dann_0 | PSL: Sentinel AU

"Now, see, that's just plain mean." Hardison points at the guy again with a tsking noise. "That's you yankin' my chain just to be mean about it. Clearly, you an' Eliot are cut from the same damn cloth, man." He shakes his head sorrowfully and glances aside to the bar, where Parker's topping up someone's glass while not appearing to watch them.

Hardison humphs in irritation as Steve continues to try and play innocent. "Don't you go tryin' to grift me, man, your poker face ain't that good," he insists.

"Hah! See! I knew it, man! I knew you were just yankin' my chain. An' you weren't even doin' a good job of it!" They aren't attracting any attention to speak of, barely even curious glances, which... might be an indication that people are used to watching the owner get worked up in the dining room and don't really think anything of it.

If Steve's paying attention he might here the subtle roar of a well-tuned muscle car's engine as it pulls up outside, then the tick of the engine as it's shut off and the slam of a car door. About the same time he might get the sense of another Sentinel nearby, that peculiar feel of expectant tension in their air, even there's no scent to it yet.

"And damn right he will- Wait. No. Me comin' over to talk's fine!" He shoots an accusing glance at Parker, who still doesn't seem to be paying them any attention. "It's you he's gonna be grouchy at. "What you even doin'-"

Hardison stops babbling as the front door swings open, and then the distinct scent of Sentinel hits the room as a slightly short, very blocky guy in jeans and flannel, slightly longish hair falling around his face in windswept disarray, stalks into the room and makes an immediate bee-line for their table. "Dammit, Hardison!" he growls, in voice that's about as rough as he looks.

"... an' I think I'ma go an' let him get his grouch on at you!" Hardison offers, while pushing his chair abruptly back from the table. "Hey man." He flutters his fingers at the approaching man--Eliot, Steve doubtless knows both from whatever photos Chin managed to dig up and from Hardison's reaction--and offers him a huge, shit-eating grin. "Just keepin' your boy here company while he waited on you. I'll have Parker bring a couple beers to the back room for you, just holler if you need anything!" And he's off striding for the bar like a man on a mission while the newcomer watches him in--probably fond--exasperation before turning back to Steve.

He stalks the rest of the way over, nostrils flaring subtly as he takes in the guy's scent, and the fact that Danny's is a very noticeable overlay to it. "We can talk in the back room," is all he says, though it's easy for someone who knows how to read the tension in him, the fact that he's not poised to fight, but he's ready to if he has to.

Steve raises an eyebrow at Hardison. His slip wasn't accidental but he is amused by the reaction of the other man. That no one is paying them any attention does tell Steve this is regular behavior, and as long as Hardison doesn't say something to give the wrong things away, he's quite content to let the other man rant.

Hearing the car at first doesn't fully register until he senses the presence of a sentinel. The chances of it being another sentinel are pretty slim, and it's confirmed it's the man in question as soon as he opens the door. If Steve couldn't have sensed and smelt him, Hardison's reaction would given him away equally as much as visually recognizing Eliot from the pictures Chin had provided. The look on Eliot's face does not go unnoticed as he watches Hardison walk away.

Looking down at his uneaten fries, Steve takes a second to mourn their loss. The beer on the other hand he's not leaving unfinished. Picking up the glass he downs the last two mouthfuls before standing and following Eliot to the back room. If things degrade to the point that he has to fight, Steve will without hesitation, but that's even further from his intention now than from when he first entered the pub. Parker had kept to her self in Steve's presence but he knew she was watching, add that to how she was on the phone with Eliot and Hardison in both settings align with Danny's impression of Eliot. That kind of loyalty doesn't come easily.

Once in the back room, Steve takes a good look around, although also never letting Eliot out of his sight. "We safe to talk in here?"

Eliot positions himself carefully, so that he's not in any way obstructing the other man's ability to get the hell out in a hurry and so he has a straight shot to the door--the back one, leading up the stairs to the apartments--if wants out fast. He doesn't have to look around the room because he knows every inch of it, so he just watches Steve warily, somewhat reassured by the fact he doesn't smell of anger or fear. Of course, he's not at all soothed by the way he smells like Danny, but that, he tells himself, is fucking irrelevant and none of his damn business.

