A/N: Look at all you lovely people leaving such wonderful reviews for me! You're all wonderful! :-) So, we like a little Nate/Sophie in amongst our E/P, huh? Thats very cool. But hey, whats this? In amongst the E/P... a little plot? Good Lord, how did that get in there! lol

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 5

The sun through a crack in the blinds caught Eliot right across the eyes and woke him. It took him a second to recall where he was and why, and when he did remember he almost wished he hadn't. On the grift at a couples retreat with Parker posing as his wife, it was hardly his ideal way to spend time, but they had a job to do and if this was what it took, well, he'd been if far worse situations, not least having to watch Sophie in Death of a Salesman...

It was only as he brought one hand to his face, rubbing sleep from his eyes and pushing his hair aside that Eliot realised he had only the one arm that would actually move. Glancing down, he was more than a little surprised to find that whilst his right arm was free, his left was trapped under the soft, warm, and decidedly female form of Parker.

They certainly hadn't gone to sleep cuddled up together, in fact Eliot knew they had been back to back on opposite edges of the bed, and yet here they were now, both in the middle, his arm around her body which was tucked up next to him, her head resting on his chest. His immediate reaction ought to be to move, to wake her up and ask her what the hell she thought she was doing, but Eliot didn't have it in him to be so harsh right now.

Parker was crazy, there was no other explanation for the way she usually behaved, and yet right now, sleeping on his shoulder like this, she looked like some kind of angel to the hitter. It was the strangest feeling to Eliot, and not just because he was lying here with Parker. He really didn't get to do this with anyone, just lie in peace and silence, holding onto a woman he cared about, watching her sleep. He had no problem with the fact he cared about the thief, she was on his team, and he had to care what happened to all the people who worked at Leverage Consultancy. There was no way he cared any more than that of course, or so he told himself, wiping the smile from his face that had crept across his lips without his really noticing, just as Parker began to stir.

She made a little sighing sound as she came to, her eyes fluttering open and taking in the world around her. Parker was sure she hadn't slept this well in a very long time, had never been this comfortable, which was why she started frowning a second later when she realised this wasn't home. Her pillow was warm but not entirely soft and it took just a second for her to realise there was an arm holding onto her, not in a bad way, but still it was there.

A squeak emitted from her lips as she sat up fast, the blankets falling away from her body and revealing more than Eliot had been prepared for.

"Geez, Parker!" he complained, grabbing the covers and covering her assets for her, "First you give me a dead arm and then…" he wasn't sure exactly what he'd been going to say, but given the topic he was in he was only serving in keeping his mind on things he really didn't need to be focusing on, "I already hate this job" he sniped, as he moved to climb out of bed, putting his back to the thief.

Parker blinked a couple of times as her brain caught up with her body. She had slept in Eliot's arms, using his muscley chest for a pillow, and it had been nice. That was a little weird, but she wasn't about to start worrying about it. They had a job to do, whether they liked it or not (and Eliot clearly didn't) so that was where her brain needed to be if she was going to pull off her character and all.

"Alice White, vegetarian, feminist, happy person" she recited to herself as she swung her legs out of the bed and let go of the covers as she stretched her arms high above her head.

Eliot glanced over his shoulder a moment and then averted his eyes again immediately he realised that Parker was still very much naked and could turn around herself at any second.

"Nate, Sophie?" the thief heard her partner say, clearly testing the earbud to see if it was working and if the rest of the team were up and at 'em yet.

"Hey, man" replied Hardison, "They ain't here yet, but I got your back if you need anything"

"I'm hungry" Parker declared through her own earbud now, the only thing she was wearing, Eliot realised, when he made a wrong assumption and turned to look at her.

"Then put on some clothes, or they're not gonna let you in the dining room" he advised her.

"Hey, hold on a sec!" said Hardison in his ear, "Is she not…? Do you not have on any clothes, Parker?" he checked, as Eliot rolled his eyes.

"Like anybody sleeps in clothes!" scoffed Parker, pulling on her jeans and a shirt now that she was up, "And they call me crazy" she muttered, not noticing the way Eliot was looking at her now, like she really was completely off her axle.

Of course it was easier than letting himself think too much on the fact he had woken up with her naked body pressed against him. Those thoughts would lead to absolutely no good.

Before tonight he would have to make sure he at least convinced her to wear panties and a T-shirt in bed, or this job was going to get way out of hand. He was only a man after all, and he did have limits, which he could use not being tested right now, especially not by Parker!

Sophie and Nate were headed into the office at the same time, meeting on the pavement outside the building where Leverage Consultancy was based. Neither looked as if they'd slept all that well, though the grifter was better at covering exhaustion than the mastermind ever was.

"Morning" she said, with an attempt at a smile that didn't really happen.

"It is" Nate agreed with a careful nod, mindful of disturbing the ache in it as he opened up the front door and ushered Sophie inside like a gentleman should.

