Notes: Beware posion dart frogs that come and mess up your story's formatting. They're really annoying.
Rules of Engagement
It started somewhere between a joke, a promise, a demand, and a need to speak out loud to be sure that they both understood the requirement.
The first rule is control. We can share it, trade it, give or take it, but someone always has to have it.
It was a necessity. That violence inside Eliot that made him such a capable fighter had long since become almost a separate entity in his mind. He controlled it, and as long as Eliot was in charge the body count was limited to those he deliberately went after. It had been years since he'd let that control go completely but the carnage he'd wreaked still haunted him. The fact that those around him, Nate and those he thought of as family, would never stand a chance against that force drove that need for control further.
In a relationship, something Eliot hadn't had in years, coming to care about people in just as long, he couldn't afford a single slip up. Relationships, companionship, trust, this thing with Nate were all wonderful but they put your guard down. Having his guard down was a luxury Eliot couldn't afford and if it ever meant control was lost he'd have to drop everything.
It was haphazard at first, joking rules with deeper meaning, mocking commentary on their relationship. It was something to fill silence with, something to laugh about. The rules were never really supposed to be a coherent list.
They'd been together for nearly four months when Eliot was scrounging around Nate's desk at his apartment for something he forgot completely when he found the little legal pad and it's neat little numbers and lines. Somewhere along the line Nate had started taking down their "rules of engagement"
1. Control. We can share it, trade it, give or take it, but someone must always have it.
2. Trust.
3. Eliot is no longer allowed to threaten death via office supplies to any team mate. He may only threaten marks with them when they flirt with Nate as long as it doesn't raise suspicions.
4. When Eliot cooks Nate dinner Eliot must let Nate do the dishes.
5. When Nate drinks himself sick he is not allowed to feel guilty later for forcing Eliot to stay up all night to make sure he doesn't die of alcohol poisoning. He will however buy Eliot new boots and/or knives for his troubles.
6. Don't bother Eliot when he's cooking. Especially if he's doing it to calm down to avoid losing his temper and harming you. Especially if he's holding a knife.
7. Always close the blinds unless you want to encourage Parker's voyeurism.
8. Whatever you do, don't let Sophie find out.
9. If rule 8 is broken be sure to disappear before she can start in as a woman scorned. Even Eliot isn't a match for that.
10. Always let Eliot know you're there before touching him. Never restrain him even as a joke. Watch him when you try something new. Keep him talking if you're worried, his speech pattern changes when distressed no matter how hard he tries to hide it.
11. If Eliot isn't comfortable with something he has to say something.
12. If Eliot doesn't say something and Nate triggers a flashback Nate is not allowed to feel guilty since it's not his fault Eliot is an idiot.
13. If Nate breaks rule 12 Eliot's not allowed to get annoyed or feel guilty that Nate feels guilty or that he didn't trust Nate or for any other conceivable reason.
14. Eliot likes horses. Movies about horses are an entirely different matter.
15. Threatening every liquor store clerk and bar keeper in a twenty mile radius is an admirable attempt to curb Nate's drinking but ultimately a waste of an afternoon.
16. "Go skip some rope" is a good way to ensure you will be sleeping on the couch for a couple weeks.
17. Say the things you want to say. You might not get a chance to say them later. But don't say That Thing.
18. Good manners are important.
19. No mixing pleasure with business.
20. Even though you don't say That Thing, find ways to make sure he knows.
21. L-
"What are you looking at?" Nate asks, interrupting Eliot's reading and obeying rule 10. He comes over, glancing over Eliot's shoulder and smiling. "I started writing them down awhile ago. They're good things to remember."
Eliot put the paper back down and glanced up at Nate, standing a little bit closer than rule eight advised. He was about to say something when Nate came even closer, a hand resting on Eliot's arm pulling him to turn toward Nate. There was no stench of alcohol on him right now, a rare treat to have Nate fully there with him.
"Got you something you might like." Nate said, a teasing smile on his face. "Picked up Seabisscut and Dreamer. Figured we could have a movie night." Nate said it so casually Eliot actually sputtered as he searched for a response before he caught the idea Nate was kidding. "Then I saw a movie I thought you'd like better." Nate revealed a beat up looking VCR home video labeled "Shane". It was a cowboy classic Eliot had been sure Hardison could have gotten him a dvd of in about a minute if Eliot had been willing to deal with the jokes it would open him up to.
Wordlessly Eliot gave Nate a brief kiss and led him toward the living room. A night without having to fight liquor for Nate's attention, Nate knowing instinctively the perfect movie to find for him, the comfortable silence between them…
Looked like Nate was doing fine at following through rule 20. Even if it was far to cliché and innocent for two broken and battered men like them neither had much trouble letting the other know this was love.