"Safe enough." He tips his head towards one of the cameras--the only one easily visible--and makes slashing motion across his throat. "No one outside this room can hear us, an' if Hardison knows what's good for him he just turned off the recording." Of course, it's always possible--even likely--that Hardison doesn't know, or maybe just doesn't care.

"Now you wanna tell me what you're doin' in my bar?" Because he's clearly nothing like comfortable with a strange Sentinel showing up unannounced, with clear intent.

The way that Eliot moves and operates clearly screams military to Steve. Special Forces. Which isn't surprising, most sentinels end up in one branch of the service or another and the way they are trained, it's generally into the elite. He appreciates the way Eliot sets up the room, allowing him to have an exit strategy if he so wants, and he can easily see Eliot's.

A glance up to the camera, Steve wonders if Hardison or Parker will actually listen to that direction. He's seen the other cameras in the room, can hear them buzz just out of his current level of hearing but it's not the cameras Eliot is in control over that worry him. That no one else can hear them though was what Steve was waiting to hear. For now he's content to take Eliot at his word.

At the question Steve tilts his head and gives Eliot a look of disbelief, there may be a touch of amusement in there as well but as Eliot doesn't really know him he may not recognize it. In any case, his disposition doesn't shift. A few glib answers come to mind, but Steve forgoes those as it's clear this man is stressed in a way Hardison had not been.

"Really? You telling me that if one of those two," he nods towards the other room, "called you up while they were in a distant city that they met another sentinel 'just like you' and felt that they could be trusted that you wouldn't want to come check it out? Knowing what I'm sure you know about sentinels and guides, and that they know next to nothing?" Steve shrugs. "I mean you got a call saying that all I was doing was eating a burger and having a beer and you dropped stalking Danny to rush back." He didn't think it's that hard to understand. "Besides, I can't do a proper search on you, and I'm rather hoping you didn't do one on me. Although clearly you at least looked or else I would have come and gone without even being noticed." Another way of saying he had no intention of making his presence known or causing any issues.

Eliot wonders too, but he's prepared to make Hardison damn uncomfortable for a while if he doesn't. His partners may know what he is, now, but there are still plenty of things he'd rather they have no clue about, thanks, and anything he's likely to discuss with another Sentinel is probably going to be on that list.

Eliot stares flatly back at the disbelieving look, because there are a hell of a lot of reasons the guy could have for turning up here, and at least half of them end with him getting dropped into the Pacific in pieces off a fishing boat tomorrow morning. It might have been years since he's done that kind of thing, and he'd rather not start again now, but there is literally nothing Eliot won't do to protect his people, and not a lot less he won't do to protect his own secret.

"Given those two-" Eliot gestures broadly towards the door, voice rough. "Didn't even know what I was 'til your Guide came in here an' upended everything," he points out. "They don't know shit 'bout any of this, other'n what I've told them in the last two days-" Very little- "An' what Hardison's managed to dig up on-line." Somewhat more, and the predominant reason Eliot told them anything at all, because what's out there is mostly bullshit.

"An' then they call t'say you've just shown up an' settled yourself down for a look see? Damn right I came back." He ignores the comment about stalking Danny for now, ignores the casual familiarity of it... can't ignore the scent of Guide all over this newcomer, the way it draws him in until he has to intentionally stalk a few paces away to keep himself from moving closer, something possessive flaring in his gut.

"As for searching me, go ahead. You won't find anything but culinary school-" That he'd never been to- "A few kitchen jobs, an' this place." Plus a few other odds and ends Hardison had thrown in for 'versimilitude'. He maintains steady eye contact as he says it, and it's clear enough that a) he means that anything other than that has been scrubbed clean and b) he's absolutely confident that the job will stand up to any prying. "An' Hardison knows better'n to do anything that'll raise a flag on you." Which doesn't mean he hasn't delved into the deepest corners of Steve's military file, just that he's done it through undetectable back doors that won't raise any alarms anywhere.

Steve shook his head. "I don't need to find anything. Especially if it's been planted. I just don't need for someone, the wrong someone who knows your name and that you're a sentinel, to flag that I did a military search. For what little that might come back, if anything, it's not worth the hassle or explanation." He assumes that if Eliot's file is anywhere like his, assuming it's still there at all, it's redacted all over the place and not worth the paper it'd be printed out on. As for the rest, the culinary school and such, Chin was able to pull that up without involving the military.

