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It’s a professional requirement to know how to convincingly become someone else, to embody a character who isn’t anything like who you really are. It’s also a professional requirement to be able to plan, plan, plan until your team knows exactly how things are gonna shake out, and then to know how to be quick on your feet when things inevitably go sideways despite all that. And it’s basically in the job description to, in general, kick ass and take names. That’s the point of the Leverage biz.
But that’s also just what Alec likes to do in his downtime as well, which is why he plays Dungeons and Dragons. Perk of DnD is that you can have magic if you so choose. Can’t do that for Leverage. Not for real, at least; he’s had to pretend on more than a few occasions.
Actually, with everything that he’s pulled off over the past few years, maybe he is magic? No way to prove he isn’t.
“Hey,” he says to the training room in general, “y’all think I’m magic?”
He hears Parker hum thoughtfully from up on her platform as she considers the question. Eliot just grunts as he takes a swing at his incoming punching bag and knocks it away again.
“What, is this like a Harry Potter thing?” he asks. “You think your eagle just didn’t bring you a letter or somethin’?”
“I think it’s crows,” Parker says.
Alec looks back and forth at both of them incredulously. “Guys, it’s…it’s owls. I know that and I wasn’t even that into it.”
“There was nerdy stuff you weren’t into?” Eliot retorts as he throws another punch. “Wonders never cease.”
As much as he’d like to come up with a comeback to that, it’s a little hard to do when he’s too busy watching the way Eliot’s muscles flex as he pulls his arms back into position and gives a few short punches in quick succession. “Guess I’m a high fantasy type of guy,” he says distractedly.
“Like Lord of the Rings,” Parker supplies like she’s calling out the right answer in class.
That gets his attention. “Exactly, baby,” he says as he points up at her, proud and a little more in love with her than he was five seconds ago. “Love me some Lord of the Rings.”
Lord of the Rings has action, adventure, and mythical creatures. Also, Legolas. What’s not to like? And speaking of the first three things…
“Oh, just a heads up, my DnD group’s meeting in like 15 minutes, so I’mma be in my own high fantasy land for a while.” He shrugs. “You know, if you were wondering where I’ll be for the rest of the evening.”
“Good to know your reason for coming in here was to tell us that and not because you just like to stand around gawkin’,” Eliot says.
“Well,” Alec says as he very obviously eyes him up and down, “that was the second reason.”
Eliot’s next punch doesn’t quite meet its mark with as much force as intended as his eyes dart to him and away. Though he can’t help but grin, he elects not to tease him further. Wouldn’t want to lose gawking privileges.
“Think we’re supposed to be fighting a big ass dragon in this session,” he says instead.
“Ohhh, scary,” Parker says.
“Eh, we just leveled up,” he explains, “we should be fine.”
“Does that mean you’re a bigger dork than you were before?” Eliot asks.
“My character’s actually pretty badass, E,” he tells him.
“That right?”
“For sure. I’m a human fighter named Punchy McFisticuffs.”
Eliot misses the punching bag completely. His stance drops as he recovers and turns to him, arms crossed as his face gets that patented “watch your step ‘cuz you’re on thin ice, Hardison” expression that has never once seemed remotely as threatening as he thinks it is. Alec tries not to let on how entertaining it is.
“That’s not his real name” he says with all the seriousness he can manage. “It’s more like a stage name, but it’s what he goes by. He’s built like a brickhouse but he’s kind of a short king, and he’s got long hair that gets kinda wavy if he so much as walks by a puddle of water. Also, he’s got a scar by his lip that everyone thinks is from doing something heroic, but it’s actually from something embarrassingly mundane.”
“I like Punchy,” Parker says with a giggle as she lays down on the platform.
Eliot looks only vaguely annoyed. “Bet you think you’re cute.”
“Don’t know what you mean,” Alec says innocently. “Apropos of nothing, though, imitation is the highest form of flattery.”
It’s not like he doesn’t also have a blonde half elf rogue character he’s dying to play. She’s sneaky and little so she fits into small spaces easily and uses a bow and arrow, which is just the hottest weapon anyone can use, if you ask him. His party already had two rogues though, so Alice of Whitestone will just have to be used in the next campaign.
As much as it looks like he’s trying to scowl, the slight upturn to Eliot’s mouth makes him not quite able to manage it. “Whatever,” he mumbles, and busies himself with sliding a hair tie off his wrist to put his slightly curly hair up out of his face. It’s long enough now that he can manage a short pony tail, and he’s been very careful not to let Parker anywhere near it with a pair of scissors. Fine with Alec. Short haired Eliot is great; long haired Eliot is…awesome.
He moves away from the bag and sits down on the floor. “Makin’ dinner later,” he tells him with a grunt as he starts doing sit ups. “I’ll save you a plate, unless you just wanna eat junk at your computer all evenin’.”
That was the plan, but… “Nah, your thing sounds way better.”
