Seclusion

Title: Seclusion
Fandom: Leverage
Pairings: Eliot Spencer/Dean Winchester
Rating: PG-15
Word Count: 5,390
Summary: Comment fic prompt: Alone by choice.

Chapter 1 ~ Green Eyes & Pretty

When he was 22 years old, life as Dean Winchester knew it came to an end, and began his life of seclusion. He came home to find Sam and John snapping and snarling like strange dogs. The fight ended when John left, Sam left, and Dean was left standing in the rubble of his family.

Dean saw his father occasionally. Dean never saw his brother. Sam made it clear there was no place for Dean in Stanford Sam’s life.

~}}}~~~>

He was investigating disappearances of men in Rockville, South Carolina. The ghosts of the spinster Weird sisters had made a fold in the aether where they kept their “beaus”. When the sisters were banished, the room reappeared. Tied to bed, was a dark hair man. His bruises told the hunter he’d been here a couple days. Dean hauled him over his shoulder to the Impala.

The last thing Eliot Spencer remembered was jogging by a dilapidated Victorian house at the edge of town. He tried listening to give him an idea of where he was without giving away that he was awake. It didn’t feel like he was restrained in any way. He almost jumped out of his skin when a husky baritone came from his right.

“I know you’re awake, so quit playin’ possum.”

Eliot blinked until his eyes focused on a man across the room drinking coffee. The boy was a big ol’ hunk of eye candy … But for another time. He sat up gingerly.

“Where am I, and who are you?” He growled. “Any of that left?” He indicated the coffee mug.

“Sure. Anything in it?” Green Eyes asked.

“No.”

A mug was extended handle first as the man stood just outside Eliot’s reach. Smart. He went back to his chair.

Cool blue-grey eyes studied the body language of the man in the chair.

Relaxed, but alert, well-built, fighter’s hands, couple knives, gun at his back. Pretty had teeth. Interesting. The room had white stuff along the window sills and door had symbols drawn all over. *What the …?*

“Rockville, South Carolina. You were the guest of the `Weird Sisters’. Do you know what happened?” A brown eyebrow arched in question.

“Took a couple days off. Went for a run, woke up here. What day is it?”

“The fifth.”

“Fuck! I was gone three days.”

“Guess the sisters thought you were pretty … All those curls, ya know.” Dean grinned into his coffee mug.

“Can I get a ride back to my hotel?” Eliot growled.

Not intimidated, he stuck out his hand, “Sure. Dean … Winchester.” Warily giving his real name.

“Eliot Spencer. I’m at the Hampton. Watch who you’re callin’ pretty, Green Eyes. “He gave Dean a shark’s smile and stood slowly, hoping his head would cooperate.

Making appropriate noises over the Impala helped ease the wariness between the men.

“Explain to me about these `Weird Sisters’ and how they got the drop on me and I’ll buy dinner.” Eliot offered.

For only the second time in his life, Dean Winchester was honest with another human about what he did for a living. He sat fiddling with his pie, waiting for Eliot to scoff.

“Well that certainly explains a lot of things.” He looked across the table when Dean released a breath he’d been holding.

Thus began the strange partnership between the Retrieval Specialist and the Hunter.

Knowing Dean was always in need of cash, Eliot would call if he needed backup and vice versa. They lived in seclusion by choice, always on the fringes of the normal world, in touch with each other by choice.

After a job gone south, Dean found where the retrieval specialist was staying, and promptly collapsed, bleeding into Eliot’s arms.

Looking at the bruised and bandaged man in his bed, Eliot cursed himself a fool. He stretched out beside Dean; hand around his bicep to alert him if he woke in the night.

The next morning, Eliot quietly fumed until he’d helped the hunter shower and fed him. When Dean was comfortable, Eliot unleashed his fear. Dean gently set his coffee down, and when the retrieval specialist started another lap around the room, Dean pulled him into his lap and silenced him by mapping the inside of his mouth with his tongue.

“Love you too, Pretty.” Dean smirked.

