Title: Lucky 13
Chapter title: Idiots
Fandom: Ocean's eleven (Ocean's 13, technically)
Pairing: Virgil/Turk (slash)
Rating: PG
Chapter Summary: Virgil knows he's being silly, but he can't help but wonder if it's visible on him, on them, if the others have noticed anything different with them since they got back from Mexico.
Turk's POV during the security guard's scam and after they've bolted.
A/N: This is the fifth chapter in Lucky 13 that takes place during the third movie (Ocean's thirteen) and is the 5th part of the Driving me crazy 'Verse (which includes all three movies)
As Turk finishes, Virgil checks the time on his cell. Turk shuts and locks the door of the last box, and they're on their way again.
"Thanks, homes", Turk tells Nestor and bumps knuckles with him.
Virgil means to thank him too and clap him on the shoulder, but suddenly the impulse to hug him instead grips him, so he does. Nestor looks bemused, but his eyes twinkle and he gives Virgil a nod.
Turk checks in with him with a single glance, then they start running.
"Did you make a friend?" Turk comments a moment later as they barrel down the stairs.
Virgil doesn't reply, but he shoots Turk a glare. Of course, Turk just smiles back.
Basher looks up when they arrive to the control room and he makes a show of rolling his eyes.
"Turk, Virgil… They're here, guys", he mutters. "What the fuck do you think you're playing at? What happened to your microphones, we lost contact with you-"
Basher hands them the their overalls and helmets. Virgil lets Turk improvise an excuse and he steps into his overalls.
"Fine, whatever", Basher mutters. "Did you fix the slots-?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's all done."
Basher gets his jacket and pulls it on, whilst double checking the control panel.
Virgil knows he's being silly, but he can't help but wonder if it's visible on him, on them, if the others have noticed anything different with them since they got back from Mexico, if Basher senses something different in them now.
He thinks they should. He feels different. Everything feels different. And it's absurd when Basher doesn't show any sign of noticing. When he just goes about his business as usual and barely spares them a glance as he jogs by, even though Virgil's entire world has been turned upside-down.
He clicks the microphone in the shirt button on again. Next to him, Turk does the same, and then he struggles into his overalls. Virgil bites back a chuckle.
Perhaps everything hasn't changed, he thinks.
When Turk discovers that he's put the overalls on backwards, Virgil starts laughing.
"You're such an idiot", he cackles merrily.
Then he goes to put his helmet on, only the helmet hits the pipes above his head and he's showered with dirt and tiny rocks that fall down from above them. He freezes, and presses his lips together, waiting for his brother's malicious guffaw, only it doesn't come. Instead his brother chuckles gently, and says, "Careful…"
Virgil looks over at him. There's an amused twinkle in his brother's eyes, but no malice. And then he reaches out and brushes the dirt out of Virgil's hair. It's a loving gesture. And Virgil doesn't know what to do with that. He turns away and hunches forward so that he can put his helmet on without hitting anything else with it.
"You okay, man?" his brother says behind him.
"Yeah, fine", Virgil mutters.
"Alright…"
Maybe that's the second shoe, Virgil thinks. Maybe this thing between them will change everything, change how they talk to each other, how they work together, how they bicker and fight, and yeah, it's not good or bad, it just is, but it's them, has always been them, and if they don't have that anymore, if that isn't them anymore, then what does he have left?
What if this thing doesn't work out, he thinks. What if we start despising each other, I'll have fucked up the one thing I've always been sure of, I won't have my brother anymore.
Virgil shivers involuntarily at the thought. Turk comes up behind him, a wide hand settling between his shoulder blades and rubbing slightly there.
"You cold?"
Virgil closes his eyes and swallows the panic down. He shakes his head.
"No, I'm fine."
"…'kay."
The hand between his shoulder blades falls away, and now he does feel cold. He opens his eyes again. This is ridiculous, he thinks. Focus, man. You're on the clock.
Looking over at Turk, he can see that he's watching him through the corner of his eye. There's a tension in his shoulders that tells Virgil he's nervous, or possibly even scared.
Virgil stretches his neck and rolls his shoulders a little.
"So how does this thing work", he says and walks up to his brother.
Some of the tension lets go, but Turk is still wary next to him, his eyes are guarded. He follows Virgil's line of sight.
"This here monitors the pressure, Basher said keep an eye on that, and this one, in particular, and not let this go below twenty, and then this…"
Turk reaches past him to point at an indicator on the other side of him, and Virgil gets a waft of his smell, it just washes over him and for a moment he feels dizzy.
Turk keeps explaining the procedure to him but Virgil tunes his voice out until it's just a pleasant hum, that distinct Turk smell weaving itself around him like a comforter. He tries to pinpoint the exact smell, it's a mix of his musky schampoo and that girly-smelling aftershave that he insists on using, and then there's something else, something smoky that he can't quite put his finger on, something almost metallic, and something earthy. Virgil shakes his head slightly to clear it.
"No you haven't got it, or no I don't need to go over it again?"
"What?"
"Seriously, you okay? Were there any larger rocks that hit you or-?"
"Very funny", Virgil mutters. "I got it, I'm not stupid."
He walks away from the meter panel, and from his brother, and takes a seat by the control panel. Turk watches him for a while longer.
"I said, I'm fine", Virgil snaps.
