A/N: These are all random one-shots. There is no direct relation unless stated in an author's note. I will tell you guys if any chapters are to be seen in relation to one another. If you have requests for a one-shot, please PM me. Thanks for reading and please review! I don't own Leverage! That song is Save A Horse, Ride a Cowboy by Big and Rich.
*This is set after The Two-Horse Job in Season 1, so a few spoilers are included. *
It was a good song. It really was, and at any other time, Eliot might have actually said that aloud. If things had been different, maybe he would have let them in just a little bit to see that side of him. But now that was impossible. He'd never be able to let them know. Because if he did…he would never hear the end of it.
Eliot sighed, and leaned back into his chair. He had taken sanctuary in his office, the one place he knew they wouldn't bother him. He knew it had been a mistake to take that last job. But Aimee and her dad…he remembered how much those horses had always meant to them both. Hell, he had loved them, too. Horses had always been a part of his life, and Aimee had been a part of it, too, for a while and when that he had seen their names on that possible client list…he had asked. He had asked Nate for help.
It had been worth it, he supposed. Except now he had revealed a small secret, a glimpse into his life before, a piece of himself to the four people he still barely knew and did not at all trust. It wasn't so much the country boy thing. His accent did come out more often than he'd like, even more so in his anger. It was the horses.
Ever since he had ridden bareback down the highway on the last job, the others had been giving him non-stop grief.
Sophie was, unsurprisingly, impressed.
"There's just something about a tough, angsty country boy riding bareback on a thoroughbred that just-mmm." Sophie had grinned and given the appalled Eliot a seductive wink. "And I'm sure Aimee thought so, too, huh?"
"Leave the grifting to the marks, why don't you." Eliot had growled warningly at the British woman and stormed off, mostly so she couldn't see the blush that threatened to flame.
Nate had been better, but only marginally.
"Nice work, Eliot." Nate had sidled up to him as they were leaving the stables. "You, uh, really did "ride em' cowboy". "
Eliot cringed, not able to hide his reddening face from his boss. But at least Nate, and Sophie, had had their jests and let it drop. And Eliot could live with that. He could live with them knowing a little bit of his country background, as it only seemed to just enlighten the mystery of "Eliot Spencer" for those two.
It was the remaining two that were driving him up the wall.
Parker, as she made clear the entire job, did not like horses. Hell, it had taken a whole lot of convincing to get her in that air duct, and a whole lot more once she had found herself face to face with the "terrifying beast". To her, horses were no joke.
Except when it came to him, apparently. Then, it seemed, it was fucking hilarious. She and Hardison had found Eliot's…activities in the stable bed remarkably unsurprising, unlike the grifter and mastermind. But for them, it was the horses.
Eliot didn't know what was worse: the song, or the fact that everyone was starting to sing to it.
Cause I saddle up my horse
And I ride into the city
I make a lot of noise
'Cause the girls
They are so pretty
"Goddamn it. " Eliot growled. He could hear the song start again, for the hundred and twentieth time. He knew they were all out there in the main room, playing the goddamn track and waiting for him to come storming in, growling and threatening them until they turned it off, only for the whole thing to be repeated not two hours later.
Riding up and down Broadway
On my old stud Leroy
And the girls say
"Okay. This ends now." Eliot stood and quietly went to the box he kept on the shelf behind his desk. This wasn't going to stop if he kept doing what they expected him to do. He learned that lesson the hard way throughout his entire life. He picked up his desired objects and twirled them around his fingers, watching the silver blur as the lyrics picked up volume from the other side of the office. So they decided to play it that way, huh? Alright.
Quietly, Eliot eased the door open and he slipped into the empty entryway. He could hear the soft whispers, and Parker's giggles, coming from down the hall. Targets acquired. Strategy in mind, Eliot turned away from where he knew his team waited and softly snuck around towards the opposite doorway.
Save a horse, ride a cowboy
Everybody says
Save a horse, ride a cowboy
The lyrics were catchy; he'd give them that. And, he'd admit, he could see why it would sound…familiar to his own personal life and experiences. A small smile managed its way onto the hitter's face as he remembered himself as a kid, coming to the stables after school to see the horses and helping Aimee break them in. Those were the happiest days of his life, and the very last he would see for a long, long time. A small, twisting feeling circled his stomach and suddenly he felt like a wire was tugging at his heart.
I'm a thorough-bred
That's what she said
In the back of my truck bed
"Okay that's enough!"
Eliot turned the corner and stood behind his team, all of who visibly jumped away from Hardison's laptop. Good. But he wasn't done yet. He carefully masked his face blank, he body relaxed and without a hint of the tension that boiled underneath. Just like he wanted, they all seemed suddenly on edge by his lack of fight. Now it was just a matter of who would break the silence.
"H-hey, Eliot. Man, we was just talking bout you. Um.." Hardison took a step forward towards the hitter. He hadn't noticed what he should have and he was further from his laptop. Again, this was perfect. "See, we were all just remembering how good of a cowboy you'd make, seeing as how-"
"Shut up, Hardison." Eliot's voice remained calm, a feat he as proud of. He didn't know if he was on the verge of screaming or just plain laughing, but he had to keep it together. Things were still new with these guys, and showing all your cards too soon made for a dangerous game.
"Now. This is the last time I am going to say this. Stop playing that song." Eliot spoke softly and very, very slowly so that they all, Parker especially, would understand his message very clearly.
"Hm. Or what?" Nate's fatherly smug tone almost broke it for Eliot. But he only smirked and eyed the little blonde thief.
"Sure, Eliot. We can stop." Parker's voice was cheerful, with no trace of apology or truth to it. Eliot knew she knew that she had found the loophole. The unspoken "but we won't" hung in the air as Parker reached almost comically slow towards the laptop and hit the enter key.
Save a horse, ride a cowboy
Everybody says
Save a horse, ride a cow-
There was the sound of shattering glass, alongside the sudden, delayed shriek of Sophie, as Eliot's knife whipped through the air and went right through the screen of Hardison's laptop.
"My baby!" Hardison wailed, sinking to his knees. "What the hell, man? Why, why would you do this? The song still exists, you Neanderthal. Destroying my precious did nothing! Why, oh baby, my poor computer, ah man…" Hardison reached for the shattered remains of his poor electronic. Parker, Nate and Sophie, however, were still staring at the hitter with a mix of shock and fear as he twirled a second blade in his fingers.
" You can't say I didn't warn you. " Eliot shrugged. "Consider that a polite follow-through, Hardison. I can just as easily repeat that with, say, extremely expensive liquor," Nate paled, "or perhaps, one-of-a-kind designer boots," Sophie made an audible gulp, "or even a very, very large amount of money." Parker didn't react, but Eliot could see her eyes sharpen coldly, but he knew she understood. "Glad we understand one another. I'll see y'all tomorrow." Eliot let his accent slip just a little bit, a smirk clearly in place, and as he turned to leave, he started humming that same song.
He'd never follow through on those other threats. And he already had another laptop on order for Hardison anyway since the hacker's birthday was coming up and he might as well ease his way into everyone's good graces.
Truth is, that song was slowly making Eliot…not happy, per se, but content. These people….well, they were all right, weren't they? Perhaps, given time, they'd all mean something to each other beyond the bonds of team crime.
It was a very good song.