An hour later, Eliot checked over Dean’s stitches to be sure none had popped when he’d thrown Dean on bed and taught the hunter that he was just as talented with his mouth as he was with his hands.

Four years later, there’s a knock on a hotel room door. Sam Winchester jumps up from the table with a growl when a long haired man grabs his brother by the lapels and kisses …  KISSES! Dean.

“Hello, Green Eyes.” Eliot Spencer growled.

Chapter 2 ~ Pretty Meet Stanford

Dean buried his nose in Eliot’s long curls trying to catch his breath. “You Okay, Pretty?”

“Just a few bruises. Could use an extra set of hands though.” Blue-grey eyes snapped to the movement in the room. “Who’s the ‘Jolly Green Giant’?” The retrieval specialist pulled Dean in closer.

“Sammy.” Something relaxed in Dean as he breathed in his lover’s scent. He let go of Eliot and turned back to the room.

“Close your mouth, Sam. Sam … Eliot … Beer?” Dean tossed a bottle across the room at his nod. “What’s the job?”

“Need your electronics genius and magic fingers.” He leered at the Hunter.

“What kind of job, Dean?” Sam interjected, not liking being ignored.

“Not your business, Stanford.” Eliot snarled.

“If it involves my brother, it is my business.” Sam snapped.

“Like it was your business four years ago, Sammy.” The enforcer’s voice was soft with menace.

Never one to let go a challenge, Sam stood, trying to use his seven inch height advantage to intimidate the smaller man. Eliot just gave him a nasty smile.

“SAM, SIT! Eliot that’s enough.” Dean barked at the two men. “Don’t make me get the fire hose!”

Both men pouted, but obeyed.

“You eat? Got a room?” Dean ran long fingers through dark hair, feeling Eliot relax under his ministrations.

“Missed this …  No … Yes. Move in with me?” The retrieval specialist purred as Dean continued his petting.

“Sure, let me get my gear. You can tell me about the job while we eat. Drivin’?”

“Got a rental.” Eliot shook himself as Dean gathered his things.

He laid the keys to the Impala on the dresser. “My baby better be in one piece in the morning. Don’t wait up.” He gave Sam a lecherous grin as he gave the tight ass in front of him a swat. “Me and Pretty got some catchin’ up.”

“Yeah, we’ll see who’s gonna be catchin’ what there, Green Eyes.” The growl was back in ‘that’ voice.

~}}}~~~>

Sam just sat and stared at the door. *What the hell just happened?* He shivered thinking he just met the one thing that can take the only thing he had left.

“Tell me about the job.” Dean prodded from the circle of Eliot’s arms, head tucked under the hitter’s chin as they lay back to chest.

“Tell me about Sam, first.” Eliot cajoled. After sex was the best time to get Dean to do chick flick talks. While he was warm, relaxed, and the walls that guarded his soft heart were down.

They lived in seclusion by choice, but that did not mean that they didn’t feel. It was weird and dysfunctional, but they were family of sorts.

“Not much to tell. Dad went AWOL, I went to Stanford, wanted Sam to help me look, but he would only give me a weekend, took out a woman in white, went back to Palo Alto in time to see Ol’ Yeller gut and roast Sam’s girlfriend the same way he did Mom. Took almost a year, but we caught up with Dad. He died six months ago …” Dean rolled and pressed his face into his lover’s neck.

“Hey …” Eliot dropped his voice to the timbre he used for skittish animals and children. “Easy, darlin’. Tell me in your own time.”

“We found a gun that could kill the demon, but it possessed Dad. Things got really nasty. Sam shot Dad in the leg, making the demon leave. The demon possessed a truck driver. He rammed my Baby, almost killed her, and me. The reaper came for me, but Dad … He made a deal with Yellow Eyes.” He paused as Eliot continued to sooth the hurt. “He traded his soul and the Colt for my life.”

“Sonofabitch!” Eliot growled.

“Yeah. Sam and I are just startin’ to get back on our feet. Bobby’s been a big help. It’s how I got my Baby back on the road.”

Eliot helped Dean regain his composure by telling him about the retrieval job in Denver. What he needed Dean to do, and what the payday would be. Between planning the job and catch-up sex, the sun was high in the sky before they made it out the room.

