Chapter Seventy-Four
"Hey Nate," Hardison greeted as he walked right by him and over to the fridge.
"Hardison" Nate didn't bother looking up from his laptop. That was until a bottle was placed in front of it and Hardison claimed himself a chair at the table.
"Whatcha doing?" Even though he heard Hardison's question, his focus was solely on that long, tall bottle.
"I…" Nate shook his head to clear his thoughts. "I'm going through some stuff Sophie sent me. Just trying to keep up with the rest of the world."
"I think Parker went to call her now actually." Hardison mumbled as he thumbed over a few of the papers Nate had out. It looked like recon.
"So," They'd barely gotten back yet Hardison was down here nursing a beer while Parker went straight upstairs to call Sophie. Only one thing was coming to his mind. "How was your date Hardison?"
"It was good." The long swig he chased that sentence with told Nate differently though.
"You sure about that?" They were friends sure, but they didn't do this. They didn't just hang around each other and chill.
Fact of the matter, something was up.
"Yeah" Hardison breathed. "We just haven't found that balance yet." And Parker had pushed him way off of his tonight.
"You'll get there." Nate offered honestly. It seemed like forever ago, but he remembered those times at the beginning of the relationship when every mole hill was suddenly a mountain. They were surprisingly fond memories.
"I know it." Hardison hinted at a smile. She was crazy, but he was pretty sure he loved her. "Anywho" He deflected. All attention did not need to be on him. "Where's El?"
"Beatin' the bag." Nate spoke offhandedly. Most of his attention was back on the beauty of that bottle.
"So out in the garage then." Hardison reaffirmed as he took note of the way Nate was staring at the beer. He'd dare say it was longingly.
"You do know he's not gonna care if we share a couple of beers, right?"
"I probably shouldn't." Nate spoke more to himself than to Hardison though he was definitely weighing the pros and cons.
"If you say so." Hardison dismissed easily. It was commendable of Nate to try complete sobriety. Only problem was, his gaze had yet to falter from that bottle. "Nate, you alright there man?"
Nate turned his gaze to Hardison as he asked, "Do you know what I'm thinking?"
"That I'm a jerk for putting that there." Hardison offered as he moved the bottle away from Nate.
"I'm thinking how good that beer would be with a whiskey chaser." And he knew everyone would have something to say about that.
"Eliot would kick our asses." Hardison didn't know whether Nate was stating or asking, but he knew he didn't like the sound of it.
"Like I said," And there was opinion number one. "I probably shouldn't."
"So" Nate's declaration had him asking a variation of an earlier question. "How was your night with Eliot?" Nate's sudden urge to drink would surely be answered by that question.
"Uneventful" Nate answered as he got up to grab a cola.
"Y'all didn't talk about anything?" He was trying to think of why Nate would suddenly have such a strong taste for whiskey.
"We're we supposed to talk about something Hardison?" With a poker face like Alec's it was safe to say Nate was suspicious.
"Naw, I …" And here came the backpedaling. "I was just wondering is all."
"Wondering what had happened to make me want the whiskey?"
"Maybe" He couldn't help it, he just wasn't a good liar.
"Nothing happened Hardison. Sometimes I just…" If he was honest with himself (and he tried to be) he had no excuse to drink. It hadn't been a bad day and he wasn't trying to run from or drown anything. In all honesty, it was as simple as, "I like drinking to drink."
Hardison smirked at that. "I hear ya man." You'd have to be mental to not realize how much Nate appreciated liquor. That same realization would tell you how dangerous that appreciation could be though.
"Hardison?" Nate reclaimed his seat at the table, a thought from Hardison's earlier words placing a question on his lips. "What were Eliot and I supposed to talk about?"
"I don't know man," It was hard to sincerely play dumb. "What were y'all supposed to talk about?"
"Hardison" Nate shut his laptop and any remnants of their previous conversation with it. "You asked if we had talked, but in a way that implied I'd be upset with the subject. Meaning you already have details on that subject." His gaze was hard. "What's the subject Hardison?"
"Man" As intimidating as it was to be 'Masterminded' it was nothing compared to the thought of what a betrayed hitter might do. "I promised."