Eliot only grunts in response, but is definitely pleased with the answer. He can tell because he’s somehow managing to look perky while doing sit ups, and his form, while not sloppy before, is just a little straighter. His love of feeding people is one of the most adorable things about him, and Alec feels a flood of fondness crash through him. He would love stand here and let himself soak in it, but his phone beeps in his pocket, a reminder to get his ass in his desk chair and log in to his game.
“That’s my cue,” he says, feeling somewhat reluctant now.
Parker sits up and swings her legs over the side. “Have fun!”
He will, he just needs a little something. “Hey, babe?”
“Hmm?” she asks with a cock of her head.
“Kiss for luck?”
What? Can’t ask on jobs anymore. Gotta get luck when he can.
Parker smiles. “Can you come up here for it?”
He would do anything for a little luck. Scale a mountain, skydive out of a plane, you name it. Climbing a homemade obstacle course is no problem. With a grin, he hops up to reach the tallest bar and pulls himself up, straining only a little in his efforts. With hardly the same amount of grace as Parker’s capable of, he manages to get himself high enough to reach the lowest platform mounted to the wall, and grabs on to the handlebar to hoist himself to the top. A foot away and slightly higher than him sits Parker, smiling a little wider now.
“Did that faster than I thought you would,” she says as he stands and leans over to her, hands bracketing her legs.
“Had some motivation,” he replies, only slightly winded.
“Still impressive,” she says, and then kisses him softly.
Her kiss is sweet, and still it leaves him a lot more than slightly winded as he feels himself melt at the feel of her lips against his. That’s always how it feels, ever since the first time, and he doesn’t think it’ll ever stop.
With a start, Parker pulls away, and the small part of his brain that isn’t a melted puddle has to focus on keeping himself from falling over sideways on to the floor below.
“You’re fighting a dragon,” she says excitedly. “Dragons have gold and jewels in their lairs, right?”
He chuckles and brushes a strand of hair behind her ear gently. “Most of the time,” he replies. “Lots and lots of gold and jewels.”
She shivers then, and he knows it’s more from picturing all that imaginary loot than it is his touch, but he likes it all the same. “Wish dragons lairs were real,” she says wistfully.
“Don’t we all, baby, don’t we all,” he says before giving her a quick peck and pushing himself back to his own platform. From there, he squats and grabs the pull up bar and swings away from the ledge before unfurling and dropping back down to the ground. His feet sting a little as he lands, as do his hands from gripping the bar so tightly, and he shakes them out before stretching his arms over his head.
Feeling eyes on him, he turns to find Eliot sitting there watching him intently. He starts when their eyes meet, and quickly goes back to doing sit ups like he’d never stopped in the first place.
Now who’s gawking?
“Hey, E,” he says, elongating the single vowel in a sing-song tone.
“What?” he grunts, not stopping his task.
Alec watches him go down and come back up a couple of times for the hell of it before making his way over to him, stopping just in front of him. He nudges Eliot’s shoe with his own, and when that gets him no response at all, he elects to squat down to his level. He acknowledges him with a glance as he comes up again, but goes back down just as quickly. Leaning forward a little, Alec balances himself by placing his hands on Eliot’s knees, watching him expectantly for a few long moments. Though he’s waiting for it and it shouldn’t surprise him, it does when Eliot suddenly places a hand on top of his own as he sits up and grips it, pulling him in a little closer.
“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?” he says, with no irritation at all.
“Wouldn’t be if you’d just give me what I want,” Alec replies.
He can feel Eliot’s breath on his lips as he chuckles. “Didn’t hear you ask for anything,” he says before closing the distance anyway.
Kissing Eliot is more of a smoldering feeling than a melty one, and on the good side of rough. Maybe that part’s only because his stubble is pricking his skin, but admittedly he weirdly loves that feeling. His hands slide into his hair and he pulls him closer still, just to feel it more.
Eliot breaks the kiss first, out of breath already thanks to the sit ups. He tries not to complain about the loss of contact.
“That enough luck for you, Punchy?” Eliot asks as he pulls away.
Hell no. There’s never enough luck in Alec’s life, and he has two whole people to give it to him. But he can’t be too greedy; he can always get more later. And besides, there’s dragons to fight.
“Mhmm,” he says, and licks his lips to taste just a little more of the luck that lingers there. “Gonna get me the finishing blow, and when I do, it’ll be all for you, baby.”
Eliot rolls his eyes with barely concealed amusement and lowers himself back to the ground again. This time, he doesn’t come back up. “Go already.”
Alec grins. If dragons were as easy as Eliot, DnD wouldn’t be quite as long of a game. He turns from the KO’d hitter to glance up at Parker, who he can’t quite see now that she’s laid down again. “And I’mma find the loot and claim it all in your name, mama.”
“Mmm…money,” she says on a sigh that almost sounds like a moan. She sits up then and leans down to look at him. “Hardison, if you do all that, then maybe we’ll roll a critical hit on you.”
He has to mull that one over for a moment before it makes any sort of sense. “Parker, are you trying to flirt with me using DnD references?”
“Is it working?” she asks by way of an answer.