~}}}~~~>

Sam had taken a walk around the immediate area after breakfast to help clear his head. He still hadn’t quite comes to terms with the fact that his skirt chasing brother was in what looked like a committed relationship, with a man. When he really thought about the past year and half on the road with his brother, Dean had done a lot of flirting, collected a lot of numbers, but he couldn’t actually recall the last time he’d seen Dean go anywhere with anyone. Sam came around the corner of the motel in time to see someone in the trunk of the Impala. He started to yell when he saw Dean and Eliot go into the room.

“What’s all that?” Sam pointed to the equipment on the bed.

“Just some stuff I use when I cover pretty boy’s back.” Dean smirked at his lover.

“Doin’ what?” He dug a little more.

“Nothin’ you need to know about, Junior.” Eliot pulled his hair back in a tie and pulled his watch cap over it. He saw Sam start to open his mouth. “Don’t.” He raised his hand. “Don’t start screeching like a fishwife. For four years you didn’t give a tinker’s damn, so you don’t get to go all ‘7^th Heaven’ now.”

“Get your gear, Sam. We’re movin’.” Dean said as he finished checking over his equipment and placing it in a day pack, everything else went back in the duffle.

They got two rooms in a motel on the west side of Denver. At dusk, Dean and Eliot left. Sam took advantage of the time to search the Impala’s trunk for the strange duffel. Even searching the weapons compartment didn’t turn up the bag Dean had stashed earlier. Frustrated with the fruitless search and himself, he went to the diner across the street for supper.

He brooded on the things Eliot (won’t tell me his last name) had said to him earlier. Dean had told Sam he was selfish and self-centered several times, and Sam had always justified his actions, as being what was best for him. Never wanting to argue, always the peace maker, Dean had let him have his way, and he’d used that little trait of Dean’s to get his way on many occasions. He’d arrogantly thought he knew everything about Dean, and had him tucked into a box labeled “tomcatting, shoot first, question later, not bright enough to think for himself big brother”. No wonder Dean never wanted to talk to Sam about what was going on with him. Sam only heard and saw what he wanted. He hadn’t actually ‘heard’ Dean in years. Not until their blow-up at Bobby’s when Dean had taken a crowbar to his Baby in a fit a rage that still scared Sam. *Well hell.* The short guy was right.

~}}}~~~>

Around midnight, Dean and Eliot tumbled through the door of Sam’s room like hyperactive puppies. The job had gone smoothly, and they’d see Sam in the morning for breakfast, then tumbled back out the door.

After breakfast, Eliot went to trade the items they’d retrieved for his payment. He would meet the brothers at Cheesman Park and settle up with Dean. He had to get to the airport for an afternoon flight to Chicago and another job. The Winchesters were headed to Los Angeles to check out a possible haunting at one of the studios.

Sam looked around the park while they waited for Eliot. Seeing a good number same sex couples throughout the park gave him a clue why they picked this spot for their goodbyes. No one would give the men a second look. Sam expected that the parting would be a little frenetic.

He shook his head at that thought. He’d told himself last night that he was going to quit trying to pre-judge how Dean was going to act, and actually watch and get to know who Dean was now.

When Eliot arrived, he and Dean walked a short ways from the Impala. They stood, foreheads touching, arms loosely around each other, talking quietly. Dean tugged on a handful of russet colored hair until Eliot tipped his head back and Dean lightly covered his lips with his own. The kiss ended and they folded in on each other, absorbing each others essence, hoping it would be enough until their paths intersect again.

“Hey Junior, watch yourself. I want Green Eyes back in one piece.” Eliot growled.

Sam gave him a one fingered salute.

“Don’t lead with your face, Pretty!” Dean snarked back.

The couple separated, Eliot heading to his rental, Dean back to Sam.

~}}}~~~>

Eliot grabbed a beer from the fridge and settled on the couch to catch the late news. He’d cooked a celebratory dinner to present Teresa Palermo the keys to her old restaurant, and to give her the news that her husband would soon be released from prison. Nicki Mascone was in jail, and Eliot no longer had to look over his shoulder for the Butcher of Kiev. One less enemy was always a good thing. He was just starting to relax when his phone vibrated against his leg.