"Look, you wanna talk or whatever, just… you know…"
Virgil takes a deep breath and nods, as he releases the breath again, his irritation as well as his energy seems to escape with it, and he sags in his seat. He takes the helmet off again and combs his fingers through his hair. Some grit falls down on his lap. He sighs.
Then Basher's voice speaks up in their ear pieces, telling them that Bank will run Livingston's fingerprints off the shuffle machine.
Virgil looks up at Turk.
"Damn, he's good", Turk admits.
"He'll get Livingston's ID", Danny's voice buzzes. "And known associates."
"That's us", Rusty C. Obvious adds.
Virgil leans his head back and drags his hands down his face. Saul enquires what they have in place for this, and the truth is they have nothing. Danny says what they're all thinking.
But then Basher comes up with an idea.
"Who's gonna hack this?" Danny asks.
"I can handle it", Turk says.
Virgil looks over at him and shakes his head. Turk is hopeless with computers. What, Turk mouths.
"Is anyone else available?" Rusty says.
"This is Virgil", Virgil speaks up, ignoring Turk's arm flapping. "I'll give it a shot."
"I can handle it", Turk insists.
"Virgil it is", Danny says and Virgil smirks at his brother. "Get it done, Virg."
"Will do…"
"Whatever", Turk mutters.
Getting the laptop set up, Virgil tries to stay on target, even though Turk has chosen to take up position right behind him, close enough that Virgil can sense that particular Turk smell, but not close enough to feel his body heat.
"Cue the slots", he tells him.
Turk presses the button on the remote detonator. But he doesn't budge from his position. Virgil clears his throat, glancing back over his shoulder just slightly.
"Do you have to-?"
"Am I in your way?"
"No, but you know I can't concentrate when-"
"Oh, maybe they should've asked me to do it after all-"
"Asshole", Virgil mutters and starts hacking into the system.
"You in yet?"
"I hate that question."
"…Yeah?" Turk murmurs.
There's a slight change in his tone, something that the others would probably never pick up on, but Virgil does. He can tell the difference between his brother teasing him and teasing him.
"Don't…" he warns him.
"Don't what", Turk murmurs, right behind his ear, lips actually brushing it, and Virgil shivers.
"Turk", he more or less whines.
He feels rather than hears when Turk chuckles, then he straightens up again, and Virgil takes a deep breath to compose himself.
"Guys, please", Rusty's voice reaches them. "Try and stay focused."
"He started it", Virgil mutters.
"Such a baby-" Turk says.
"Will you let me work-?"
"Little baby girl, yeah, work, I'm not stopping you!"
Virgil starts clicking away, altering one picture after another. When Turk's picture comes up he feels Turk taking a step closer to him again, but this time his attention is on the screen, and what Virgil's doing to his picture, rather than on Virgil and what he can do to him.
"Don't change it that much", he says. "Keep it lo- keep it stretchier-"
"I'm trying to make you taller, don't you wanna be taller?" Virgil deadpans. "You're a midget in thirty-four states…"
"You're an animal in the other thirty-four", Turk says and sniffs.
Virgil turns around and gives him a bemused look.
"Twenty-four", Turk corrects himself. "Twenty-two."
Virgil snorts and turns back to the laptop.
Suddenly Turk's hands are on his shoulders, heavy but comforting, and they start kneading the sore muscles there. Virgil groans quietly.
"What're you doing?" he mutters.
"Nothing", Turk says. "Keep working."
He does the finishing touches on Basher's picture, and he's done. One of Turk's hands travel up his neck and the fingers start massaging his scalp. He lets his head fall forward and breathes heavily.
"Nicely done, Virg", Basher's voice buzzes in their ear pieces.
Virgil takes a deep breath and straightens up again. Turk backs away a step, the hand in Virgil's hair lingering just a little, then it falls away too. Virgil shuts the laptop.
"Alright, Rusty's up", he says and gets to his feet.
"I gotta say I'm impressed, I think you did a very nice job…"
Even now, compliments are awkward between them. Even if it wasn't for the other guys possibly listening in. Turk will rather give him a massage than tell him something nice, and Virgil gets it.
"I know I did", he says, and kills the tension between them with one graceful blow. "That's why they asked me to do it and not you…"
He brushes Turk's belly with his hand as he walks past him.
"Wow, okay", Turk says, then turns around to follow him. "See that is me offering you an olive basket, and that is you spitting in my face!"
Virgil turns around to face his brother, and he fights with himself to keep a straight face, "Oh was that your face?"
Turk's eyes twinkle with mischief. There's a predatory strut to his step now as he keeps walking towards Virgil, who starts backing away. There's an electric charge to their eye lock, speaking volumes to each other that the others can't overhear, and Virgil presses his lips together, but finally he can't help himself and he breaks out grinning.
There's an added sparkle in Turk's eyes after that, and he keeps advancing on Virgil, until he has him backed up against a wall. He puts his hands on either side of his shoulders, trapping him.
Virgil looks up pointedly at the wall, "Huh…" he says.
"How 'bout that", Turk murmurs.
"That's new", Virgil quips.
Turk smiles. Then he pushes off the wall and takes a step back. He shoves his hands into his pockets, and glances up at Virgil. He's got that searching look in his eyes. Virgil knows that look, it's the look he gets when he's checking in, when he's making sure things are okay.
Virgil blinks once, telling him yes, they're fine.
Turk gives him a half-smile, then tilts his head toward the big wheels.
"Come on, let's do this…"
End.