Disclaimer: Don't own Leverage.

Summary: Mikel Dayan goes back to Boston four years after she tried to steal a van gogh, looking for a certain Hitter. Set after season 5.

Mikel Dayan once again found herself in Boston. Not to steal a painting this time, last time her or a crew she was in tried that it went... sideways. No, this time she was here for an entirely different reason.

Now she stood in the rain outside John McRory's Bar debating if her target was inside. Deciding that debate was pointless she moved down the stairs and entered the bar, sitting in the same booth she'd sat in whilst her and the crew she was working with at the time waiting patiently for their official release.

Now she was back, the hitter she'd fought, Elliot Spencer he'd said his name was, had left an impression on her. When she'd gotten somewhere safe, outside of Boston, Mikel had done some digging and found that the man she'd lost to was not only a high-end Hitter. He was the man who'd singlehandedly overthrown Croatia's dictator without being caught. He'd fought, horribly wounded, and later killed the Butcher of Kiev with a silver platter. The man was so good that those among the hitter community who knew his name avoided his territory, not out of fear, but out of respect.

Now, that same respect drew Mikel back to Boston, a place she'd avoided for four years after she'd last encountered him, each passing day making it harder not to return. She knew he still ran with Nathan Ford, a man who was certainly one of the best at guiding his crews skill, if not the best, but she wasn't worried. She wasn't here to "Poach" as it were, on his territory.

She heard his laughter as he entered, tilting her head only slightly to better hear him. She could hear when he paused upon sighting her and his footsteps as he crossed the bar to sit across from her at the same booth.

Elliot seemed surprised to see her, the only words he said made this fairly evident, "You're here."

Mikel smiled a small sly smile at him when she replied, "I am."

Elliot smiled back. "Not that it's not great to see you again but I thought you weren't coming back, you said as much before you left four years ago."

Mikel laughed a musical laugh, "It has come to my understanding that it is one thing to intend to never return, quite another to actually perform the task." She knew he'd understand, she'd heard that her lo-Elliot's crew had attempted to break ties several times, including directly after their very first job, and it simply didn't stick. They were too good together for any of them to ever truly desire to work apart.

Elliot nodded in understanding, "Are you here on a job? Do you need help?"

Shaking her head, amused by his concern, Mikel responded. "No Elliot, I would never poach on your territory and I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, as you are aware."

Elliot grinned back at Mikel and the ex-mossad Hitter suddenly felt a small amount of aprehension. Could she really do this?

The female hitter, as Americans say, sucked it up and decided to just say it. "I came here because for the last four years I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. You are the only hitter I've ever fought who had the potential to actually defeat me. Our fight, down in that maintenance tunnel, aroused me on so many levels," Mikel began and waved her hand to stop any attempt at interrupting her. If she didn't say it now she likely would never be able to. "Psychologically, I was excited and delighted to finally fight someone worthy of my skill. Physically, my body was excited for an entirely different reason. When we kissed after you pinned me the only thing that stopped me from ripping your clothes off and mounting you in that wet tunnel was the handcuff you slapped on me while I was distracted," a pause for breath and a look into Elliot's eyes found the other hitter confused, but perhaps a little happy at where this was going. "Then we talked here in this bar, at this very booth and you managed to connect to the very sheltered emotional part of me that all Hitters hide deep down so we don't get hurt if a person ends up being a plant to get us out of someone's way. I realized too late, already outside of Boston that... I love you."

Elliot was silent for what felt like an unbearable amount of time, though probably only a few seconds, "It hurt you know, watching you walk out that door four years ago. I never told anyone; not even Nate, Sophie, Parker, or Hardison; but it hurt. Now you're back, and I can stop acting like flirting with other people, people who could never understand what it is that I do or why I enjoy it, matters to me. I love you too Mikel."

"Good," was all Mikel said as she leaned across and claimed his lips, she hadn't done it in over four years now, and her body tingled when he kissed her back.