“Yeah?” Eliot listened quietly.

“Bobby, slow down. What happened again?” Adrenaline started to pump through his system.

“Where are you now?” He grabbed a pen and started to write.

“I’ll be there as fast as I can. Can you hold Dean together until I get there?” Eliot’s voice was pleading.

“I’ll call you when I know something.” He disconnected quickly and called the airline.

The earliest he could get out of Los Angeles was 6 am. *Damn* a lot could happen between now and the time he could get to Cold Oak, South Dakota.

His next call was Nate, telling him he had to go out of town in the morning and didn’t know when he’d be back. Eliot felt his heart swell when all the man asked was if there was anything the team could do to help. He told Nate he’d keep him posted.

Finally, he was able to dial Dean’s number. Straight to voicemail, *Fuck!*

“Green Eyes, you call me. Don’t do anything stupid. Let me help, Dean, please … Please call me.” He pleaded.

His last call was to Bobby. “Bobby, I’ll be comin’ into Rapid City about lunch tomorrow. Give me directions and I’ll get a rental.” He read back the directions to the older man.

“I tried Dean’s phone, but it went to voicemail.” He listened as Bobby told him he’d had to go a couple miles from the cabin to get a signal. “Try and keep him in one piece ’til I get there. I’m afraid of what he’ll get in his head to do.” Eliot confided to the hunter.

“You and me both, kid. I’ll do my best, but you know how a Winchester can be when he sets his mind to something.” Bobby sounded every one of his years.

The call ended and Eliot went to pack his duffel, praying to the gods he didn’t believe in that his lover would hold on ’til he could get to him, because …

Sam Winchester was dead.

Chapter 3 ~ Sam Winchester Is Dead

 *Sam was dead.*

That was all that ran through Dean’s head. He couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink, couldn’t breathe. He ached for Eliot, but he was working with a crew in Los Angeles now, and if they were on a job there was no way he could leave.

*Suck it up, Dean. This is not the time to be pathetic. What are you going to do about Sam?*

Bobby got back to the cabin after calling Eliot and picking up supplies. He tried to persuade Dean that it was time to bury Sam, tried to tell him that Eliot would be here soon, but Dean was so angry he hadn’t gotten past the fact that Bobby Singer wanted to give up on Sam to hear that Eliot was on the way so he climbed in the Impala and sped away from the cabin.

By the time Dean reached the first intersection, his anger at Bobby had cooled. He knew the old hunter was hurting, too. Since John died, Bobby had become a father to the brothers. Dean lifted his head off the steering wheel.

Four way stop … Intersection … Crossroads. He shut off the engine and scrambled for the trunk. *Please let me have all the ingredients.* He chanted as he dug through their magickal supplies.

Hoping that Sam, Bobby, and especially Eliot would forgive him for what he was about to do, he buried the box in the center of the crossroads and spoke the incantation to call the demon.

After kissing the Crossroads Demon to seal the deal, Dean hauled ass back to the cabin. Bobby was gone, so he planted himself in the chair by Sam’s bed and waited.

Two hours later, Sam started to stir.

~}}}~~~>

When Bobby came through the door followed by Eliot, he stopped dead. Eliot was about to cuss the man when he looked at the pole-axed expression on his face and how pale his skin had become.

“The hell? You said he was …” Eliot stammered.

Bobby clamped down on the retrieval specialist’s arm to silence him.

“Hey, Bobby. Eliot, why are you here?” Sam asked, a little groggy.

“We’re just getting ready to head over to my place.” Bobby answered calmly, still holding onto Eliot.

He looked at Dean and gave him a glare hot enough to melt steel. “You boys ’bout ready to leave?”

“Yeah.” Dean wouldn’t look at either Bobby or Eliot. “We can’t go to your place we have to go back to Wyoming.”

“What for?” Eliot asked totally confused.

