Work Text:
A Very Good Year
by Sam-Tony
Eliot Spencer stood in front of the floor to ceiling windows feeling the glow of the very good eggnog as the alcohol burned down his throat to settle as a pleasant lump in his stomach. Staring out past his own satisfied smile in the glass, the thief had to admit it had been a very good year.
The building and the business - a ‘consulting’ firm no less - was theirs, lock, stock and high rise, and there was even a cheerfully lit Christmas tree in the lobby/reception area, complete with delicate glass ornaments, tinsel and presents. There was even a star lit brightly on top, sitting just under the painting of the firm’s ‘founding father’ that Hardison had painted in the sort of image of their erstwhile leader. Still really creepy.
The sound of laughter wafted in through the open door to his office bringing another bubble of happiness to well up at the sheer change in his fortunes. He was still a thief, true, and the best retrieval expert in the business, as it were, but now - not only did he have enough money squirreled away to buy an island and never have to lift a finger outside of his own self-interest again, but he had a cause worthy of his talents. Another laugh, this one low and earthy - Sofie - and he smiled as he admitted, if only to himself, and a team worth his sticking around for. Even if at the end of each job they did all say ‘just one more’.
They had all been taking ‘just one more’ job for almost a year now.
“See anything interesting out that window?”
Smiling at his reflection as Nate moved to stand beside him in the glass, Eliot shook his head, taking another satisfying sip of the doctored eggnog and not bothering to hide the smile. “Nah. Just millions of potential marks sleeping the oblivious sleep of innocent babes tucked safe in their beds.”
Not that that was strictly true, at least not anymore. A White Knight turned Black King, Nathan Ford chose their marks now, real bad guys that deserved the comeuppance of having their ill-gotten gains stolen from them.
Another drastic change in what his life had been like before.
“Good thing we’re on the side of the angels, then.” The older man smiled, taking his own sip from the wine glass in his hand. His second and last for the night and a change in Nathan’s life as drastic as any in the rest of theirs. No more drunken, guilt-ridden binges for him; he no longer needed them.
“There a reason you’re standing here in the dark then, instead of enjoying the very nice party with the rest of us?”
“Just thinking,” he denied. And then added, a bit more honestly, “Enjoyin’ the peace and quiet amid the chaos.”
Nate’s eyebrows twitched as his mouth quirked in an acknowledging grin. “Ah. Come on,” he warned, “Wouldn’t want to miss Parker opening her presents.”
“Should I be worried?” he deadpanned, only half joking. Parker had mellowed a bit with the stabling influence of their motley little family, but still...this was *Parker*. Mellowed or not, the blond was still a little nuts.
“Nah,” their boss denied. “Or well, maybe. This *is* Parker.”
Eliot snickered, figuring he might as well. Sofie and Ford’s back he would watch - Hardison was on his own. Last he had heard, the self-proclaimed Artiste was toying with the idea of painting her portrait as a Christmas gift…
Before they cleared the threshold of his office - Eliot Spencer with a legitimate, honest to God office, who knew? - Nathan turned and leaned in close enough for Eliot to smell the warm scent of merlot on the breath that ghosted softly across his cheek in the dark. Eliot shivered, enjoying the automatic thrill of arousal that flushed through his veins.
“And then, after all of the kids have gone off to their beds, we can break in a very special present from me.”
Swallowing against the wide range of possibilities that statement evoked, he managed to ask, “And will I like this very special present?”
“Absolutely,” came the expected, smug reply. “I guarantee it.”
Moaning into the brush of lips against his before his mouth was taken in a deep kiss, Eliot had just enough time to think ‘screw the party’ before Nate was pulling back and tugging one hand to get him to follow. “Come on. We wouldn’t want to miss whatever revenge Hardison had gotten himself into this time, now would we?”
Following happily along behind his lover as the older man dragged him back into the party, Eliot found that he was looking forward to rejoining the festivities, even as his body protested the necessary delay.
No doubt about it; it had been a *very* good year.
End