PSL: Sentinel AU

[dann_0]

Danny is Steve's guide. He is still pretty new at it and working with a Sentinel who has some bad experiences. To top if off, while working a case in Portland he finds out that a guide can have more than one Sentinel who is their perfect match.

Comments

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[dann_0]

Danny's with Kono and Grace at the breach, the two girls are talking about surfboards just then. They've been out in the surf a few times already, Danny going with them too. He is proud of his girl and even if he doesn't like the water, she clearly does and he can live with that. When his phone rings and he sees who it is he excuses himself and takes a few steps away.

"Hi babe, missed me already?"

Steve Call to Eliot

[a_very_distinctive]

Ah shit, Eliot can't help the way his breath catches and his eyes slip half shut at the sound of Danny's voice. It's like every last fibre of him is straining towards the Guide, and he has to take a slow, deep breath to ground himself again before he can answer.

"You know it, sweetheart, but... that's not why I'm callin'." His voice is rough and a little strained, and he's rubbing his thumb gently over the pulse at Steve's wrist as he speaks, even as he listens for Danny's pulse and the sound of his breathing on the other end of the line. "I need you... I need you t'come to your office. I'll explain why I'm here later, but right now... Steve's gone an' zoned out on me, and you need t'come pull him out of it."

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[dann_0]

"What? You're in Hawaii? And with Steve? What? Why? Eliot.." He swallows, his mind racing and his heartbeat picking up. "Alright... Alright. Take his hand and place it on your heart or on your belly and try to get him to focus on your breath or your heart. That helps." He walks over to where Kono and Grace is.

"Hi Kono. I need to drop by the office, Steve's having a rough day." Kono knows enough to know what that means. "Mind watching Gracie for a bit?" At Kono's affermative he crouches down to Grace. "Hi monkey. Danno's gotta go see uncle Steve for a bit, but Auntie Kono will take you to Kamekona's for some shaved ice, alright? And then when we get home you can have anything you want for dinner. Deal?" There is an excited "Yes!" from someone who can only be Grace.

Then Danny grab his stuff and his keys, well the keys to Steve's truck and heads towards it. He pulls a shirt over his boardshorts. "You and I are going to have a serious talk, Eliot. You know that right? Steve's in the office?"

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[a_very_distinctive]

"Take a breath, sweetheart," Eliot murmurs at the sound of Danny's heartrate picking up. "He's safe, I got him, he's just zoned."

He does as Danny suggests, lifting Steve's hand and settling it over his heart, making sure to keep his own breathing deep and even as he listens to Danny's conversation. His breath catches a little at the sound of what must be Grace's voice, frustrated at the idea of ruining Danny's afternoon with his daughter, but even moreso at the knowledge of what he's missing with his son.

"Yeah, well, that was gonna be happenin' anyway," he points out quietly, sounding resigned as he glances up at Steve's face to see if there's any indication that hearing Danny's voice through the phone is helping him at all. "Yeah. He's safe, I just doubt I'll have much luck trying t'pull him out of this. I'm gonna put this on speaker, in case hearin' your voice helps him."

Steve Call to Eliot

[super_seal]

Steve doesn't hear Danny through the phone at all. In a zone, his focus is reduced to what he zoned on and a distant sense of touch. The scent isn't as strong, but its still there, hanging faintly in the room and Steve is determined to figure out what it is. To the point where he's mentally lost in a world of broken down particles.

Internally he has no conscious awareness of what's happening externally. Unconsciously however he can feel the heat from Eliot's body under his hand, causing his fingers to gently twitch. The heartbeat is felt underneath those fingers, along with the rhythm of Eliot's breathing and slowly Steve's breathing starts to change to fall into sync with it. It's not an instant transition, but that takes place over several minutes. Once his breathing adjusts his heartbeat follow suit.

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[dann_0]

Danny mutters something as he jingles with the car keys. "I'll be there in ten minutes. You think you can keep him there that long? He doesn't usually do much. At least not outwardly." But it isn't hard to tell that Steve is going through hell whenever he zones.