“I think that’s where Jake’s going. He was the winner. I think Yellow Eyes is sending him to open the Devil’s Gate. Think that’s the final test. Open the Gate, claim the prize.” Dean explained.

“We’ll stop by Rapid City long enough to drop my rental. I’ll ride with you and Sam.” Eliot’s tone said he would brook no argument from anyone.

“I’ll call Ellen, we can stop at the Roadhouse for supplies.” Bobby growled as he pushed past Eliot to leave. “You can meet me there tomorrow.” He looked pointedly at Dean

“What’s with him?” Sam asked, still confused.

“Nothin’, Sammy. Just a lot of heavy crap goin’ down.” Dean cajoled Sam to stretch out in the back seat of the Impala and rest.

“Dean.” The hunter stopped at his lover’s tone. “Bobby told me Sam was dead.”

Eliot saw his knees give out, and caught him before he hit the floor.

“Oh god, Eliot. He was.” Dean buried his face in Eliot’s neck and held on. “Stabbed through the spine. Fatal”

“Easy, settle down, you can tell me this after we drop my rental at the airport.” Eliot cajoled.

“No. I don’t want Sam to know … And you’re gonna hate me, and Bobby’s pissed, but I just couldn’t let him be dead. I’m supposed to protect him, and not let him go darkside, and it’s all fucked up. I screwed up, Eliot. I let him get killed.” The burdens of the past year spilled out like a river.

“I love you, why do you think I’d hate you?” Eliot soothed. “Why would Sam go darkside? I thought some guy named Jake stabbed Sam?”

“I told you how mom died?” Eliot nodded. “I just found out that the demon fed some of his blood to Sam. He did it to a bunch of kids. He was making ‘special children’ for his army. Supposedly the blood gave these kids different abilities … I love you, too.”

Dean pulled away from his lover and took a deep breath. “The reason you and Bobby are going to hate me is because I made a deal with the Crossroads Demon … My soul if she’d bring Sam back.”

Eliot paled. “What’s that mean?”

Dean fixed his eyes over Eliot’s shoulder. “In one year, Hell Hounds will come for my soul and take it to hell.”

~}}}~~~>

It was Dean’s turn to catch Eliot. They clung to one another until they were able to stand alone. He grabbed Dean’s face and forced green eyes to meet winter grey.

“I could kick your ass from here to Wyoming for sacrificing yourself for your ass of a brother, but I still love you, Green Eyes.” With that pronouncement, Eliot pulled him into a kiss that made his knees go weak all over again.

When they got to the Roadhouse, the place was a smoldering ruin and Ash was dead. Luckily Jo was on a hunt and Ellen had gone to pick up Bobby’s supplies. Ellen climbed into Bobby’s Chevelle and they continued to Wyoming.

When the dust cleared, Azazel, the yellow eyed demon, was dead, two hundred demons were on the loose, and John Winchester’s soul was released from hell. Dean leaned on the Impala’s open trunk while Eliot stood between his legs and cleaned the cut on his forehead.

“Don’t worry, your still gonna be pretty.” Eliot teased.

“You’re the pretty one.” Dean dropped his voice to a croon.

Sam stomped up to the couple.

“Hey Sam, you okay?” Dean started only to be cut off.

“How long?” Sam demanded.

“How long … What?” Dean exchanged a glance with Eliot.

“Did the crossroads demon give you for my life?” He snarled as Bobby and Ellen joined them.

“How did you … Jake.” Dean looked down at his feet. “I didn’t want you to know.”

“You don’t think I’ll notice when the Hell Hounds come?” Sam shouted.

“I just couldn’t … Didn’t want to do this without you.” Dean said quietly, his fingers twisting in Eliot’s shirt tail.

“You think I want to do this without you, you ass? How long!”

“A year.” He laid his head on Eliot’s chest.

Eliot tightened his grip on Dean in case Sam lost it.

“We’ll find a way, Dean. There has to be a way to break the deal.” Sam pleaded.

“No.”

“What!?”

“No. I try and break the deal, they take you back.” Dean sounded small. “You can have the life you always wanted, go back to school, become a lawyer, whatever.” Dean’s tone was hopeful.