"I hope you're right about that," he says more dismissing it than worrying over it. What's done is done at this point and Steve will deal with the fallout as best as possible should anything happen. "Especially for Danny's sake." If he's flagged it will be investigated as why and Danny would be the obvious reason. Should that happen, Steve is already prepared to argue it's part of the case Danny is working on here in Portland but how far that will float is debatable. Really, he suspects, it would come down to anyone remembering Eliot's name and putting two and two together.

"Look," Steve raises a hand to wave it in the air. "I didn't come here to cause an issue or a problem. Danny said that you weren't interested in him, clearly he was mistaken there if you're following him." As far as Steve's concerned that little tidbit justified his stopping in. "Either way, I just wanted to have my partner's back. Make sure he wasn't getting into something that would end up having him killed because he tried to help out someone he didn't understand. If you don't want anything to do with us, once his case is done, he'll be back in Hawaii and I can make sure he doesn't darken your door again." Hopefully Eliot gets the intended impression there that it's his call on that decision and that there are other options available should he want them.

"Searchin' this name in military records won't get you anywhere," he assures Steve. "Didn't serve under it, and even if I had they nuked my service record long 'fore they showed me the door." Which, in and of itself, tells Steve a lot about what exactly Eliot had done while enlisted. His records aren't redacted and ultra-classified, they flat out don't exist: one of the men the military wipes off their record books and turns into ghosts so they have complete deniability for the heinous acts they're sent to do on behalf of their country, but never in its name. It's more than he lets most people know, but it's not enough for anyone to try and make trouble for him with.

"Look, I'm not puttin' him in danger!" he snaps, with a sudden, visceral surge of anger at the implication that he would. Hell, he's been watching out for the little shit ever since he found out about him... not that he's admitting as much. Until it's thrown right in his face, anyway.

"Look, he's a strange Guide and he's in my town." Some of the anger's melted away, but he's clearly on high alert, tense and anxious and ready to break either way with the wrong pressure. "Showed up in my damn restaurant an' set me off like-" He stops teeth grinding loud enough that even someone without their enhanced senses would hear. "Like nothin' has. Ever." He'd spiraled towards zoning out twice in under half an hour, when the last time he'd even gotten close had been years ago, and despite that all he feels is want when he thinks of the man. Want, and the kind of fierce, possessive protectiveness that he's never been able to shrug off.

"You think I'm not gonna keep an eye on him? Make sure he stays out of trouble?" Stay as close as possible, because even now it aches that he's out of sight and Eliot has no idea where he is. Aches that he's never touched him, doesn't know what he tastes like, doesn't have his scent soaked into his pores. And he knows what that means, he's done enough research in the last fifteen years, talked to people who know a hell of a lot more than the military had ever deigned to share with them about what they are and what it means and how it all works, but that doesn't mean he gets this. Hell, it doesn't even mean he can trust it. Not when he's standing across from the guy's Sentinel and the fucker's still in the Naval Reserves. Still at their beck and call.

"Not like it matters for shit what I want," he adds with a resigned huff, because all the wanting in the world won't change the fact the guy's bonded this asshole. Frustrating as that is, it's not something that Eliot can let himself get wound up in, not when he's ruled out killing as an option... unless McGarrett makes it necessary. "Other'n I want you t'not cause any trouble for me an' mine. 'Cause that's something I won't tolerate."

It's not a surprise that it turns out that Eliot was that type of servicemen, but that doesn't mean he's happy to have that confirmed. He's well aware of what those who have a scrubbed file means and the types of things that Eliot has done as part of his military career. Should Eliot have any other disposition than the one he somehow came to achieve, Danny would be in grave danger. It wouldn't surprise Steve to find out that Eliot killed guides for less than invading what he considered to be a home. What does surprise Steve is that he's not currently military. "How'd you get out? It's not like the military, of any branch to let a functioning sentinel go." It's asked as a curiosity, not as a means to pry.

