Just another little fic about Eli trying to help out, Enjoy!
_

"There's no help for it," Eli said after a few moment s spent staring at the tiny doorway to the tinier hallway that hopefully led to a room containing whatever prized possession he was after. Josef hardly bothered keeping track if there were no fights involved, and judging from the size of the opening, there wouldn't be any serious opponents on this job, except for the occasional mouse, but Eli ought to be able to handle that much on his own. "I'll have to go in alone. You two stay here and keep watch." Beside him, Nico nodded and began slip sideways into the shadows.

"Wait," Eli said, grabbing her wrist before she disappeared. Nico tugged her wrist away from him and glared, but stayed to hear what he had to say.
"If you hide, poor Josef's going to be left standing here, sticking out like a sore thumb." He jerked his own thumb at Josef, who crossed his arms and joined Nico in glaring at him. "He always acts like he's standing guard." Eli continued, pointedly ignoring Josef.
"I thought that was the idea," Josef interrupted, growing impatient. Eli rolled his eyes and turned to him.
"You might as well be holding sign that says, 'Something Fishy is going on here!'" He exclaimed. "What good does that do me?"
"And you have a better idea?" Josef asked without answering the question. Eli grinned, a slow mischievous grin that always meant that he was up to something.
"Yes. As a matter of fact, I do." With no further warning, Eli turned to give Nico a shove toward Josef. She stumbled forward in surprise and Josef took her shoulders to steady her. Eli darted over to the door and started to step through it pausing to give Nico a long, slow wink over his shoulder. "Pretend to be lovers – I think that even your pathetic acting skills should be up to the task. Most people won't even give you a second glance." Eli disappeared into the dark hallway, and shut the door behind him, leaving Nico and Josef to stare speechlessly after him, Josef's hands still on Nico's arms. They stood there like that a moment longer, before Josef realized he was still holding Nico, and quickly dropped his hands. Neither of them stepped back, and Nico was looking up at him.
"Eli's a moron." Josef said definitively, to break the silence. Nico didn't respond. "I don't know who he thinks he is," Josef grumbled uncomfortably. Nico looked away then, peering past him up the dark corridor.
"Someone's coming," she whispered, putting a hand on his arm to push him a step closer to the wall. Josef darted a glance over his shoulder. He couldn't see anything, but he trusted Nico's vision in the dark far more than his own. He stepped back and took her shoulder to steer her gently toward the shadows, but Nico held her ground.
"Eli's right, you would be kind of obvious," she said. Josef cursed Eli inwardly. He'd gone and made Nico feel responsible for the success of this mission.
"I'll be fine," he reassured her, darting another glance over his shoulder. This time even he could hear footsteps and see a figure coming towards them. Josef cursed again and pulled Nico instinctively against him, hoping at least to protect her from view. She buried her face in his shirt and he worried belatedly about her cutting herself on all the knives he had strapped to his chest. Josef could feel her holding her breath. Oddly, the fact that she was holding her breath made the whole awkward, ridiculous moment slightly less awkward and ridiculous. Not because Eli's idea had any more merit than before, but because he knew how to handle it. There was no need to be nervous and certainly no need to hold her breath. They had gotten out of far worse before. Josef leaned down till he was close enough to whisper in her ear. "Take another breath," he whispered, and he felt her relax and let go of the breath she had been holding. The footsteps were very close now. They came closer, closer, and then passed right by. Josef watched the man walk by over the top of Nico's head, breathing a sigh of relief as he passed. Just when he thought they were safe, the man stopped short, turned slowly on his heel, and squinted into the dark, like a man who had seen something out of the corner of his eye. Josef's arms tightened around Nico, waiting for him to say something, to shout for guards, and thinking of the choice words he would have for the thief when he came back about this hiding in plain sight nonsense. The man squinted a moment longer before his face cleared, he chuckled a bit before he turned and continued making his way down the corridor. Josef waited until the footsteps faded before pulling away from Nico, grinning down at her upturned face.
"It worked," he whispered, and she beamed up at him, her dark eyes shining with an emotion he couldn't place. He didn't have time to ponder it, though because Eli was pushing the door open behind them flattening the two them together against the wall. Somehow, it didn't feel so awkward anymore. Eli closed the door and cleared his throat. Nico stepped back and Josef turned around to face him. "If you two are ready?" he said, smirking at them. Nico was staring at the floor and Josef thought he could see the shadow of a blush on her cheek.
"Yeah, let's go," Josef said starting off down the hall to divert attention from Nico. Nico stood there a moment longer before hurrying to catch up with them.
"Did you get what you wanted?" She asked Eli, coming up behind him.
"Yup," Eli patted his pocket. "Did you?"
Nico's eyes widened, her gaze darting quickly to Josef and then back to Eli. Josef's eyes narrowed and Eli grinned.
"Let's get out of here," he said cheerfully.

Thanks for reading!
~booksrgood4u