he walked into the living room and stared back as Nate and Sophie studied him. He blinked a few times, his poker face securely in place. He enjoyed watching them squirm a bit first.
"Well?" Sophie asked, getting impatient, "Did you do it?"
In response Eliot dropped his hood and took off his cap.
"Thank god!" Nate clapped.
"Wow," Sophie muttered, both eyebrows in the air. "You look quite good."
"Thanks," Eliot smiled a bit. "I thought so too."
To all who reviewed: I've been away from my personal computer for three days and I had a really bad day, but coming here and seeing such nice reviews really made it sooooo much better. Thanks!
And to astridv, you have to remember this is Eliot's perception of Hardison, lol...We all know he's got a rock solid body :-D