The corner of his mouth pulls up in a fond smile. "Yeah, he is at that. Danny had no idea about any of this, any more than your friends out there did before he stopped by. He came over one day while I was stuck in a zone and pulled me out of it. Had no idea what he was doing or what the hell was happening. That was about a year ago. I get what you're feeling now. I felt that then. What I can tell you, going all over-protective on him is only going to piss him off. You think I like that he came to Portland and left me in Hawaii? Hell no! I didn't have a choice in the matter." It's clear that any issue they may have had has been cleared up on the matter. They had one hell of an argument over him coming alone, but in the end, Steve had to concede. He didn't have any rights over Danny and Danny was his own person. Instead they agreed on nightly phone calls and regular texts as a compromise.

Steve let out a slow sigh. "Look, what you know about guides, throw that out the window when it comes to Danny. He doesn't have the mindset that the ones we are used to dealing with do. When he offered to help you, it was a genuine offer. It wasn't a carrot he's waving in your face that he's going to yank away at the last minute or hold it over your head to manipulate you with down the line."

So far, Steve figured he'd been handling all this pretty damn good. His best friend, partner, and guide were in another city, met an unknown sentinel, offered to and wants to help him, said sentinel is then tracking his partner all over Portland... Not to mention one wrongly placed inquiry could have Steve back on active duty and Danny in a world of problems and hurt. All of this he's taken in stride, mostly because he said that he trusted Eliot and Danny's word was good in his books. And as much as he's afraid for Danny and will do everything he can to support and protect him, he's starting to take offence at being made the threat in all this.

"What trouble have I caused? Tell me, if you were in my shoes would you not have at least checked out the unknown? Cause the way you're acting I'm guessing you would have done a hell of a lot more. Frankly, I was fairly in agreement with Danny's assessment when I met your friend. Now, you're the one who's giving me pause to rethink that. Don't think that Danny and I don't have a hell of a lot on the line here with you. A lot we're trusting on blind faith. You're worried about me causing a bit of trouble? I'm worried about you putting an end to the life as he knows it."

Eliot lets it all wash over him, the questions, the explanations, while he stretches his senses enough to catch the timbre of Harison's and Parker's voices. Not enough to hear what they're saying, just the reassuring pitch and cadence of their speech. It's imperfect, but it's one of the ways he's learned to anchor himself the last few years, and it lets him keep his focus on what McGarrett's saying without getting too wound up or tipping over into the paranoia bubbling under his skin. (And he knows it's irrational, that doesn't mean he can do shit about its existence, just that he tries not to cave to it if he can help it.)

"Look, man, get your panties unbunched." He rubs at the bridge of his nose, where he can feel a headache starting to build behind his eyes. "Of course I'm worried about you causin' trouble, you're still fuckin' military. Maybe just reserves, but they've still got their hooks in you an' they can pull you back in any time they get a stray hair up their ass 'bout it." Because the same rules don't apply to Sentinels as to normals, never have and never will. "An' I've been out here on my own for over fifteen years, I'd kind of like t'not lose that when I've finally got my head mostly screwed on straight." Because he can't pretend that he hadn't spent years damn close to being the exact kind of monster they hold up as an excuse for making virtual slaves of all of them. "So believe me when I say, I sure as hell don't wanna do anything that'd make the Navy sit the hell up an' take interest in you again, not if there's any chance it'd lead them to me."

Jesus, he wishes he had a beer. Or maybe a bourbon. Or Danny, Danny would be good... which is not a thought he's fucking allowed. "As for how I got out-" He props his ass against the edge of a table and crosses his arms over his chest, looking down at the floor between them, not at McGarrett. "You know exactly what they used me for. Push button murderer, no way t'trace it back to them. Means when things go t'shit they can't fish you out either." No extraction plan. He'd never really worried about that before his last op, always figured he could get himself and his unit out of anything he had to. He'd been wrong.

"So when things went tits up-" When his Guide had panicked under fire, sent him into a spiral of feral rage and gotten them all pretty much blown to hell- "They left me t'rot. An' by the time I pulled what was left of my ass out under my own power-" Almost two months later. He doesn't remember much of it, or at least he tells himself he doesn't. "Well, there wasn't much point wastin' the effort on making me a new identity an' shovin' me into the reserves to try an' rehab when they were sure I was burned out." He shrugs. He'd been pretty sure of it for a while too, not that being arguably 'normal' had made him much less dangerous, or much more rational. He doesn't like to remember the next few years there any more than he does the months before them.

