Appreciating what we've got

Written for the schmoop_bingo prompt of "cuddling"

Fandom : Supernatural/Leverage

Pairing : Dean/Eliot (Fits in the same 'verse as "I Keep Your Picture" and "How It All Began" – kind of a future timestamp)

Rating : PG-13

Word count : approximately 700 words

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

Appreciating what we've got

Years down the line and Eliot still loves being at Bobby's place, loves the anticipation of what will happen while he's there almost as much as he loves the actuality of being there itself. It's where they started, where he first knew that Dean cared as much as he did. It's where they fought and fixed their relationship, where together they worked out how to face the world as one.

Their relationship has always been more; more than just sex, more than just convenient. It was about finding themselves. It was about being all they could be iand/i more. It was about love and safety, about wanting the best for each other and finally . . . finally working out that it was themselves.

All the way back in the past, they had kind of been friends but not, and then Eliot had spent the night drinking heavily on the porch swing unknowingly, while Dean had been inside packing to leave, neither confident enough to believe that they could be wanted. Eliot's drunken blurting out of feelings had been the trigger. It had been enough to have Dean curling up on the porch swing seat and the two of them spending the better part of the night kissing and cuddling.

Over the years, nothing has changed on that score. It's still one of Eliot's favorite places to be, assuming they're not actually in bed together. There's something heart-warming about sitting in the moonlight on a clear, balmy, summer's night, curled round each other, trading kisses, stories and memories. Catching up on their time apart, healing the sense of emptiness they both feel when they're not together; swinging gently back and forth. It soothes the heartache and hurt of real life. For just a moment in time, Eliot knows he can make Dean's pain fade a little, keep him safe from the world's onslaught.

In just the same way, he knows that he can equally find shelter from his own storms, find a love and acceptance that isn't dependent on anything more than his presence and the shared feelings theyhave. He doesn't have to be Eliot the hitter, there's no conning going on. He is just Eliot, Dean's Eliot and in that moment, he wouldn't want to be anything else.

The door creaks slightly as Dean opens it, carefully maneuvring round and trying to stop it banging as it closes, despite his hands being full. His expression is softly affectionate as he takes in the sight of Eliot lost in a world of his own on the swing seat.

Dean decided long ago, that when this life is over and he and Eliot get to settle down somewhere together, the first thing he's going to buy is a swing seat . . . or maybe the second. Yeah definitely the second, first would have to be a bed, second the swing seat because seriously, he can't imagine ever not having this time together.

He can't imagine ever not wanting this time together.

"Hey honey! Anyone home?" he murmurs softly leaning down to speak in Eliot's ear. Eliot jumps as he's finally brought back to the here and now. Dean rounds the edge of the seat, sitting down alongside Eliot with a smirk, pressing close into his side and holding out a bottle of beer.

Eliot accepts gratefully, sparing a quick kiss for Dean before he takes a swig of the beer and then regards the almost empty bowl of chips on Dean's lap. "Seriously! Didn't you eat enough earlier on?"

"Yeah, but these are home-made by you and I only get them when we're here," Dean says simply. "I have to appreciate them while I get the chance."

"There are other things you only get when we're here," Eliot says reproachfully. "I'd rather you spent the time appreciating some of them!"

Dean smiled, leant forward to put the bowl of chips out of reach, took a final swig of his beer before setting that down on the floor and curled closer to Eliot with an expectant look on his face.

Eliot grinned, lifted an arm round Dean's shoulders and pulled him closer. Content.