"Hardison," He didn't like the feeling creeping up his back. "What conversation does Eliot think we need to have?"
"Damn Nate," This was getting way too serious. "You don't have to go all Interpole on me and shit. You know you can go outside and ask him yourself!" And it was a good thing Eliot was out there too because the walls were paper thin.
"And you know I can't." Nate lowered his voice in a silent request for Hardison to do the same. "For the same reason you won't tell me, I can't ask him. He'll think we've been talking behind his back and I can't afford to lose his trust again."
"Well I don't want to lose his confidence either." Hardison near pleaded for a subject change. He felt bad for Nate and all but he had given his word.
"That trust doesn't mean much if Eliot's hiding something from me though." After everything they'd been through he was smart enough to fear the unknown. "So as a friend" He wasn't scared to pull the friend card though. "I'm asking you to tell me if there's something I should know."
"Nate, I swear it ain't that serious." It was unnerving how calm yet worried Nate had managed to become. Still more so satisfying. Nate obviously cared a great deal about the troubles Eliot thought they might have. "Look, I promised not to have heard nothing so I can't say much. But if you honestly want my opinion, just spend some more time with him is all."
"Hardison" Nate suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "We spend every day together."
"Not literally Nate." Hardison did roll his eyes. "Try personal time, we time, alone time" Had it been anyone else he would've said sexy time, but nope this was Nate. "Plan a date night for Christ's sake! Just make and effort Nate!"
Nate had heard all the words, but only the last few stung. "He doesn't think I'm making an effort?"
"Now he didn't say that and neither did I." Never had Hardison been so tempted to shake a person. "All I'm trying to tell you is to let him know where your heads at. Let him know that he's your man." It might take some doing but he'd get these two back on track.
Nate couldn't help but dissect Hardison's words as he searched for what might have come from Eliot. "Let him know that I'm his man?"
"That too" Hardison hummed his agree at the slight switch in words. "Anyway" He began to excuse. He'd said too much already and Nate clearly needed time to think. "I think I'm gonna call the day done. Parker volunteered us to babysit tomorrow so I've got to make sure I'm up first thing."
"Night Hardison" Nate waved off absentmindedly. It wasn't until he heard Hardison ascending the stairs that he pulled himself from his thoughts. If he allowed himself to he'd spend the rest of the night mulling what Hardison had said and what Eliot may have said to Hardison, but that wasn't what he was going to do. Instead he'd take his therapist's advice and have faith. Eliot would let him know soon enough.
With a simple sigh he leaned back in his chair; maybe he'd clean up the kitchen.
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"Michael" Caroline padded over the carpet and to the couch where her husband was sitting in front of the tv.
"Hmm?" He hummed, he wasn't watching the news as much as he was beginning to drift.
"I was thinking," She pulled her robe closer for comfort. "Maybe we could go visit the grandkids tomorrow."
"We already have plans for tomorrow Carol." It was a statement he offered lightly, nothing more than a reminder.
"I know. I just figured we could stop by and say hello if we got the chance." Sarah hadn't brought them over in some time and she was beginning to miss the kids.
"I'm sure we can squeeze it in." Michael guaranteed.
She let out a sigh of contentment as she sidled into her husband's side.
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The hairdryer suddenly going silent had Nate turning his attention from his book to the bathroom door. It wasn't long before Eliot could be seen shaking a hand through his hair. "How was the shower?" Nate wondered as he watched Eliot move to the closet.
"Necessary" Eliot joked as he pulled a thermal over his tank. There was a chill in their room tonight.
"Do you think I should get another blanket?" He wasn't all that cold, but Eliot clearly felt differently.
"Naw," Eliot shook his head as he lifted the blanket and slid into the bed. "You're like a frigging space heater man."
"Well if you're going to do a job you might as well do it right." Nate accepted the compliment cockily. He had no problem with the idea of Eliot keeping close for warmth.
"Whatcha reading?" Eliot thumbed the book that was now lying across Nate's abdomen.
"A, 'who done it?' which I'm pretty sure I figured out three chapters ago." Even as he said it he dropped the book atop the nightstand.
"Distinctive writing style huh?" Eliot's seriousness caused Nate to grin.
"Wha'?" Judging by the sparkle in Nate's eye he was missing the joke.