"By the time I started easin' back online again-" He shrugs, the motion jerky, eyes still fixed on the floor between them. "They'd stopped payin' attention." And for all the shit he's done in all the intervening years, he's always been careful to make sure he doesn't give anyone in a position to care reason to think he might be anything other than a very talented, very angry normal.

"I don't wanna fuck up your life, man. I just- I can't go back t'that." He won't. He will die first, and if he has to he'll take anyone who gets in his way with him... anyone but his team. His Family. Them, he'll protect to his last breath. And he doesn't let himself think of Danny, a man he's talked with once, and otherwise stalked from a distance for two days, as a part of that.

Edited 2017-04-16 04:08 (UTC)

Listening to Eliot's story, Steve can understand where the other man is coming from. Eliot may have years of freedom ahead of him, but Steve has no interest in going back either.

"Look, I have no interest in doing anything that would result in you or I going back. They only moved me to the reserves because I'm not functional as far as they're concerned. I have no idea how long they'll keep my handler assigned to me before giving up and discharging me fully or forcing me back into active duty as a normal." Quiet for a moment, Steve hopes that Eliot will understand what he's about to say and not flip it around to be a threat. "That being said, I'd go back in a heartbeat if that means keeping Danny safe and out of the danger. Whether that be from the military itself, or other sentinels. That's not meant as a threat. I don't see you as a threat to Danny, we'd be having a very different conversation if I did." Wouldn't actually be a conversation at all. "But, I had to know you weren't one of those messed up and unstable sentinels that we constantly heard about. One that would just as soon kill him than anything else. Which is why I came. I needed to see for myself."

Danny had said he trusted Eliot and that went a very long way, but Danny didn't know what he was dealing with either.

"So fine. Neither of us mean to cause any issue for the other, now what?" Because as far as Steve can see, Eliot does need help in the way that Danny can provide. As much as he hates that idea, but it's not about Steve and he'll keep those thoughts to himself. "Balls in your court and you don't need to decide or figure it out now." Steve pulls out a business card and lays it down on the table. "It's not ideal. I have no idea how it works but we'll figure it out. It's not like we can fully depend on what we've been told."

Eliot looks up at mention of the potential danger of other sentinels, his eyes shadowed and his expression tight. "Not anymore," he admits, even though he probably shouldn't, because it tells McGarrett a hell of a lot that it's not necessarily safe--for Eliot--for him to know. About what he's done, what he's been. "Not for a good while now."

He scrubs a hand through his hair and frowns at the other man, confusion obvious under the still vibrating tension of him. "What the hell're you talking 'bout, man?" he finally asks, even as he picks up the business card and eyes it. What's in my court? How what works?" He's definitely lost the plot, but then he's still on edge enough that his mental processing... well, it could be better after the last few days.

Hearing the ring of truth, Steve gives a single respectful nod at Eliot telling him. It couldn't have been easy to pull himself out of that state and especially not without the help of a guide, and it doesn't sound like he's had one in a very long time. Chances are he's never had a good one. Steve hadn't until Danny. Never even knew that what Danny could provide was possible.

"Danny offered to help... Didn't he?" He told Steve that he did but it's possible Steve misunderstood. "I don't know what Danny does, how it works. I had been told that there was one true guide for each sentinel, but with the amount of guides they tossed at me I never really believed it. And from what Danny says, the two of you are a good match. Then again, it could just be that Danny was never corrupted..." Steve shrugs, it doesn't really matter as far as he's concerned. It's all speculative. "If you want what he's offering, we'll figure it out."

Eliot goes absolutely, breathlessly still as what McGarrett appears to be offering, because... he can't be, can he? That's not how this works, not any way he's ever heard it, anyhow.

When he finally moves it's to curl one arm over his mid-section, opposite elbow propped on the back of his wrist as he lifts his hand to cover his face. Because there's no way. The guy's offering exactly what he wants and he can't wrap his head around how. And even if he could... there's no way he can have it. "Even if-" His voice breaks a little and he pauses, then starts again, face still hidden behind both his hand and disheveled hair. "Even if you're, christ, if you're willing t'do that-" And there's no way Steve can't smell the desperation rolling off him, the grief and exhaustion and pain at the thought of what he's being offered, how fucking badly he wants it--needs it--and how he can't have it. "He's goin' back to Hawaii, an' I can't leave here." And even if he could... even for the prospect of what Danny might be offering, there's no way he's willing to move someplace as swarming with military as Honolulu.