They headed for the elevator together, stepping in through the opening doors almost as one. Nate hit the button and up they went, still in silence.

"Look, Nate" Sophie sighed after a couple of floors, unable to stand this any longer, "I'm sorry, okay? I know I got a little over-dramatic last night, I just..."

"Don't worry about it, forget it" he told her, cutting in before she could get emotional.

The last thing Nate wanted right now was to have to deal with Sophie caring. It was so much easier to sweep his drinking under the rug and pretend it wasn't a problem. It was, and he knew it, but pretending suited him better right now. If Sophie started caring too much, he would have to think and talk about things he'd sooner forget, and that wasn't just his drink problem.

"I don't want to forget it" she told him, a little mad that he would cut her off like that when she was trying to apologise, "I want to tell you that I know I lost my temper and it's really not my place to tell you when you can and cannot drink" she said sadly as the elevator reached the correct floor and the doors opened.

Nate moved to make a hasty exit, but never got the chance. There it was, the hand on his arm, the sad and sympathetic look in her eyes that he'd tried so hard to avoid. Sophie was just being a good friend and he knew it, but at this point, he couldn't deal.

"I get it, Soph, you care" he said, perhaps a little too harshly as he looked back at her, "but right now, we have a job to do so... just, let it go" he advised, tugging his arm free from her grasp and heading into the offices.

The pair of them might've continued their discussion regardless, after all Sophie wasn't always great at letting things lie, but both hers and Nate's attention were immediately taken away from any other topic as they stepped into the boardroom and found Hardison at the table, raving too loudly about the most unlikely subject.

"I don't care if you think it's crazy, Parker!" he was yelling through his earbud, "It ain't right you being naked with Eliot!"

"Something we should know about, guys?" asked Nate as he pushed his own comms device into his ear, and Sophie's eyes widened all the further when she did the same just as Eliot let rip with a string of curses.

Perhaps they really should focus on the job, because it didn't exactly sound as if it was going well so far!

"Buenos dias, ladies y gentlemen" said the dance teacher as she ushered a group of half a dozen couples into her studio, "My name is Senora Alvarez and today I will be teaching you all... to tango" she said with a flourish, smiling widely, almost evilly Parker thought, but the this whole dancing thing didn't exactly thrill her anyway.

Eliot looked suprisingly relaxed about the whole thing, which surprised his partner, after all, he had seemed pretty mad about it before. That was nothing new since the hitter was often angry about most things, including Parker sleeping naked apparently. She still didn't get why it was such a big deal to everybody but nobody was willing to talk to her about it anymore so she just let it go.

As the six couples spread out a little, Senora Alvarez began walking around, putting everybody into a correct dancing hold and explaining the importance of her class in a thick Spanish accent.

"Now, the reason for the dancing classes here are three fold" she said as she moved, pulling one woman's back straight, tilting another man's chin up as she walked around, "Number one, we have to trust in each other and work as team, moving as if one body. Number two, it takes our mind away from daily task and other thing, focuses everything on each other" she explained as she passed the husband and wife next to Eliot and Parker.

The undercover couple were pretty much ready for this. Parker hadn't a clue what she was doing but Eliot had manoeuvred her where she needed to be with one hand on his shoulder and one clasped in his own, his other hand at her waist. It wasn't helping that they could hear Hardison in their ear calling for Nate and Sophie to 'hurry because the fun was just about to start'. Eliot was pretty sure he had a bowl of popcorn ready for the occasion too.

"Am I the only one who remembers we're here to do a job?" he ground out through gritted teeth so only Parker and those in his ear would hear him.

"And Number Three" the teacher continued as she reached 'Paul and Alice' who faked smiles at her immediately they noticed she was there, "The dance brings us closer together" she said with a smile that meant more than it should when she looked Eliot's way.

Parker let out a yelp as she felt a hand on her ass, and realised suddenly it was Senora Alvarez herself, pushing the blonde closer to her 'husband' til their faces were practically touching. She blinked hard finding this whole thing a little too much if she were honest.

Being in close proximity with other people made Parker want to run and Eliot want to lash out, so the two of them being up close and personal to each other like this was hardly ideal. Still, it was for the job, as Eliot himself had just said, and so they would have to make the best of a bad situation.

"Okay, we start with you all showing me how you move!" said Senora Alvarez with a further flourish as she flipped a switch on the stereo and intense traditional tango music filled the room, "Everybody feel the music" she said, clearly with a passion for both the music itself and the dance it ought to inspire.

"Okay" said Eliot in a low voice, as he looked sideways at the other couples and then back at Parker, "Follow my lead" he told her, as he began to move his feet.

