Fandom: Leverage
Characters/Pairings: Mr. Quinn/Eliot Spencer, Parker
Rating: Teen
Length: 1,550 words
Written for: Written for fan_flashworks Amnesty #48: Challenge #158 "Egg"
Summary: After Quinn is hurt on a job, Eliot brings him someplace safe to take care of him.
Originally Posted: March 2, 2020
CW: minor injuries
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Eliot took hold of Quinn's shoulders. "Parker, get his legs."
"Wasn't he trying to kill us earlier?" Parker asked as she grabbed Quinn's legs and the two of them loaded him into the car.
"Doesn't matter, he's hurt -- we're helping him." Eliot didn't bother trying to explain that he still owed the man a favor. He definitely didn't tell her that he and Quinn had become friends or something like it over the past several months, or that he was almost positive he'd been there to help them, not hurt them.
"Who's car is this?" Parker asked.
"It's his, gimmie his keys." Eliot knew she'd already gone through his pockets. She was a thief, it's what she did.
She held them out. "I'll drive."
"No, you go with Hardison. I'll meet you back at headquarters later."
Eliot waited until she got in the van with Hardison. He didn't need either of them along for this ride. They were his family but he wasn't ready to share this part of his life with them, not yet.
He had a place outside the city where he could take Quinn. A little two-family home he bought a few years earlier. He rented the first floor out to a nice elderly woman and kept the top floor for himself. It was a safe house of a sort, one his team didn't know about. Someplace he could go to get some peace and quiet. He'd also put in a whole new kitchen so he could have a place to cook when he got the hankering.
Quinn groaned from the backseat. "Where the hell you taking me, Spencer?"
"Someplace safe."
"Not a hospital." It wasn't a question.
"No, not a hospital." Eliot knew Quinn didn't like hospitals. It was one of several things they had in common.
"Thanks."
"What the hell were you doing taking that job?" Eliot tried to keep the anger out of his voice, but he was pissed, and he was pretty sure Quinn knew it.
"Do we really have to talk about this now?"
Eliot tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Yeah, we gotta talk about this now."
Quinn sighed. "You know me, I go where the money is."
Eliot grunted. It was true that Quinn wasn't exactly discriminating when it came to choosing jobs, but he usually didn't work for people that were this bad. "Woodgrove's a really bad guy, like human trafficking bad." Eliot glanced in the rearview mirror at Quinn. "That's not usually your scene."
"Yeah well, I knew you were after the guy. If I didn't take the job, someone else would have." And that someone else would have actually been trying to kill him and his team, not just playing at it. Eliot understood it, he just didn't like it.
Eliot bristled. "I can take care of my team."
"But who's gonna take care of you, huh?"
Eliot shook his head but kept his eyes on the road. "You could have gotten killed."
"But I didn't." There was a rustling sound that had Eliot glancing in the rearview mirror. Quinn was sitting up. "It's awfully pretty around here, where did you say we were going?" Quinn asked.
"I didn't." It was late October Autumn leaves were at their peak. The road was lined with trees decked in bright oranges, rich reds, and vibrant yellows. He had to admit, it was pretty damn gorgeous.
Ten minutes later he pulled into a long and winding driveway half-hidden by trees. "We're here."
"This your place?"
Eliot got out of the car. "It's a place and I own it."
"But it's not your place?" Quinn asked.
Eliot pocketed the car keys and helped Quinn out of the backseat. "I come here sometimes when I need to get away from things." He pulled another set of keys out of his pocket and headed to the door.
"Sorry, it's up on the second floor." Eliot helped Quinn up the stairs and got the door unlocked. Then he settled Quinn on the couch and grabbed his first aid kit out of the bathroom.
"I'm fine." Quinn tried to brush him off, but Eliot wasn't having any of it.
"Dude, let me help you or I'll knock you out and help you when you're unconscious."
Quinn leaned back on the couch and let Eliot look him over. A cursory examination exposed a few shallow lacerations on Quinn's head along with a nasty bump that had Eliot a little worried.
"Take off your clothes," Eliot said.