There's no denying that Steve can smell the emotions rolling off of Eliot but he's not the type to acknowledge it. He doubts the other man would want him to anyway.

"I didn't say it would be easy. Danny has a daughter. She comes first. It's why he's moved to Hawaii to begin with and he won't leave her for anyone or anything. That doesn't mean we can't figure something out though." He shrugged because this really was new territory for him and he had no idea how this could work. What he does know is that he wants to help Eliot. Another sentinel away from the military, fighting to keep it together... There's no way he can just walk away now.

"Something has got to be better than nothing. You've done well on your own, but maybe he can help take the edges off even if he's not always around. Maybe show Parker and Hardison some things to help. Danny goes back to Jersey to see family at times or when he helps out other departments like now, the other two members of our team help keep me grounded without him. We also utilize a few other tricks that help."

It sounds silly but hearing Danny's voice or seeing him in a chat, smelling clothes he's worn and a few other things he can tell Eliot about that Danny doesn't know he does can help the rough patches. Make things easier. It wouldn't be perfect or possibly even ideal but... hell it has to be better than how it is now.

He knows about the kid, and the ex-wife. He knows that Danny is absolutely going back to Hawaii, and he knows that he can't leave Parker or Hardison or the pub. This is the first time in... hell, it's the first time ever that he's had a life, had a family, and there's no way he can walk away from it. But he wants. Christ, he wants so damn much he can hardly breathe for it, and he huffs a broken laugh.

"Fuck man, I've been hangin' by a damn thread for years," he admits hoarsely. "Barely clawed my way outa being a feral headcase." And he's been clinging to his sanity, his humanity, tooth and claw ever since. "Havin' them, it helps, but-" He shakes his head. "I never wanted them t'know." They know some of the things he's done, and can probably guess at a lot of the rest, but they've thought it was the bad choices of a man, not of an actual monster. He's still waiting to see the fear there now that they know what he actually is, and how precarious his grasp on his control actually can be. It hasn't happened so far.

"How can you be so damn easy 'bout this with your bondmate?" he asks, finally looking directly at Steve, brows furrowed and everything about him still telegraphing tension and confusion, with a vague, barely perceptible sheen of hope showing through.

They are a lot alike he realizes. Steve never thought he'd ever have a family but once he found them he tried to hide what he was as well for as long as possible. That changed not long after Danny found out. Said Chin and Kono would want to understand and to help, that they wouldn't judge. He'd been right and once they knew it became easier not having to carry that secret alone.

When Eliot mentions about bondmates at first Steve is surprised. He hadn't realized Eliot thought that and it makes him wonder what Danny said in that regard. Shifting his eyes down and away he shakes his head. "Nah, we're not bonded."

The topic itself is a sensitive one for Steve. He's lost count at the amount of failed bonds the military attempted. They'd even tried drugs designed to force the bond with no success. In the end they'd blamed him. Told him he wasn't able to complete the connection. Not that they didn't continue to try from time to time.

"I'd say it's complicated but you likely already understand. The information I have on bonding isn't... flattering or attractive. And when I get over-protective, Danny is pretty quick to remind me that he's made it this far in life and being a cop without me that I need to stand down. He can take care of himself." Now he just calls him a Neanderthal and the message is received.

It does cross his mind that Eliot could bond with Danny and that potentially could leave him without but it's a risk he's got no option in taking. Danny is his own person and will do what he thinks is best no matter what anyone else says. It's part of what Steve loves about the other man.

Steve's answer clearly confuses him more, and he nearly blurts out something about having listened to their conversation--which is not something he'd generally ever be at risk of doing. But he's so damn wrong-footed and off balance here that he feels a bit like the world's tipping around him.

"No, I... what I learned in the military, it's... yeah." He shakes his head and suppresses a shudder at thinking back that far. To the kid they'd meant to be his bondmate, pushed into the field too soon and too unready for the kind of filthy, terrifying work their unit did, because they'd been such a good potential match. "But it's... I've learned more. Since then. That it doesn't have t'be... it's not always as bad as it was back there." He hasn't met any of their kind in person, not who's lived, but the internet is an amazing resource when no one's specifically watching you and you know how to cover your tracks. And no matter how much he's played up being a technophobe to Hardison, he's always known that.