“I’m not that guy anymore, Dean. I’m a hunter. Just like you, Bobby, Dad. I don’t want to do this without you, either. So you don’t figure it out. We will. You don’t have to know.” Sam started thinking out loud.

They dropped Eliot at the Cheyenne airport on their way back to Bobby’s. He had called Hardison and the hacker arranged for a ticket to be waiting for him. If he and Dean took a little extra time saying goodbye, it was to be expected. As he watched the taillights of the Impala disappear, he made a vow to spend as much time as possible with Dean.

~}}}~~~>

The Leverage team didn’t press him for details, but they noticed he was quieter than before, and disappeared when they had downtime. Always sensitive to her surroundings, Parker would curl in the hitter’s lap and just sit quiet with him, offering what comfort he would take.

Eliot was packing his bag for the flight back to Los Angeles. His temper on a really short fuse. Between Dean’s deal and Nate’s drinking, he was about at the end of his rope.

The television was talking about a gas explosion in a small Colorado town. He stopped and gave the broadcast his full attention. More than thirty people had been killed, including two fugitives that were in the custody of the FBI. Sam and Dean Winchester had been killed when the helicopter in which they were being transported was caught in the explosion.

Eliot sank to the bed as he continued to stare at the flames on the video. He jerked when his phone vibrated.

“Eliot, breathe. It wasn’t us. Sam and I are fine. We’re on our way to Bobby’s. I love you, breathe, Pretty.” Dean cajoled the specialist.

“Sonofabitch you gotta quit doin’ this to me, Green Eyes.” Eliot growled. “It wasn’t a gas explosion was it?”

“It was Lilith. She’s after Sam. She sees him as some kind of competition for top of the demon food chain.” Dean explained.

When he got to the airport, Eliot was surprised to find Hardison and Parker waiting for the same flight. Parker took one look at the tense expression on their enforcer’s face and managed to keep him between herself and Hardison until they left the airport at LAX.

“Parker, I do not need babysitters.” Eliot growled at the pair.

“You are very tense.” Parker said pointedly.

“We’re doing a public service by keeping the public from being serviced by your frustration.” Hardison tried to be placating.

Eliot shot the pair a dark look before heading to his truck.

~}}}~~~>

Two months before Dean’s deadline, the team went after Ian Blackpoole and Nate’s old company, IYS. Because of Sophie, the team was compromised, and Leverage Consultants had to blow up their lives in Los Angeles and scatter. Eliot punched Dean’s phone number. He planned to spend as much of the next two months with his lover as possible.

There’s two days left when Bobby sent them to New Harmony, Indiana to find Lilith.

At the end of the two days, Eliot cradled a grief stricken Sam who’s holding Dean’s bleeding body in his arms.

Dean Winchester is dead, and Eliot’s seclusion begins anew.

Sam and Eliot don’t talk. They clean Dean’s body and build a simple casket for burial. Bobby tries to get them to salt and burn the body, but Eliot growled and Sam glared, telling Bobby Dean would need his body when they got his soul back.

It was a grim Eliot Spencer that went back to Los Angeles a month before the opening of the Blackpoole Gallery. He got a job as a security guard and started to study the security systems.

A week before the opening, the Leverage team was thrown back together. Between his anger at Sophie’s betrayal and his grief over Dean, he was more taciturn than before. With everyone settled into Hardison’s mansion, Eliot found a room as far from the others as possible, and studied his notes from the past month.

He gave a sigh of resignation and opened the French doors.

“Quit impersonating a bat and get in here, Parker.” He pushed his hair off his face before going back inside.

The slim blonde slid into the room. She moved through the room running her fingers over his things. Eliot sprawled on the air mattress he’d brought when he gotten his pick-up from his storage unit.

Parker tucked into Eliot’s side and rested her head on his chest. “He’s dead isn’t he?” She ran her hand down his chest in a petting motion.

“Who?” Eliot stilled her hand.