The truck's engine roars as Danny turns to drive out. "Hey Steve, babe, can you hear me? I'll be there in a second alright, don't do anything stupid. Eliot will take care of you." He drives fast and more than a little dangerously to get there, Steve's bee a bad influence. But it is only seven or so minutes when he runs up the stairs to their offices. Once he is inside he glances around, at first going for Steve's office and then frowning when he sees them in his. He ducks inside and places a hand on Eliot's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. He might be curious and frustrated, but he is also glad to see the Sentinel.

Then he turns his attention to Steve, moving to sit on the couch next to him and reaching out to pull him close, to pull his head onto his shoulders. He knows Steve likes the scent of him. "Hey babe, I'm here, I got you. You're safe." He strokes Steve's neck with one hand and with the other reaches out to place it on Eliot's shoulder again, making sure he knows he is not forgotten.

Steve Call to Eliot

[a_very_distinctive]

"We'll be right here, he's not going anywhere." Even if Steve manages to snap out of it, which seems unlikely, they'll be waiting here for Danny's arrival.

Eliot switches the phone over to speaker and sets it on the arm of the couch, then focuses on Steve as well. Uses one hand to hold Steve's pressed over his heart and curls the other back around Steve's wrist, gently stroking over his pulse. He takes some comfort from the fact he can feel Steve's breathing slowly syncing with his, and then his heart rate following. He doesn't say anything else, though, knowing Danny's voice is infinitely more likely to help than his own.

He considers going to find something in the office that smells particularly strongly of Danny, but he doesn't want to lose what progress he's made in Steve seeming at least subconsciously aware of his presence, so he's still crouched on the floor at the other Sentinel's feet when he hears Danny's footsteps approaching, familiar already, and then his heartbeat once he reaches the hall to 5-0's office. He draws in a slightly shuddering breath as Danny opens the outer office door and he can catch his scent, fresh and sharp... and frustrated, worried, and confused.

He glances up when Danny enters, working hard to keep the sudden, vibrating tension at bay. The need to get up and go to him. To touch. To taste. He stays where he is, though, breathing still careful and steady and deep, Steve's hand pressed to his heart which hasn't so much as skipped because he won't let it. His eyes drop half-shut, though, and he leans almost imperceptibly into the touch for the fraction of a second that Danny squeezes his shoulder... and then he sits back on his haunches and looks away as Danny sits on the couch and pulls Steve against him, settles the taller man's head on his shoulder and strokes his neck.

Eliot called Danny here, he knows he needs to be here, needs to help Steve, but that doesn't make it easy. He's about to take Steve's hand from his own chest and press it to Danny's, to stand up and move away and give the pair of them privacy for this, when Danny's free hand drops onto his shoulder again and he freezes in place, chin dropping to his chest and breath shuddering out raggedly. He should stand up, should leave, but he can't make himself move away from that touch, and what he finds himself doing instead, without conscious volition, is shifting to lean against Danny's legs, Steve's hand still pressed lightly over his heart.

Steve Call to Eliot

[super_seal]

Danny's voice doesn't penetrate down to Steve's conscious self. He's too deep in the zone, still too focused chasing after a scent that is slowly starting to fade. At the same time subconsciously he feels safer and taken care of, some of the worry of losing the strength of the scent dissipates. A further sense of security comes with more contact at his wrist. Everything is going to be alright. Consciously he doesn't know why he feels that, he just does, but he doesn't lose his focus.

The change in position doesn't register for him, now leaning into Danny, but the strength of scent does. Guide. His guide. And his breath deepens momentarily but when that takes him out of sync with what he's feeling under his hand, it's corrected on the next breath. It's not until the feeling of skin on skin, as Danny strokes his neck though, that he starts to show signs of coming out of the zone. He whimpers lightly, turning his head into Danny's neck so that each inhale pulls in more of his scent, but his breathing stays in sync with Eliot's. His hand, over Eliot's heart twitches, falling into time with the sensation.

That scent he was chasing is here in this room. A combination of the equally strong smell of the two men along with the scent of something else. A musk, heady and rich. He wants that. Wants this and with that thought he's able to let go of the intense focus he had on that foreign scent. Leaning more into Danny, pushing his nose under his neck while exposing his own neck more for further caress, and flattening his hand against Eliot's chest, he sighs out a content hum on an exhale. He's still not with them, but his breathing and heart beat are still matched with Eliot's, and he's responding to Danny's scent and sound of his voice. The touch of both men are providing him an anchor, beckoning him to come back to the present.

