A/N: Just a short thing I came up with after noticing how Sophie talks about Sterling in The Two Horse Job. I don't own Leverage

Let's have a chat

Sophie walked down the sidewalk by herself. Her hands were shoved in her pockets and she looked down at her feet. They were in the middle of a job where Sterling just happened to be on the opposing side. She hated Sterling. And she meant she really hated him.

"Hello Miss Devereaux" Came Sterlings voice as he started walking next to her

"Sterling" Sophie replied stiffly, not bothering to look at him. She didn't need to look back at the bastard to see he was smirking.

"We haven't had a chance to chat" He said in a smooth voice. That voice made her skin crawl and she dug her nails into her leg to keep from attacking him.

"I don't want to chat with you" Sophie snapped back.

"I really don't know how Nate puts up with you" Sterling wondered out loud, laughing slightly.

Sophie whipped around and slapped him hard across the face. "Don't you dare bring Nate into this!"

Sterling brought a hand up to his cheek as the stinging pain spread through his face. "So this is what it felt like when you slapped Nate on that boat."

"After you arrested him!" Sophie spat like venomous poison.

"He's a thief. Nothing more. You're all just thieves."

Sophie felt the burning pain in her throat grow. "We're not just thieves. We all have different things we do"

Sterling snorted at how defensive she was. "Like what?"

"Eliot likes to wrestle, Hardison likes playing video games, Parker likes to do a type of gymnastics, Nate likes to do puzzles, and I like acting in plays." Sophie explained with slightest hesitancy and softness in her voice.

"It's not like you're any good at them though" Sterling muttered.

"I beg your pardon"

"Let me tell you something Sophie because your team cares about you too much to tell you. You. Can't. Act."

Those three words were like a sucker punch to the face. The tears immediately filled up her eyes and anger swam across her vision. She couldn't cry in front of Sterling. She wouldn't.

"Aw, did I hurt your feelings...sweetie?" Sterling added the last bit with a mocking grin. He knew where to push her buttons and he knew what would set her over the edge. He knows how she thinks.

Sophie slapped him. Then she started to walk away because that's what she needed to do. But when she blinked she realized she hadn't moved. She was still looking at Sterling with that mocking grin on his face.

"You can't walk away" Sterling growled and he slowly stared walking towards her. Sophie backed up slowly but all the sudden he pushed her into an alley and back against the wall. She went to scream but he clamped his hand over her mouth. This was unlike the Sterling that she knew.

It scared her.

"You need to learn some manners"

"And you need to get your filthy hands off me" Sophie retorted bitterly but the words were muffled by his hand.

The training Eliot had given her finally kicked in and she lunged for his neck. All the sudden Sterling let go and she stumbled into the open air. Her head hit straight into the opposite wall and she could feel a large open scratch across the right side of her forehead.

"Dammit, scheisse…" And Sophie went off swearing in lots of other languages

Sterling just laughed.

Once Sophie stopped swearing up a storm she pulled her hand away from her head to see it glisten red in the streetlight. A quick glance at Sterling at she started bolting off in the other direction. And oh boy, was she lucky she wasn't wearing heels or else she wouldn't twisted both her ankles. She didn't see Sterling behind her but she kept running.

Fin