She gave a little shrug. “Friend, brother, lover … I don’t know … Someone you loved.” She fiddled with the snaps on his shirt. “You’re darker … Meaner than before.”

“Just give it some time, darlin’.” Eliot soothed. “I’ll be my usual smilin’ self again.”

“Good. I miss before you.” Parker bounced off the mattress and skipped out of the room.

They finished the job, Blackpoole was done, Nathan had his revenge against IYS. They were getting ready to scatter for the last time. Eliot stopped. He’d lost one family when Dean died, and even though he still didn’t trust Sophie, and they were all as annoying as hell, he’d gotten used to them, gotten used to having them at his back.

“We could start again somewhere else … Somewhere they don’t know us.” Eliot still didn’t turn.

~}}}~~~>

It had been four months. Four months since Eliot had helped bury his lover. He looked out at the city lights of their new home. Leverage Consulting was back in business … The team was beginning to trust Sophie again, and Nate was wrestling with his addiction … Some days better than others.

He’d called Bobby to give him his new contact information. He asked about Sam, but Bobby had lost track of the boy. Eliot tried to find it in himself to care, but he remembered when he’d first met Dean and the pain of his family’s rejection he’d carried inside. He figured maybe it was poetic justice.

Parker was in the reception area early one morning when two very handsome men came into the office.

The really tall one kinda bothered her, though she wasn’t sure why. He was pretty and really built, but there was just something about him that gave her the willies.

The other man had short brown hair and pretty green eyes … And freckles. ‘Green Eyes’, she’d heard Eliot call somebody that on the phone once.

“What’cha need?” She crossed her arms over her chest like she’d seen Eliot do.

“I’m Dean and this is my brother, Sam. We’re lookin’ for Eliot Spencer.” Green eyes answered.

*Ooohh his voice is growly like Eliot’s.* She thought.

“He should be here soon. Wanna wait in the conference room?” She started bouncing on her toes.

The two men exchanged a look. “Sure if it’s not too much trouble.” The weird one answered.

“Cool. I’ll show ya.” Parker looped her arm through Dean’s and tugged. “You’re him aren’t ya?”

“Him who?” Dean asked as Sam rolled his eyes.

“The one that made Eliot all dark and angry when you died.” Parker announced.

The brothers exchange another look. “You must be Parker … I got better.” Dean said as they stepped into the conference room.

“That’s me.” She giggled. “This is gonna be fun.” She continued chortling as she closed the door.

Parker pounced on Eliot the minute he and Hardison walked in the office.

“Parker, what the Hell?” Eliot frowned at the blonde.

“Something came for you this morning.” She grabbed his hands and tried to pull him toward the conference room.

Nate and Sophie entered behind Hardison.

“What’s goin’ on, guys?” Nate inquired.

“Parker says something came for Eliot.” Hardison jumped into the fray.

All eyes turned to the specialist.

“How should I know? I didn’t order nothin’. Hardison?” Hard eyes turned to the hacker.

“Don’t look at me, Man.” Alec defended.

“It’s not an order.” Parker tugged again, “It’s a surprise! Just come on.”

“Alright already.” Eliot let himself be pulled by the thief.

The others were still amazed by the relationship between the thief and the retrieval specialist as they watched her drag the dark haired man toward the conference room.

Parker flung open the doors and shouted. “Surprise!”

The other four looked at the two men leaning against the table. The shorter man lifted his head and locked eyes with Eliot.

“Hello, Pretty.” The baritone voice rumbled.

Eliot went pale and grabbed the door frame. “Dean?”

Worried Dean stepped forward and grabbed the hitter. When he was steadied, he cupped his face gently. “Eliot?”

Eyes wide, Eliot ran his hands over the hunter. “Is it really you, Green Eyes.”

“Yeah. The angels decided I was needed here instead of Hell.” Dean gave him a smirk.

In an eye blink, Eliot pulled the taller man into a hug, and proceeded to kiss his breath away.

When they came up for air, he looked deep into beloved green eyes and saw a darkness that hadn’t been there before, but he also saw Dean.

Once again Eliot Spencer’s heart began to beat as his seclusion ends.

~ Fini ~