Archive of Our Own ^beta

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He should have known from the first time he saw Quinn that he was going to be paired with him for the rest of his life. It's not that they traveled in the same circles. No, Quinn or as he liked to be called now, Riggs, was definitely never in the same caliber Eliot was. No ego needed. Some people have a moral compass about their work and some people follow the money. Eliot honestly believes that he used to have a reason for being a 'bad man.' He believed that less people were killed when he decided to work for Moreau, he believed that the clandestine missions he was sent on for the government had a bigger purpose than greed, he believed that he is a bad man doing bad things that could be worse. He believed it until he didn't and he knew all he was good for was wet work and he was always going to be the very best at anything he does. He just was. That's the thing about Eliot. The simple resignation that he was always going to master everything so nothing would ever surprise him. He was just a natural. And yet he continued to hear about this new kid, fresh from the horrors of war that was up and coming in the world of blood and thieves. A kid who could maybe one day give Eliot Spencer a run for his money if he could control his fucking mouth. And then Eliot changed sides so abruptly the world of enforcers stood still. He was a bad man doing good things this time and he forgot about that kid for awhile.

Riggs never had that thought. He knew he was a bad man doing bad things and he knew that he was doing them for the wrong reasons. He joined the military with a flag on his shoulder and stars in his eyes and left with a feeling that there weren't any good people left to be good for. He was a gun for hire. He was a specialist with a smart mouth and a quick gun. He was cocky and arrogant. He wasn't top of his class but he did things that caused eyebrows to raise and cards to shuffle and soon he found himself in a world he wasn't able to escape. A world of lies and death. A world he never needed to look at too closely because he was NEEDED in this world. Everyone loves a good gun man and he could work a room like no ones business. He heard tales of Moreau's guard dog Eliot back when he first got started. He wasn't stupid. He was always being compared to Eliot and usually found lacking. Everyone who was anyone knew Eliot so when he heard about him switching sides it messed up his worldview a bit. Guys as good as Eliot don't just start humanitarian missions to save the god damn world. They may liberate Croatia on a Tuesday but they defuse bombs in one day (handing over the codes to bad men) and torture the whereabouts of Atlantis or hidden treasure or the fucking Hope Diamond out of a team of men the next day. Whatever he was needed at. But it opened up the playing field for him to finally flex some muscle and show what he was good at. And if he was honest with himself, he wasn't as happy about it as he should be. So when Quinn got the contract from Sterling he actually felt something. Excitement. Fear. Maybe even a little hope. He was going to take down Eliot Spencer and his new do-good attitude and make the world make sense again. And then it happened. He was fighting Eliot Spencer with all the anger he could muster. He had something to prove. He lost. Eliot beat him because that's what Eliot does. And that was the first time Eliot Spencer ruined his fucking life because no one would let him live it down.

When Eliot thinks back to the day that Nate got that crazed glint in his eyes and said we find new people, people that can do we do and get them to do the job, he thinks about how his mind immediately went to dirty blonde hair and a smirky grin. He thinks about the fact that the kid grew up well. He thinks about a guy who likes to talk tough while fighting and maybe that's his thing. Eliot usually just takes them out and finishes the job but he can see how some people like to do damage with their words as well as their fists. And he doesn't like to admit it but he had been keeping tabs on MR Quinn. God how pretentious was this guy? He finds him in a situation most people would be worried about but Quinn was sitting there talking shit like he was being paid by the word. He named his price and remarkably Quinn didn't negotiate. He just accepted and continued being a smartass. On the long flight back they talked of missions, of weird requests even to retrieval specialists, and they both ignored the fact that they neither one relaxed the entire time. They bickered during the con, they laughed at Chaos and commiserated about working with geeks. When Quinn just casually as the world offers to be his Huckleberry (one of his favorite lines from one of his favorite movies) he should have known then that he was never going to get rid of that cocky smile.

As for Quinn he wasn't as impressed with Eliot anymore. Never met your heroes and all that. He manfully respects that his hate spark was a whole lot of jealously and he also manfully shuts that shit down until they finish the con and he finds himself wondering what he is doing in the world. He blames Eliot of course. Eliot for ruining his life. He is a million dollars richer but now feelings are getting all over things. Guilt. Fear. Knowing. He retired from wet work. He plays at law enforcement. He puts bad guys away and does crazy things. He becomes plain ole Martin Riggs again and goes home to rarely exciting Texas. He winds up drinking himself through quite a few nights because he can't shake being Quinn, cant shake the darkness, until he looks up and sees the sun. He finds his reason to be a good person. Miranda. He lives for her. He chips off the last ten years of blood and lies and gives her everything he ever had. Every ounce of his soul that was still untarnished because she didn't look at him and see Quinn. She saw Martin. The same Martin that played football and drank beer under the bleachers and made out with the Homecoming Queen. The Martin he almost forgot existed. And then it was snatched from him in an instance. And he blames Eliot again.

Once when he went down with a punctured lung on a job, Eliot almost considers calling Quinn for help. Parker and Hardison need someone to protect them. He can't just let them go on without him. He gets so far as to casually put out some feelers to where he may be before deciding to go on the con afterall and injure himself into a coma. They lay off cases for two months while he heals and he almost forgets about it when he checks a long forgotten cell number and finds a dozen messages from someone crying, screaming really telling him that he ruined his life. It was Quinn but it wasn't. It had no attitude. His voice was all pain. He doesn't leave a number but Eliot pieces together enough to have Hardison look him up. And damn. No one should ever have to go through the tragedy of losing their wife and child but to someone like them, it was like losing their only link to the world. Eliot would know.

He doesn't know what makes him go to LA. He just found himself there. A single mindedness has always been Eliot's speciality. He would get into the job, live in it, breathe it until the world melted away and when it was done it was always like waking up from a deep sleep. Quinn once told him that he did the same thing. Before Nate he never wondered if he was making a mistake. He just did the job. Now walking into a police plaza halfway across the country he thinks that he has probably been hit in the head too many times. It's been a year and a half since he found those messages, a year and a half since he started keeping tabs on Martin Riggs. Hardison had laughed his ass off when Eliot had asked him to start sending him anything he could find on him. He thought this was a who can be the better hitter kind of situation. Eliot knows it's way deeper than that. He doesn't know why he cares so much but he does and he is going to see it through.

Chapter Text

He doesn't know what makes him go to LA. He just found himself there. A single mindedness has always been Eliot's speciality. He would get into the job, live in it, breathe it until the world melted away and when it was done it was always like waking up from a deep sleep. Quinn once told him that he did the same thing. Before Nate he never wondered if he was making a mistake. He just did the job. Now walking into a police plaza halfway across the country he thinks that he has probably been hit in the head too many times.

It's been a year and a half since he found those messages, a year and a half since he started keeping tabs on Martin Riggs. Hardison had laughed his ass off when Eliot had asked him to start sending him anything he could find on him. He thought this was a who can be the better hitter kind of situation. Eliot knows it's way deeper than that.

‘Dammit Hardison,’ Eliot though to himself. He was thinking it was going to be a wild goose chase with him looking the fool at Quinn’s expense. Or Martin now. What kind of name is Martin anyway?

When he sees him storming out of an office with a tall, slender man arguing beside him, he catches his breathe. The kid grew up well. He grew up and got world weary. Eliot could see it in his eyes even from a distance. And then he saw the exact moment that Qui...Martin looked his way. His eyes widened just a fraction and he almost looked ready to bolt. So many emotions passed over his face in that one moment. It was like a lifetime. But it settled on fear so Eliot just tipped his head at him and continued walking. He knew Martin would find him when he was ready.