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phantismaFandom: Leverage (Vamp!Nate verse)
Title: The Truth or Dare Job, Part Twenty-Four (Index to Vamp!Nate: Index)
Pairings/Characters: Nate/Eliot,
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 564
Summary: The morning after...as they try to settle back into what passes for normal, Eliot finds himself questioning his ability to be a father.
A/Ns & Warning: Twenty Fourth chapter of a 25 chapter arc, for my![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
angst_bingo card, found here. For the prompt "Marriage".
"Did Ryna argue about going to school today?" Nate asked as Eliot joined him in his office.
Eliot smirked. "Of course. Tried to tell me she had PTSD."
Nate chuckled and sat back in his chair. "Yeah, she tried that on me before I came in too."
Eliot closed the door and crossed to sit in the chair opposite Nate. "She's a smart ass."
"Like her daddy." Nate poured bourbon into his glass and lifted it.
"Yeah, well, it's gonna get her into trouble one day."
"Like her daddy." Nate repeated, saluting Eliot with the glass before drinking from it. "She's okay though, right?"
Eliot shrugged. "She was kidnapped, nearly frozen, subjected to a bad attempt at brainwashing, saw you feed from a dead body, watched you feed blood to Hardison and was more worried about whether or not Merlin was okay than the dead bodies she saw. I'd say she's okay." He exhaled and shook his head. "She's full of questions though."
"Yeah, she isn't letting go of finding out what's different about you either. When I was making her breakfast she was asking me again."
Eliot wished that was all she was asking about. "She spent the whole ride to school talking about how the father of some kid in her class is getting married." He pulled a hand through his hair. "Then, just before she got out of the car she asked me if you and me were going to get married some day."
Nate raised an eyebrow at him. "Married?"
"I know." Eliot stood and paced to the door and back.
"What did you tell her?"
"I told her to quit stalling and get to class."
"That isn't going to keep her for long."
"I know." Eliot shook his head. It was getting harder to pretend he could be a father with the life he lived. "There are more men like Avonski out there, Nate. I've been a bad man, and I've hurt people…I've killed…and I've got enemies."
Nate stood. "What are you saying?"
"I don't know." Eliot sighed and leaned on the window sill. "Are we doing the right thing?"
"For who? For you? For her?" Nate's hand rubbed down his back.
Eliot leaned his head against the glass and sighed again. "I don't know…for all of us. I mean…she's a little girl. It was one thing when it was just us…when it was just the vampire thing…but Nate…"
"No one said being a parent was supposed to be simple or easy…and any kid of yours is going to make it twice as hard." Nate said softly. "And granted, our particular situation doesn't help."
Eliot turned to lean against the window. "She'll never have a normal life with us. We're never going to get married and give her brothers or sisters."
"No, that's true." Nate agreed, stepping in close to put his hands on Eliot's hips and brush their lips together. "But she will be loved fiercely and she will learn how to take care of herself and she will grow up to be an amazing woman."
"If one of us or our pasts don't get her killed first." Eliot grumbled. It would kill him to send her away, to give her to someone else to raise, someone who could give her normal.
Nate's hand was gentle on his face. "Kids are resilient, Eliot. She's going to be fine."
Title: The Truth or Dare Job, Part Twenty-Four (Index to Vamp!Nate: Index)
Pairings/Characters: Nate/Eliot,
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 564
Summary: The morning after...as they try to settle back into what passes for normal, Eliot finds himself questioning his ability to be a father.
A/Ns & Warning: Twenty Fourth chapter of a 25 chapter arc, for my
angst_bingo card, found here. For the prompt "Marriage". "Did Ryna argue about going to school today?" Nate asked as Eliot joined him in his office.
Eliot smirked. "Of course. Tried to tell me she had PTSD."
Nate chuckled and sat back in his chair. "Yeah, she tried that on me before I came in too."
Eliot closed the door and crossed to sit in the chair opposite Nate. "She's a smart ass."
"Like her daddy." Nate poured bourbon into his glass and lifted it.
"Yeah, well, it's gonna get her into trouble one day."
"Like her daddy." Nate repeated, saluting Eliot with the glass before drinking from it. "She's okay though, right?"
Eliot shrugged. "She was kidnapped, nearly frozen, subjected to a bad attempt at brainwashing, saw you feed from a dead body, watched you feed blood to Hardison and was more worried about whether or not Merlin was okay than the dead bodies she saw. I'd say she's okay." He exhaled and shook his head. "She's full of questions though."
"Yeah, she isn't letting go of finding out what's different about you either. When I was making her breakfast she was asking me again."
Eliot wished that was all she was asking about. "She spent the whole ride to school talking about how the father of some kid in her class is getting married." He pulled a hand through his hair. "Then, just before she got out of the car she asked me if you and me were going to get married some day."
Nate raised an eyebrow at him. "Married?"
"I know." Eliot stood and paced to the door and back.
"What did you tell her?"
"I told her to quit stalling and get to class."
"That isn't going to keep her for long."
"I know." Eliot shook his head. It was getting harder to pretend he could be a father with the life he lived. "There are more men like Avonski out there, Nate. I've been a bad man, and I've hurt people…I've killed…and I've got enemies."
Nate stood. "What are you saying?"
"I don't know." Eliot sighed and leaned on the window sill. "Are we doing the right thing?"
"For who? For you? For her?" Nate's hand rubbed down his back.
Eliot leaned his head against the glass and sighed again. "I don't know…for all of us. I mean…she's a little girl. It was one thing when it was just us…when it was just the vampire thing…but Nate…"
"No one said being a parent was supposed to be simple or easy…and any kid of yours is going to make it twice as hard." Nate said softly. "And granted, our particular situation doesn't help."
Eliot turned to lean against the window. "She'll never have a normal life with us. We're never going to get married and give her brothers or sisters."
"No, that's true." Nate agreed, stepping in close to put his hands on Eliot's hips and brush their lips together. "But she will be loved fiercely and she will learn how to take care of herself and she will grow up to be an amazing woman."
"If one of us or our pasts don't get her killed first." Eliot grumbled. It would kill him to send her away, to give her to someone else to raise, someone who could give her normal.
Nate's hand was gentle on his face. "Kids are resilient, Eliot. She's going to be fine."