The little thief looked like a startled rabbit in the headlights of a Mac truck for a second, but then seemed to realise he was just asking her to walk and that wasn't so hard. Parker tried not to concentrate on the closeness between them and instead looked at her feet and his as she tried to match her steps with Eliot's own. It came pretty easily to her, which was a surprise, but not as much of a shock as realising Eliot could really dance.

"How are you so good at this?" she asked as he expertly spun her around and back into his waiting arms without ever missing a beat.

"It's all about rhythm and timing, darlin'" he told her with a smile, unable to help but be a little smug when the rest of the couples in the room seemed to be struggling so badly, "Same things you gotta have to fight like I do" he said pulling her in close, not letting his mind linger too long on the fact her body was pressed up against his own... again.

"Don't look down" he told her, moving a hand to her face to make her meet his eyes.

It immediately seemed he'd made a mistake as the swell of the music and the position they were in blanked his mind of anything else.

"We're not moving" Parker noticed then, and Eliot had to shake himself to remember what he was doing.

"I know" he said with a nod, "You trust me, right?" he checked and though Parker hadn't a clue where it came from she nodded a positive response to his question and quite literally put herself in his hands, as the music kicked up a gear and so did the dance.

"Oh my God, Nate, look at this!" insisted Sophie, jostling his shoulder and taking him away from the paperwork about the retreat that he'd been pouring over.

She and Hardison were sat up on the table, both with their hands in a large communal bowl of popcorn as they watched the dance class, blown up big on the vid screen.

"What am I... looking at?" asked the mastermind, his question becoming disjointed as his eyes answered the question for him, "Wow" he said, quite taken aback as he watched Eliot and Parker dance.

They looked almost like professionals, and if not for Parker's occasional stumble or look of concern as she was dropped into a dramatic dip or twirl, they might've passed for it, if needed. Perhaps it ought to have occurred to the rest of the team that two people who did jobs that required excellent timing and precision to do their work would be good at dancing, but it really hadn't until now.

"Man, they got the mad skillz" declared Hardison as he watched his friends dance.

The rest of the couples had all but given up by this time, and were focusing on the beautiful moves of Alice White and Paul MacDonald. It was only when Nate spoke up that anybody realised this might not be a good thing.

"Yeah, so what happened to being undercover and inconspicuous?" he said, more into his earbud than to those in the room with him.

Hearing that almost made Eliot drop Parker completely as he dipped her on one arm as the song ended. There was a round of applause from the other five couples, as well as from two people that only the couple in question could hear. The truth was, neither Eliot nor Parker were entirely paying attention as he let her back up onto her feet and she continued to stare at him, wide eyed and giddy. She never danced with a guy like that before and it was quite the experience. To be so completely attuned to another persons movements like that, almost like they became one person. It was amazing to Parker, not as amazing as jumping off a building or anything, but pretty damn good considering she really hadn't wanted to be here in the first place.

"Brava, brava" Senora Alvarez applauded too, "You are magnifico, magnifico couple!" she declared excitedly, "An inspiration to all" she said, arms spread wide to the room.

Eliot looked suitably embarrassed, laughing a little at how dumb this whole situation had become, whilst Parker just stood like a block ornament with his arm around her back still. She wasn't quite sure what had just happened and certainly didn't know how to react to all these people being nice to her.

"I guess we're just naturals or something" said Eliot, waving away all the attention like it was no big deal, "Right, darlin'?" he prompted Parker to speak both with his words and a shove that jolted her from her silence.

"Yes! Yes, we are just natural dancers" she lied with a too-fake smile that thankfully wasn't noticed as the teacher moved on with her class.

"Excuse me" said a soft voice and both Eliot and Parker turned at the same moment to find another couple close by whispering at them, "Hi, we just wanted to say, you two are amazing" said the woman, a brunette of not dissimilar size and look to Sophie but not half so pretty or well spoken.

"Oh, no" said Parker, still grinning too much, "We're not sooo great"

"Well, Bethan trod on my toes three times because she was watching you two instead of concentrating on our own dancing!" said the man who was apparently her husband.

"Roger, stop it, you're embarrassing me!" Bethan exclaimed, socking him in the shoulder.

Eliot and Parker just turned away, as Senora Alvarez demanded everyone's attention. Of course it wasn't exactly easy for the undercover couple to listen, as a whole lot of chattering was going on inside their heads as well.

"Will you guys keep it down" said Parker in a harsh whisper, "We're trying to dance here!" she complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Hardison called back to her as he sat at the table now, hammering away at keys on his laptop, "I guess your fancy dancing is more important than the fact I just ID-ed those two nice folks that was talking to you" he said, Nate and Sophie both peering over his shoulders by now, "My facial recognition software just picked them up. They were at the retreat months ago, the same time as our client and her husband" he explained.

"And it would seem they went by different names then" sighed Nate, putting his finger to his ear as he spoke through the comms to Eliot and Parker, "Guys, I don't think you're the only undercover couple at Twin Souls"

To Be Continued...