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[dann_0]

Danny smiles softly as he can feel Steve softening. "There you go Steve, I got you. Eliot got you too. You're safe here. Come back to us hm? There you go. You're doing great." At that last he looks down at Eliot, his hand sliding to Eliot's neck, stroking the same soft way. "You're doing good too, Eliot." He continues talking, repeating the same words, keeping his tone the same. And he continues the stroking. Yeah he might he confused as to why Eliot's here and worried about Steve but having them both here within easy reach gives him a sense of calm and safety and completeness he hasn't been able to find with either one of them alone since he met Eliot.

He knows he's head over heels for both of them, he knows he needs both of them. But he also knows this isn't about what he wants or needs. They have to figure out what they are comfortable with, how much they are willing to share. But that doesn't mean he can't enjoy this.

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot finds himself turning helplessly into Danny's touch, and he has to actually focus to keep his breathing from going ragged, to keep it steady and even for Steve to continue anchoring to it. He shouldn't be here, not when all he wants is to pull Danny down into his lap, to bury his face against Danny's neck and breathe him in while he refreshes the mark he left there. Not when he can't help tipping his head for Danny's touch in such a way that to almost inevitably lead Danny's caressing hand to drag over the mark Danny had left bruised into his skin. But he can't move, can't leave, can't do anything but turn his face into Danny's thigh and breathe as Steve's fingers flex gently against his chest.

Steve Call to Eliot

[super_seal]

The touch of Danny's fingers on his neck, the feel of Eliot's fingers around his wrist, the scent of his guide and the heartbeat under his palm gets him so far but then he wants more. He wants the sound of his guide's heartbeat in his ear and he moves his head to further down, onto Danny's chest but it isn't in sync with his. It's not in sync with the beating under his hand. He wants... No, he needs more contact, more skin on skin contact but it's not being offered like it used to and there's a feeling holding him back from taking it like he wants. Whimpering at the confusing information he's getting from his senses, he starts to tense.

The scent, it smells like his guide, but it's not like it's supposed to be. Was this a trick? Did the military figure it out? Was he back with them? Growling at just the instinctual worry he tries to fight his way back to the surface. This was no time for zoning. If he or his guide was in danger, he didn't have time to be zoned. He knows this feeling. He's been indirectly trained to fight his own way back when things didn't make sense. The Navy would force him into a zone and attempt to leave him there. Sometimes it worked and sometimes he didn't drop down far enough, only made it to where he is now and he'd be with it enough that instinct would kick in.

He's not thinking. There's still no conscious thought. He's operating completely on instinct, emotion and feelings, but they're not making sense. The peace bubble he'd found himself in is collapsing.

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[dann_0]

Danny blinks in confusion at the growling he finally lets go of Eliot and instead takes Steve's hand from Eliot's chest to his own. "Eliot, do me a favor. Take a step back, hm? The desk or so should be good." The last thing he wants is for Steve to lash out at Eliot. He can't keep his voice entirely even, even if he is doing is damned best. "Easy easy, Steve. It's just me and Eliot. You're in the office, you're safe. I promise you're safe." Danny strokes down along Steve's spine. "Relax, breathe with me. I got you.

Steve Call to Eliot

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot's head snaps up at the whimper, but it's the growl that gets his hackles up and takes him from uneasy but unthreatened to tensely on guard. Danny has to actually work to take Steve's hand away from him, but it's because Eliot's already halfway to his feet, prepared to drag Steve off the couch by it if he has to, to get him away from Danny before he can do any damage. And when Danny does pull Steve's hand away and settles it over his own chest Eliot bares his teeth in a snarl, not showing any sign that he's willing to even think of moving away. There's no way in hell he's getting out of arm's reach of Danny, of his Guide, right now. He will absolutely destroy anything or anyone that poses a threat to Danny, no hesitation and no question.

Steve Call to Eliot

[super_seal]

The tension in the air is thick enough for Steve to feel even in his zoned state. The smell of Danny fills his nostrils and he recognizes his guide but there's other scents that feel too overwhelming to identify. Pushing himself more into Danny, he knows he can trust his partner to guide him fully out of this and into whatever situation he's about to wake into. Danny's uneasiness though becomes his as consciousness starts to take hold and instinctively he growls out a low warning, threatening whatever has caused this tension to back off.