"But okay, good... that you're not-" He shakes his head, hating how off balance he is over all of this, and presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose again in an effort to relieve the throbbing in his head at least a little. "Thanks. What I mean, is thanks. For the offer."

"No?" He thinks back to some of the teams he's encountered in his career and to some of the guides they tried to pair him with. Danny is no where like them, not even close, but how subservient the sentinels were in those bonded pairs... How much control they gave up to their guide. They had always seemed more like a well trained dog than another human to Steve. As much as his instinct had him responding to the guides, Steve had maintained his own will, often disobeying them or doing what he deemed necessary regardless of what they'd said. Part of him had always wondered though how much of that was the bond and how much was the type of training they went through.

"Those of us who made it out and are functioning should stick together and help each other out as far as I'm concerned." Really though, this was all Danny. Steve would support his decision no matter what it had been, that he happens to agree that they should help Eliot if they could just made things easier.

"I'm not giving him up you understand." Steve gives him an easy smile and a shrug. "But Danny's got a big enough personality for the both of us if we can figure out how to work together." He'd never heard of two sentinels sharing a guide before, usually they were dedicated to each other while working together, but he figured if they were all in agreement with the will to work together they could figure it out.

"No," he confirms. "Not always, anyhow." Because he remembers what that had been like... and that the draw of the kid they'd wanted to bond him with had been strong enough it probably would have actually worked, turned him into nothing more than an attack dog on a leash, if things hadn't gone to shit and gotten almost everyone he knew blown to hell or dead screaming for their mamas in a foreign prison.

"Yeah, well, just... remember that not all of us who made it out made it far enough out," he advises. Because of the Sentinels and Guides he's killed over the years, and there have been... a not insignificant number, some definitely hadn't been what he'd call functional, and the rest hadn't been what he'd really consider out. They might not be working for the military, they might even have a little more freedom, but they were still doing the same things in the same ways with the same lack of accountability, just passing themselves off as being exceptional norms... or flat out whoring themselves out to the highest bidder to be kept as glorified slaves for a better paycheck than the military had offered.

Eliot snorts and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, kinda didn't figure you were, man." And Eliot knows better just from what he's read in the guy's file so far to even think about trying to lure him away, for any number of reasons. "Like you said, it's gotta be better'n nothing, right?" Because no matter how brutal and demeaning and outright abusive the military had been, a huge chunk of the last fifteen odd years had been even worse in their way, going it alone and he knows that, even now, he's still teetering on the edge of losing it more often than not.

"Huh." Steve thinks on that a moment, but can't really picture it with what he knows and how he currently feels. There are times, even with them not bonded, that Steve gets fixated and high off of Danny. Willing to do anything the man even just suggests to make him happy. They've learned that intense scent does it for Steve and only use it when it's absolutely necessary, but how much more intense would it all be if he was bonded? Would he be willing to pull away to maintain his own identity and self? Either way, he can't be bonded so it doesn't really matter. "I'll take your word on that."

With a knowing grin, Steve smirks at Eliot. "Which is why I had to come to see for myself." And ultimately he's happy that he did. Meeting Eliot and his friends has put his mind somewhat at ease. That he was able to straighten things out for Eliot as well, let him know that accepting Danny's offer wasn't stepping on any toes he thought made it worthwhile as well. If what Danny wanted was going to work, Eliot and him needed to respect each other and get along as well. "It's your call what you want to do." The smile Steve offers him once again turns inwardly fond and amused. "But a nickel's worth of advice, talk to him, don't stalk... Unless you like to be ranted at and called an idiot." It might be clear that Steve does enjoy that.

"Nah, don't." He doesn't have the personal experience, after all, just second hand gleaned from men and women hiding just as deeply as him, and he only half believes it. "Guess you can't really look for yourself, but... not the kinda thing to take someone at their word." Even if he gets that Steve meant it as a brushoff.

"Yeah, I get it," he concedes, even if he'd started with his hackles up and isn't completely soothed even now. "Would'a done the same thing." Probably would have done worse, honestly. He's seen precious few reasons to trust their kind... well, ever. Too easy to manipulate, to likely to lose their shit and take everything and everyone around them down with them. It's not worth it, but... something about Danny had made it impossible to cut and run, or to take him out. And Steve, well, Eliot's not ready to put his life in the man's hands or some shit like that--even if he has already, by letting him walk away knowing what he is and where to find him--but they both have enough to lose here that betrayal doesn't feel like something he needs to worry too much about.