"Nothing" Nate denied, though the smile was mostly still intact. Something about Eliot using the word distinctive gave him a sense of ease.
"Well then we should get to bed." Eliot advised as he slithered down to a comfortable position. "We've got to be at Aaron's by ten." He was already dreading the drive.
"About that Babe." Nate watched as Eliot propped his head on hand. He clearly knew what that tone meant and was preparing himself to listen. "I was wondering if maybe you could catch a ride over there with Sarah and Pete when they come to drop off the kids."
"You're not going?" Eliot was surprised. Nate rarely let him be far from sight.
"I figured you'd have enough people there nagging you already." Nate shrugged though it wasn't something he had taken lightly. He'd been thinking long and hard about how they could transition back to normal life and tomorrow was a good place to start. "Plus, I've got some recon to do, figured I'd scope out the place before we start."
"I didn't know you had a mark." It wasn't shocking though seeing as he hadn't been in the loop in some time.
"I haven't had him long." In fact, he hadn't even met the client yet.
"Well don't try to keep it that way. No one's going to save your ass if you try something stupid like a one man show." He wouldn't put it past Nate to try to do the job on his own.
"Actually, I was thinking about going with the Orange Blossom Special." Nate looked down to Eliot who surely remembered the classic con.
"Impossible" Eliot shook his head. "Without a hitter, okay, but with only three people?" He shook his head again. "It ain't happening."
"Sure there's a lot of grifting, but Parker and I can handle most of it and we'll have backup for the rest." He subtly hinted.
"Nate, he's like a brother and all but the kid literally couldn't grift to save his life." Hardison could be considered a lot, but not backup, not for a con like the Orange Blossom Special.
"Are you forgetting that I know a great grifter?" Nate offered with his best poker face.
"Are you forgetting that Sophie's not gonna be back around for another two weeks?" Clearly Nate needed some sleep because his thoughts certainly weren't straight.
"I wasn't talking about Sophie." It was extremely amusing to watch as Eliot's brow twisted into a question mark. "I was referring to you."
"I'm not a grifter, I…" and suddenly what Nate said actually sunk in. "You want me to be part of the con?"
"And why not?" Nate feigned an astonished bewilderment. "You didn't think you'd get out of work forever did you?"
"You are so arrogant!" The words didn't match the delight in his voice or his face splitting grin though. He was happy!
"So what do you say?" He couldn't help but stare at Eliot. The man's enthusiasm was inspiring.
"I'm no actor," Eliot denied. "but I think I can put on a decent show."
"I think you'll do." Nate smirked. There was more life in Eliot's eyes now than he had seen in the last few months combined and it made him proud. He had definitely made a good choice.
Eliot knew his words wouldn't mean much if he was smiling but he couldn't bring himself to stop. Even the dumb grin Nate was sending back at him couldn't change his mood, but still he tried, "Shut up and turn off the light." And though Nate took his advice, even that sounded giddy.
"Nate" Eliot felt as Nate lowered himself to the bed, but the arm he expected to pull him closer didn't follow. "Nate?" He rolled over to see that Nate was facing the opposite way. "Nate?"
A soft, "and he tells me to shut up" caused Eliot to laugh. This was the Nate that just he knew.
"It isn't funny." And though Nate rolled more to his side Eliot wasn't buying it. He simply snuggled up behind Nate, not stopping until he had an arm holding Nate close and a cold foot teasing his calf.
"Stop that" Nate breathed as he raised his legs closer to his body, partly to get away from icy toes and partly so more of Eliot could fit around him.
"Nate"
"Hmm" He answered the whisper above his ear.
"Thank you" And without warning the softest of kisses was placed to the back of his neck.
Nate simply sighed as he listened carefully to what wasn't being said. Eliot was referring to more than just the con. He was talking about the trust, respect, and normalcy it would bring them. The self-assurance it would give Eliot and the door that would open for Nate. A new start on an even playing field where old troubles would be left behind.
Nate heard all of this.
Not in words but in the kisses Eliot was ghosting across what was exposed of his back, and as Eliot pulled him closer, burying his nose in his neck, Nate grew even more proud of the choice he had made. It had indeed been a good one.