Awareness does not clear up his confusion. He has Danny, becoming more and more under him with his head over the other man's heart. The scent and the heartbeat are both recognized, but his senses all feel muddy, sluggish and off. Like he's underwater or his brain has been stuffed with cotton. He feels the tension and he's ready to attack but he has no idea what the threat is. His training has him holding off from just lashing out but he's tense and ready should he need to. Danny just needs to give him a direction.

The headache pounding behind his eyes make it hard for him to think. Memories are distant and he's not fully certain where he is or why they are in this situation. He feels Danny's stroke down his spine and he presses into it but he wants and needs more. There has to be a reason why Danny isn't giving it to him like he usually would and in his current state assumes it's the situation. Danny's tone register more than his words, the uneasiness clearly received where meaning is not yet taking hold. Once he recovers from the zone he's going to need to recalibrate his senses.

"Danny?" His voice comes out on a whisper, cautious and uncertain. He wants to ask what's going on but if they aren't in a 'safe' location he doesn't want to give his vulnerability away.

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[dann_0]

Danny's eyes snap to Eliot's face when the older Sentinel growls and his heartbeat picks up. "Easy Eliot. Easy easy. It's just Steve. He's just confused alright. You're both safe here, I promise. You're safe Steve. You're here with me and Eliot. We're in my office." Steve's little growl makes his lick his lips and then he takes a deep breath. He is just making it worse. They are reacting to him. And he knows that.

So he closes his eyes briefly, trying to slow down his breathing and relax. "Easy easy, both of you. There is only the two of you here. No danger nothing is going on. Come on Steve, easy now," Once Steve's hand is over his chest he reaches out to Eliot to take his hand. "Easy Eliot. He's not dangerous, and I know you don't want to hurt him."

Steve Call to Eliot

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot knows, intellectually, that he's the source of the tension here, that Steve must be reacting to the confusion of his presence, but his brain isn't what's in charge right now. He's operating almost completely on instinct, possessive and protective at even the hint of a threat to Danny, and the only reason he's not lashing out already is over fifteen years of hard fought, brutally earned experience in keeping himself under control. Zoning has never been his greatest challenge, he's always been more prone to feral rages than to getting lost in his own head, and with a Guide to defend his protective instincts are on a hair trigger.

It's only Danny's voice that's keeping him in check in the first strained moments, steady and calm and reassuring even if his heart rate gives it the lie. His gaze flicks from Danny's hand smoothing down Steve's back to Danny's face to Steve's head resting against Danny's chest, though, and his teeth stay bared, his body vibrating with tension, ready to move. To fight. He's already lost one Guide, so close to a bond, he's not going to risk this one.

But Steve doesn't move, and when his voice comes it's quiet and uncertain, and when Danny reaches for his hand Eliot lets him take it, grip almost painfully tight as he continues to watch Steve. He knows Danny's right, knows Steve's not a threat to him, that he doesn't want to hurt the other Sentinel, but it's hard to remember that in the face of the deep, visceral fear of losing Danny.

He squeezes Danny's hand tighter for a fraction of a second, grip almost crushing, and then yanks his hand abruptly away, backing up a few steps at the same time. He needs to be in control, dammit. "I'll be-" He waves a hand vaguely towards the door, voice a harsh rasp and gaze focused with feral intensity on Danny's face. Just Danny. No threat. He doesn't need Eliot's protection. He needs Eliot to get the hell away like he should have from the start. "Call me. If you need me." And then he spins and stalks from the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Steve Call to Eliot

[super_seal]

It's a slow process and Steve feels like he's clawing himself out of a deep dark hole where he has to fight for every inch of ground gained. The zone is still pulling heavy on him and the tension in the air keeps the threat of going feral a real possibility but he needs know what the hell is going on.

When Eliot speaks the sound of his voice registers and twinges a memory. Hoping that will clear things up he reaches for that and when things fall back into place he groans. Eliot. Charlie. They're in the office. He doesn't remember Danny being there but knowing he zoned he can guess that Eliot called Danny. It explains the tension and why he can't get the relief that he needs.