She gets an A+ for effort, for sure. “Honestly? Yeah.”
“Jesus,” Eliot mumbles.
Parker looks thoughtful for a moment. “Hey, Eliot?”
Eliot turns his head to look up in her direction. “Hm?”
“Do you think you could do push ups with me sitting on your back?”
“Sounds unnecessarily dangerous, Parker,” he replies.
“But you do want to try it,” she prompts.
There’s a short pause before Eliot replies, “Well, yeah, get down here.”
Parker makes her way down, gracefully, of course, and as much as Alec would like to stick around and see how this works out for them, he really does have a game to get to. He’ll hear about it later, anyway, and hopefully Eliot won’t have broken his back by then.
He’s only a few minutes late to the game, but all is quickly forgiven and the party slowly but surely makes their way to their fated encounter. Still feeling rather lucky, Alec wastes his first round of combat attempting to seduce the dragon just to see what happens, but his efforts only leave him with a shit ton of fire damage and a minorly bruised ego. Thankfully, his friends are easygoing and not entirely opposed to in-game foolishness, and their healer gives Punchy a quick healing spell that gets him back to fighting form. Miraculously, an hour and many rounds of combat later, he manages to get a hit on the grounded dragon that grounds it in a very permanent sort of way, and he spends no small amount of detail describing the finishing blow that ends the fight. It’s a good time.
High off the excitement, he does remember to search the room for loot, and after some choice investigation rolls, finds a hidden room in the dungeon with more treasure than the party’s ever seen. They take it all, of course.
They spend a little time leveling up again after all that, and while making plans for where to go next, Alec finds himself a little distracted as he takes a piece of paper and scissors and makes himself a crudely cut out paper crown that he staples together. He finds a couple of colored pencils in his desk drawer and draws some jewels on it as well, just for good measure. When finished, he takes a look at his finished art project and chuckles to himself.
“Alright with you, Alec?” one of his friends says over the headset.
He was half listening, but he’s pretty sure he heard something about going back to town and spending some of the loot, which he’s always down for. Town shopping sprees are always a trip, and they’ve got lots of money to blow now.
“Sounds good to me,” he replies.
They set up a tentative date for their next session, and with that, they all say their goodbyes and log off. Alec suddenly realizes how hungry he is, so he puts the paper crown on his head and makes his way to the kitchen.
On the microwave is a sticky note with a rough sketch of a flexing bicep that reads For Punchy. The Microwave is set to two minutes, so he presses start with a grin and patiently waits for it to heat up, his stomach growling as the smell of it begins to waft around the room. As soon as the beeping starts, he opens the door to find a bowl of beef stew waiting for him, and he fishes a spoon out of the drawer before pulling the bowl out and immediately digging in. It’s tasty as hell, and he groans in satisfaction despite Eliot not being around to hear it. Kind of impossible not to.
Leaning against the counter, he scarfs down the food in silence, and then takes the empty bowl to the sink. Instead of leaving it there, he rinses it out and sticks it in the dishwasher, and since it’s full and he doesn’t want to hear about it later, he turns the thing on before making his way to search for the other two.
He finds them in the den, standing by the movie shelf, and both of them turn to look at him as he enters. Parker giggles when she does and Eliot releases the most put-upon sigh.
“Wow,” he says, deadpan, pointedly looking at Alec’s head.
Alec reaches up and suddenly remembers the crown he kind of forgot about. “I’m awesome at fighting dragons,” he says as an explanation. “At starting dishwashers, too,” he adds.
“Ladies and gentleman, he can be taught,” Eliot mumbles as he goes back to looking at the movies.
“I’m proud of me, too, man,” he replies as he leaves him to it and heads to the couch.
He plops himself down and Parker follows, sitting sideways next to him, eyes on his paper crown.
“This do anything for you?” he asks as he takes it off and places it on top of her head instead.
“Not really,” she says, and leans forward to give him a quick kiss. “But you do.”
“Think it’s my high charisma stat,” he says softly before leaning in for another, this one not even a little bit quick. Parker cups his cheeks and this time, with the situation far less precarious than earlier, he melts completely into it.
He vaguely hears Eliot pop in a movie and then feels him sit down beside him. “Is nonsense a stat? You’re high in that, too.”
“That’s just creativity, baby,” he replies as he manages to pull himself away from Parker to look at him. “It gets filed under intelligence, and I got that in spades.”
“Real humble about it too,” Eliot says, staring at his lips.
Alec leans forward a little. “What movie did you put on?”
“Dunno,” he replies, “just grabbed somethin’.”
“Love that one,” he says, and Eliot’s lips meet his.
After a moment, he feels Parker slide into his lap, and kisses are shared between the three of them. The movie, whatever it is, is forgotten about completely.
There’s really quite a few critical hits, after a while, and more than a few rounds exchanged. In the end, what looks like a total party kill feels much better than that, though, and is nothing a long rest couldn’t fix. In a blissful haze, Alec thinks that, even if he himself is not magic, that it definitely does exist, at least.
How else does he have all this?