"I'll... give it some thought. Get back to him about it." Which is not a promise not to stalk him, the guy's in his city working with the cops and the case is pretty nasty. He's not going to not make sure it doesn't go to shit on him.

No Steve can't look for himself without being flagged. It's possible that Chin could set him up with a private internet connection but it's not worth raising suspicion should anything seem off. Right now his main priority to appear as normal as possible. He gives Eliot an amused look. He'd meant he'd take his word for it that it was out there but nothing beyond that. If Eliot misunderstood though he wasn't going to correct him.

Steve appreciates Eliot admitting he would have done the same thing. Mostly because it represents that the other man is willing to work with him. They're going to need that - the willingness and ability to see the others point of view. Steve too. He can understand Eliot's need to follow and protect Danny. That's a huge part of what brought him here this weekend as well. The trust beyond necessity isn't there yet, but this step gives him hope that it will be there one day.

"Well, you know how to reach him." Not that Steve didn't think he knew how to before as well. "If there's anything I can do..." Steve shrugs as nothing comes to mind but he has to put the offer out there just the same. "I'm going to be with him most of the weekend. I fly back out Sunday night." Now that he has Eliot's heartbeat and scent Steve will be on alert for him should the other man chose to keep up his surveillance while he's here, but he's rather hoping he doesn't. "You feel the need to keep eyes on him, I'd rather you just came over and joined us."

"Yeah, I do. And thanks. Again. It's-" He shakes his head. He's still not sure how or if this thing Steve is proposing can work, and much as he wants after even that short encounter with Danny he's not sure he's prepared to put himself in a position to be that vulnerable and dependent again after over fifteen years on his own... even if a lot of those fifteen years have been varying flavors of hell while he tries to keep his own brain from frying him.

"It's a lot to consider. Think I'll take a pass on, uh, joinin' you, though." He doesn't know that he's up to seeing that dynamic in action just yet. He's noticeably not promising not to keep an eye on Danny despite Steve's presence, though he's well aware how hard it will be to go undetected now that the other man has his scent and heartbeat committed to memory.

Steve nods. "Yeah, I get it. If Danny and I hadn't of had an established friendship when this happened..." He shrugs, it's not hard for him to put himself in Eliot's shoes to understand what the other man is trying to work through. It's another part of his motivation to make things easier.

Moving towards the door he chuckles. "I kinda figured, but it's an open offer if you change your mind." He notices the lack of comment about stalking and if he catches Eliot stalking he'll let the other man know that he knows he's there but do nothing to stop him or dissuade him. Steve hates the feeling of always being watched and monitored, but he's also accustomed to dealing with it. If this is the process Eliot needs to go through then he'll let the other man process as he needs.

"Say good-bye to Hardison and Parker for me. I told Hardison I'd be back again, the burgers really are that good..." Steve grins. "Beer too, but don't tell him I said that. But maybe next visit instead." Meaning Steve plans on giving Eliot room.

Eliot accepts the understanding with a mirroring tip of his head. Steve at least understands how hard it is to trust a Guide, any Guide, after what the military had done to them... it makes it a little easier to consider the possibility that Danny might actually be different, as Steve claims. Hell, as Eliot feels in his damn bones but can't quite make himself accept.

"I'll keep it in mind, man." He's not going to change his mind, not yet, but the offer is reassuring in its way as well. "I will, I-" He cuts off with an involuntary huff of amusement. "Yeah, no damn worries there, kid's got enough of a swelled head as it is." And amazing, his hackles aren't instantly up at mention of a next visit. The most adverse reaction he has is a sense of vague discomfort at the whole situation, and if he lets himself track it doesn't it's going to pretty much be at the idea of trying to figure out how to make things work. Which is a pretty damn good indication that's exactly what he wants to do.

PSL: Sentinel AU

Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Re: Steve and Eliot Meeting, Portland - Friday

Eliot and Danny, Portland, Monday

Re: Eliot and Danny, Portland, Monday

Re: Eliot and Danny, Portland, Monday