Title: Exposure
Fandom: Leverage/Leverage: Redemption
Characters: Eliot Spencer, OMC, Alec Hardison, Parker
Rating: PG
Length: 1,175 words
Notes: The OMC is from the Leverage episode S03E10 "The Underground Job". His name is Cory, he's the one that Eliot took under his wing. This fic is set in Leverage: Redemption between S01E01 "The Too Many Rembrandts Job" and S01E02 "The Double-Edged Sword Job"
Summary: Eliot goes out to dinner with Hardison and Parker, inadvertently comes out as bisexual, and comes across an old friend.


Whenever Eliot went out with Hardison and Parker, he never felt like the third wheel, even after they'd started dating. He was happy for them, maybe even a little jealous. Connections weren't usually his thing, though he'd had a few short ones over the years. Mostly he didn't mind it; he preferred being alone. But at the same time, it left him a bit touch-starved, though he could deal with it. Had for years, so another night of going into his bedroom alone while Hardison and Parker retreated to their own was normal.

But tonight wasn't normal. The team was due to take off to Panama in a few days, and before things went their usual pear-shaped, the trio decided to go out to dinner. They'd shared a wonderful meal out and then went to a quiet spot just on the edge of the touristy area for drinks. The sun had set hours before, and they enjoyed quiet chat by gaslight as people strolled the nearby sidewalk. Eliot relaxed until the focus of the conversation went to him.

"So what happened to that stewardess you were dating?" Hardison asked.

Eliot's voice was low when he spoke, even as his eyes darted to nearby tables. "Flight Attendant," Eliot replied. It annoyed him a little that he always had to correct others. "And it was just a couple of dates."

"Stewardess, Flight Attendant. What's the difference?" Hardison asked as he raised his drink.

Eliot cut his eyes and shook his head before he adjusted his gaze to Parker. She gave him a slight shrug.

"Stewardess is female only," Parker said, "and Flight Attendant is..."

Hardison put his glass on the table with just a little more force for casual. Eliot's gaze went back to him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, seriously?"

"What, you didn't know?" Parker asked him, and thank god the attention was on Hardison. Eliot didn't feel like getting into a discussion at the moment.

Luckily fate chose that moment to step in when a call of, "Eric? Eric Randel?" came from the nearby sidewalk. They all three looked at a face from their past.

While it may have taken the others a second to drag their memories back nearly a decade before, Eliot placed the innocent smile immediately. "Cory. Hey," he said, then stood up and shook Cory's hand. "Last time I saw you, you were wearing a jumpsuit, hardhat, and had coal dust all over your face." He smiled at Cory, who looked so different than when he'd seen him last. "You clean up good. What're you doing down here?" Before Cory could answer, he gestured for Cory to join them and pulled a chair from nearby. Once Cory sat, he couldn't help but put an arm around the back of his chair, careful not to touch him too much. "Umm, Jesse? Kelly Beth?" he said, gesturing to Hardison and Parker, reminding them of their aliases from the con back in West Virginia, "you remember Cory?"

Hardison and Parker nodded, each coming out of their seat to shake Cory's hand. "Nice to see you again," he said with a smile. "Really good to see you, too, Eric."

Eliot looked to his partners, the trio having a silent conversation. Well, it mainly was Eliot giving them a look that said, 'I'm telling him,' and Parker's eyes going big at their possible exposure, so Eliot acquiesced with, 'I'm telling him about me.' "Yeah, Cory," he said. "Remember when you asked who I really was?" When Cory nodded, Eliot continued with, "My real name's Eliot."

"No wonder," Cory said with a gentle nod. When Eliot cocked his head to the side, Cory added, "When I tried to find you online, everything lead to a dead end."

"Yeah, well," Eliot quietly said, "there are reasons for that." He sat back in his chair. "So, what're you doing here in New Orleans? Can't be vacation because nobody wears a suit on vacation." He couldn't help but reach out and touch the lapel of Cory's suit, feeling the muscled chest underneath the casual touch of his fingers. Cory hadn't just grown up; he'd been taking good care of himself as well.

Cory smiled, the skin at the side of his eyes crinkling up. He was almost a decade older, and he'd filled out in the years, so he was built more like Eliot than the memories Eliot carried with him. "That's why I looked for you. I did another six months in the mine and then found a job with Mine Safety and Health Administration. After dad was killed, and after everything you taught me, mine safety and worker protection became even more vital. I've been at the MSHA a few years now, and they've got me doing training at different conferences around the country." He smiled, looking bashful. "I was hoping to run into you again one of these days, but..."

An abrupt noise came from the other side of the table, and Eliot took his attention away from Cory long enough to notice Hardison and Parker standing up. "We're just gonna," Parker said as she took Hardison's hand and pointed behind them. Then she awkwardly pulled Eliot into a side-hug, smiled at him, and retook Hardison's hand.

"Oh, if you have to go," Cory said. The expression on his face was pained but hopeful.

"No, they're taking advantage of me being out of the house to have sex in the kitchen or something, probably."

"Living room!" Hardison called from a couple of dozen feet away.

"Dammit, you two!" Eliot yelled back.

They ordered another round of drinks, then relaxed into the moment. A brief silence stretched between them until Eliot broke it with, "So travel, huh? At least that gets you out of West Virginia." When Cory nodded, he added, "Though it must suck being away from your family."

"My sister moved to Colorado a couple of years ago with her new husband, so it's just Mom and me," Cory said. "I mean, I moved out of my mom's place a few years ago. She's got a new boyfriend now, so now they've got more privacy."

"What about you?" Eliot asked.

Cory nodded his head with a smirk. "Boyfriend? No."

Eliot felt his face flush slightly. "I didn't mean..."

"No, no," Cory replied. "When I told you back then that it was hard to find people in West Virginia, I really meant guys. All the guys that want to meet me there are so deep in the closet that most of them are married with a couple of kids." Cory sipped his wine, and Eliot was reminded of just how young he was, looking like a teenager with a Pinot glass. "Besides, sometimes on these trips, I can find a little distraction from my hopeless love life."

Eliot smiled. "Well, we're off to another job tomorrow afternoon, but I'm free tonight." He sipped at his whiskey. "If you're interested in a little distraction."

Cory smiled and hooked their ankles together under the table. "I'd like that."