Taking a shaky breath he tries to push away from Danny. "S-sorry." Every instinct is screaming at him to curl into his guide, to overwhelm himself with Danny's touch, smell, taste and sound, but Danny isn't his guide and he can't have what he needs. Nausea rolls in his stomach and this time when he pushes away he's successful in getting himself back into a seated position. He's pasty pale and he keeps his eyes closed as he takes deep breaths trying to calm his stomach.

His senses are a mess, he's still not hearing right and the only smell that doesn't seem overwhelming is Danny, but the sound of the door slamming is impossible to misinterpret and with one of the unidentified scents suddenly not as strong he realizes that Eliot has left the room. Swallowing he tilts his head in Danny's direction, keeping his eyes closed - he doesn't need to add more confusion to his already scrambled senses, and slurs out, "You shou go aftr 'em."

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[dann_0]

When Eliot pulls away Danny can't help but feel slightly let down. And it is even worse when Eliot speaks. He can hear hurt in those words and he hates it. But right now Steve needs him. "I'll find you later." He wishes he didn't have to.

Hearing Steve's words Danny shakes his head. "He needs some space and you need me." He isn't entirely sure space is what Eliot needs but he knows Steve needs him to be here. He reaches out to pull Steve close again. "You feeling better babe? I got you right here. When you feel alright, I'll grab you some water." He moves to continue stroking Steve's back.

Steve Call to Eliot

[super_seal]

"No." Steve shakes his head and resists Danny pulling him close. "I need t'learn t'deal on m'own." It hurts almost as much to say as it feels to sense Danny being so close and not allowing himself to reach out to him. "I'm outta d'zone. I'm good. Go."

This isn't working, isn't going to work for him. He let them get to close, that was his fault, backing off with Danny still being right there... He doesn't think he's strong enough to do it, but he doesn't have a choice.

His voice gains a bit of steal that he doesn't actually feel and makes it into a command. "Go, Danny. You need to go!"

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[dann_0]

Danny had been about to open his mouth to protest, to tell Steve that he'll stay here. But the command hits him in the gut like a punch and for a long moment, he is just stunned at being pushed away. He blinks a few times and then stands. He opens his mouth and then closes it. He grabs the Camaro's keys, switching them for the trucks and then he grabs Eliot's phone.

"Grace is with Kono. She's been asking about you, told her we'd have dinner together tonight all of us. I'll see you then."

Then he heads out of the office and into the rest of the building. "Eliot. Your phone." His voice doesn't carry the warmth it usually does, now it is just tired and defeated and hurt. "I am sorry."

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot's out of the room before he registers what he's done: that he has no car, and he's left all his things behind including his phone. It doesn't matter, he supposes, other than he also doesn't have anything with him now to help keep himself grounded, to keep the feral rage at having left his Guide behind from washing over him and rolling him under. But he's had a lifetime of practice at keeping himself together and functional and alive on his own, and he paces the circumference of the office, hands flexing restlessly while he tries to center himself enough to not be a menace in public.

It would be easier if he couldn't hear the conversation in the other room, couldn't smell Danny and Steve's scents twined and layered together so many times, so completely, in this space, that it's almost impossible to pick them apart from each other. But he doesn't have a choice, functioning isn't optional, and he's about to leave the office entirely, head for the street outside and try to get his shit together by walking and distracting himself when he hears Steve's voice.

"God dammit." It's under his breath, frustrated and angry and worried as he hears Danny get up. Answer. Move to leave. And for all Eliot wants Danny, wants him out here, with him, where he can see and touch and taste him, catch his scent without it twined inexorably with another Sentinel's, he doesn't want it like this. Because he hasn't known Danny long, but he knows him well enough to be sure that there's no way this scenario ends well for him. Steve's part of Danny's life--hell, he lives with the man, seems to essentially co-parent with him--and Eliot's a virtual stranger who lives twenty-five hundred miles away. If it comes down to a choice between them there's no way in hell that Eliot wins.

He's already turned to the door by the time Danny opens it, face set in grim lines. He doesn't take the phone when Danny holds it out, he does take Danny's arm in a solid but remarkably gentle grip and turn him back towards his office. He's not taking no for an answer. "Don't be a fucking jackass, McGarrett," Eliot snarls at the open door, glaring at the other Sentinel. "You're not even close t'good, you need his god damn help!"

