Title : Perfect

Rating : PG13 (for language)
Genre : Gen

Character : Eliot
Spoiler : The Bank Shot Job (Ep. 1.05)

Summary : Eliot's thoughts as he adjusts to teamwork.

Author's Notes : Written for the Livejournal Leverage500 comm "Perfect" challenge and yep, it's 96 words too long!

This is my first ever attempt at writing a Leverage fic so don't judge me too harshly. . . *nervously bites fingernails*

Perfect! Abso-fucking-lutely Perfect! Eliot couldn't believe it. A backend of nowhere town, a simple bank heist, straight forward but oh no! Nathan fucking Ford has to plan some elaborate ruse to not just get the money but teach some idiot a lesson.

Eliot gets it, that need for this to be more than just a robbery, just a scam. The problem is that it leaves a bigger margin for error, too much scope for unwanted interference.

In honesty, Eliot can't really be sure why he's still here. Yeah he likes the kick of a successful job done. The feel of it is way better than simple retrieval and he knows he was good at that, but is it really worth this pull, this . . . attachment? Is it worth the pain and the fear?

Eliot isn't afraid for himself, not in any sense that matters. He's normal, he doesn't like getting hurt, but now he's afraid for someone else. He feels responsible, he can't walk away and leave Nathan and Sophie trapped inside. He can't leave Hardison and Parker to get them out, they're good . . . but this isn't their thing! Hardison is a geek, pretty impressive as geeks go, but if it gets physical well, Eliot wouldn't leave anyone to rely on Hardison then. And Parker . . . yeah she's Parker and Eliot figures that says it all.

A few punches, swift moves. Nothing much, it doesn't take long in the grand scheme of things. The wait for the meth dealers to turn up far exceeds the time it takes Eliot to overpower them and be on the road back to where he needs to be, where the real trouble is, where Nathan's been shot and Sophie has given away their cover and he's got to make sure that between them, the three of them on the outside they get a plan that works this time. They've got to move quickly, quick enough to get everybody out alive and away before the real FBI turned out.

Eliot's got to be responsible, responsible for other people. He can do it, he promises himself. He can get them out. He's got to. They've got to do it itogether/i and that should be good right? At least he tells himself it is, it means he doesn't have to have the idea, plan it out and fix it all while fighting the meth heads. It means he's got to hear Hardison and Parker out, he's got to see through someone else's plan to know what could go wrong, where he needs to be, because they can't afford for any more mistakes. Nathan can't afford for this not to work. It means he's got to accept that just because he knows a way doesn't mean it's the best way and he realizes quickly that it's not. He has to accept that he's just there for back up, this plan working revolves around Hardison carrying it and him doing as he's told, him and Parker.

They're driving away together now the five of them. He's already dug the bullet out of Nathan's shoulder and patched him up and as he looks round, he can see smiles, hear banter. Yes, they're all exhausted, bemused by how things turned out but they are smiling at each other, at him.

Eliot isn't sure what changed, when it changed but this feeling he's got now, this feeling he's sharing with the others, well he can't really put a name to it but it is pretty damn near perfect.