Quinn flashed him a smile. "Usually you buy me dinner first."
"Do not." They'd never gone out to dinner. They didn't have that kind of relationship. Eliot wasn't sure what kind of relationship they did have, but he knew it wasn't that sort.
"You've made me dinner before."
"Once or twice." Eliot had cooked for Quinn more than a few times. He liked cooking for people, especially people who appreciated the gesture and Quinn had been very appreciative. Each and every time.
Quinn took his time unbuttoning his shirt and Eliot wasn't sure if it was because he was hurting or if he was just being a pain in the ass. Quinn struggled to get out of his undershirt. Yeah, he was definitely hurting.
"Pants too," Eliot said.
"Now, if you wanted me to get naked, you just had to ask, darlin'."
"I did ask, asshole," Eliot grumbled as he helped Quinn with his shoes and pants.
There wasn't a lot for Eliot to patch up. "You've got a couple broken ribs and maybe a minor concussion."
"I don't have a concussion."
"So, you're a doctor now?"
"Are you?" Quinn winced as he shifted back to a sitting position and started putting his clothes back on. "I've had concussions before, and this ain't one."
"Fine. Whatever man." Eliot stood up. "Come on, let's get you to the bedroom."
"I thought you'd never ask," Quinn said. There was a smile on his face, but a hell of a lot of pain in his eyes.
Eliot shook his head. "You need to rest. I'll make us some food -- is an omelet okay with you?"
"You got bacon?"
"Of course I have bacon." Fortuitously, Eliot had gone food shopping a few days earlier. He'd planned to come up here and do some cooking over the weekend. Apparently the weekend had come early.
He settled Quinn into bed and headed to the kitchen to whip up a quick omelet. He didn't have as many ingredients to work with as he'd like but he had enough to put together a half-decent meal. It would do.
Eliot carried the food into the bedroom on a tray, along with a bottle of painkillers he had left over from one of his many injuries. He rarely took any himself, but he liked to keep them around just in case.
Quinn ignored the bottle of pills and dug into his meal. The two of them ate in companionable silence until the food was gone. "That really hit the spot, thanks man," Quinn said.
"No problem, now why don't you take a pain pill and get some rest."
"I'm okay." Quinn was too stubborn for his own good.
"You'll be better when you're in less pain."
"I'd rather stay sharp," Quinn insisted.
"I'll stay sharp enough for the two of us." Eliot gathered the dishes and stacked them on the tray. "No one knows about this place, you're safe."
"No one's ever truly safe - you know that."
Eliot did know that. The world they lived in was filled with danger and heartache. "Safe enough, then. okay?"
After much grumbling, Quinn relented and downed a pill with the last of his orange juice. "Gotta say I'm really liking this breakfast in bed treatment. Almost makes it worth getting my ass beat."
"Don't get any ideas. This happens again, I'm dropping you off at the nearest emergency room."
"Harsh," Quinn said.
"If you promise me it won't happen again, I'll promise you that breakfast in bed will absolutely happen again."
"Soon?"
"Don't push your luck," Eliot warned.
Quinn sighed. "I promise."
Eliot narrowed his eyes. "How come I don't believe you?"
"Because you're naturally suspicious."
"Or maybe you're inherently deceitful," Eliot said.
"Damn, you're just slinging them at me today, aren't you?"
Eliot ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "You had me worried."
"I'm sorry," Quinn said softly.
Eliot decided to let the matter drop and picked up the tray of dirty dishes. "I'm gonna get these in the dishwasher and check on a few things. Why don't you try and sleep a bit."
Quinn yawned. "I'll see what I can do."
After he loaded the dishwasher, Eliot texted Hardison to let him know he'd be out of the office for a few days. After he double-checked the locks and security cameras, he grabbed a book and headed back to the bedroom, where Quinn was already fast asleep. Eliot brushed the hair off his forehead and stroked the skin there a moment before he gave him a gentle kiss. They weren't usually soft with each other. It was kinda nice. It was too bad it took Quinn getting hurt for them to get a moment like this. They were going to have to work on that in the future.
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