Steve Call to Eliot

[super_seal]

Having moved into a forward position, his elbows are on his knees and his head is in his hands. He's messed things up badly, will be lucky if they can salvage any kind of friendship out of this, but still he sees no other way forward.

When the door opens he raises his head and opens his eyes. The pupils are pin-sized and all he really sees is two humanoid shadows in the light. He doesn't need to see them though, he knows exactly who they are. For a moment he just glares at them.

He's tired, he's hurting in every which way and he doesn't have the energy to fight this. It allows him to be more forthcoming than he normally would. Maybe once he tells them they'll understand and leave him the hell alone to start figuring this shit out for himself.

"I can't do it. I can't go back." Lower his eyes to the floor he shakes his head. When he speaks it's directed at Eliot. He's already tried to explain this to Danny and the other man just couldn't seem to understand, maybe Eliot being a sentinel he'll have better luck. "I thought if we were equals... That it'd be doable. That we could manage it. But we're not. You're the boyfriend. I need to be the friend but... I can't..." He can't go back to just being just friends. He had too much of Danny, more than he had a right too, and he hadn't thought about the future, now, when he allowed them to get closer. And now he needs that closeness, craves it with all of his being. Maybe if he had time, a chance to distance himself a little bit. A chance to get over Danny. But this, trying to do it like this, he just couldn't do it. "If I need to figure this out on my own he can't be at arm's reach."

Re: Steve Call to Eliot

[dann_0]

Danny jumps and tries to protest when Eliot leads him back inside the office. He opens his mouth to protest at Steve but when the other speaks he falls silent. He's losing Steve, he can tell and it hurts so damn much he doesn't really know what to say.

"I love you both, you idiot. You're equal to me." He says quietly. He glances at Eliot. He knows Eliot doesn't want to hear this and that this might cost him both his boyfriend and his best friend. "That moment just now, where I had you both and ... I've never felt like that, never felt that whole and complete. Or rather only one time before and that was when I held Grace for the first time. I.. " He wants to say needs but he knows asking that is too much. "I want you both, as equals in every way."

Steve Call to Eliot

[a_very_distinctive]

Eliot's prepared to tell Steve to get his damn head out of his ass and take the help that's offered, he's even prepared to point out exactly why he knows things can't change between Steve and Danny. He's not prepared for Danny's little speech, though, and he freezes, blood running cold. Danny might mean it, or think he does--Eliot can hear it in his heart rate, smell the earnest sincerity on him--but that doesn't mean there's any way in hell it can work. There's only one way it can end, and for all that his heart rate and his hands stay steady Eliot's scent washes through with misery and pain and loss.

"Okay, you-" He points at Steve, expression flat and hard. "Are gonna pull your head outa your god damn ass an' take the help he's offering," he snarls, and he gives Danny a little shove--gentle, even now, but forceful enough to get the job done--towards Steve. "An' once you got your head screwed on straight he needs t'know what we've been doin' an' why." That's the most important part right now, and he stares balefully at Steve, silently demanding that he get his shit together enough to deal with that properly... and then he backs out the door and pulls it shut behind him, and this time when he turns and starts walking he doesn't slow down or stop.

He's got his wallet in his pocket, he can pay for a cab to get him to the airport and catch a flight home. Maybe he'll stop and buy a new phone along the way, he'll need a new number anyway, and there's nothing else in the duffel he's left behind in Danny's office that can't be replaced or that he isn't better off without. A clean break will be best.

Steve Call to Eliot

[super_seal]

Steve shakes his head at Danny's words. It's clear what the other man wants, Danny has been saying it repeatedly, but the problem is in order for him to have that, both he and Eliot have to function in a way that neither are built to do. He's been trying to tell him that for the last couple of days but Danny just doesn't seem to understand. Maybe Eliot can communicate it better than Steve can cause he's in no shape right now to keep trying.

His hearing is still messed up but tone and cadence are coming through loud and clear. What he heard in Eliot's voice carried a sense of finality to it. Closing his eyes, his chin drops to his chest. This isn't what he wants. He was much happier with the idea that he'd have to back out completely then have Eliot leave. Steve would go after him himself, but there's no way he's able to do that either.

"If you don't go after him now, you're not going to be able to later."