#cminerva

Headcanon A:  realistic

Back when he and Sterling worked together and were more openly friends, there were subtle mind games aplenty. The whole thing had less weight behind it, but there was still a lot of elements that we saw in their relationship in the show. The biggest one I can think of is when Nate basically forced Sterling to play Hot and Cold with him to get the clue... that sort of thing, but both of them. Obviously they were constrained by professionalism and affection but they absolutely had subtle prank wars or messed with one another all the time. It was the kind of thing that from the outside may have made some other people in the office think they hated one another, but honestly they were just playing together. There was still rivalry of course, but since both were internally 100% convinced that they were better than the other and would prove it eventually, there weren’t super hard feelings about it or anything. The main problem was that they didn’t get openly sincere with one another, and so more personal stuff like what was going on with Sam, or Sterling’s own messy family issues with his daughter/divorce just never really got brought up in conversation. This is one of the main reasons they drifted apart, because Nate was not in a place to interact the way he had before, and Sterling didn’t know how to bridge that gap and support him, especially while he had his own stuff going on.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

Nate’s section of the con dress-up closet is by far the largest. You would think it’s Sophie, but you’d be wrong. Nate has a lot of WEIRD outfits that take up a lot of space and he chooses them all himself thank you very much. Hardison and Tara laughed at Eliot’s look in the Runway job but Nate came prepared for that too with that absolutely bonkers look, all on his own. He has like at least ten other distinctly loud and awful Jimmy Papadokolis suits. He also has a gigantic collection of hats and every single one has its own hatbox. Some of the weirdest elements of the other team members’ costumes actually were stolen from Nate’s section.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

(This started lighthearted as the realistic headcanon, but I moved it down here after the rabbithole took me to some sad thought.) Nate was a really dorky dad. Like this or this, but basically all the time. He and Maggie didn’t have a perfect relationship, and he wasn’t exactly a beacon of optimism and joy at any point, but his family meant so so much to him. Especially Sam, and the relationship he had with him. Nate lived in a somewhat constant state of amazement that he got to be a dad, that he got to have a kid who loved him and liked spending time with him. He got super excited to do “dad things” - especially when they were far removed from his memories of his own dad. There was definitely angst about not being a good dad, but while it recurred even later on, he mostly got over it when Sam was still really young, because he felt that he had so tangibly “gotten out.” When Sam got sick, Nate soon started getting pretty manic and scary. He’d be praying/cursing out God, goofing around with Sam, verbally tearing people to shreds, putting together a well-reasoned and very impassioned proposal for his boss to help him out, seeking comfort with Maggie, lashing out at Maggie, solving a fraud case in an unusually reckless way... all in the same day. However, he did a really good job even till the very end of keeping a mostly brave/reassuring face up around Sam, of indulging him and managing to seem relatively lighthearted and reassuring. After Sam died Nate physically destroyed a lot of little projects they’d done together and that sort of thing in a fit of drunken rage and grief, and the drawing we see that one time is one of the few things left. That was actually the first big schism between him and Maggie, because Nate was taking away her mementos as well. The very few times Nate ever visited Sam’s grave, he never was able to let down his goofy dad facade and face up to his grief, as though Sam could still hear him and needed the reassurance of dumb jokes or whatever. Every time he left, he went straight to a bar to get drunk.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

NATE DIDN’T HYPNOTIZE HARDISON.

Nate, in fact, eventually was able to find it in himself to have more genuine fatherly moments with Hardison. He was avoiding doing so for a long time, because it was easy to see Hardison kind of seeking that from him and it just brought back memories of Sam far too much. But being able to step into that role with Parker was easier since she wasn’t asking it of him in the same way, and the idea of a ‘daughter’ didn’t have the same kind of baggage, etc. Eventually this made it easier to support Hardison when he needed it, or even to reach out first. He stopped being so abrasive in his advice or corrections and gave Hardison more genuine compliments and support. Not all the time, but definitely more often, and he stepped up for him when he saw he needed it. I think this was implied by Redemption calling Nate Hardison’s father that one time, but I don’t think canon earned that really enough to say it that way. In my head, they did more so, although I still don’t think Nate would ever openly describe their relationship that way.

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sophie/harry

whether they go on vacations together and their locale of choice | yessss, definitely, of course! even before they’re officially linked in the personal sphere of life, they find themselves lingering after-mission when they’re called to destinations shiny and new (although, for soph, these are very few and far between!) once they make that particular transition, the only aspects of this routine that change are the length they allow themselves to stay and their ratio of wandering cities versus lazily lounging in their airbnb.

their most-repeated travel arrangement? italy! it’s the perfect combo of history and bookish nonsense [harry’s not-so-secretly a nerd] and artsy elegance for soph! like the perfect song, some places never lose their appeal!  

say anything | oh my god, so. i know the doctor parallel has already played, but. my absolute dream involves harry handling blood or other effects of injury - unexpectedly - like a pro. maybe he gave her those post-collision frozen peas a few episodes back because eliot was otherwise occupied!

I would like to point out that the person whose attention she held most recently (whose rapt attention sparked this moment of self-awareness) was none other than Alexandra Bligh 👀

2. How comfortable are they with touching/being touched by the other?

This is interesting territory because Breanna's been family to Parker for a while, but Parker's early reactions to Breanna potentially joining the team show that, though Parker has extended her idea of "family" beyond the original team of five (with Tara and Maggie making up a quirky extended family) Parker draws a line between family and family team.

I think Breanna, having grown up with Parker and having looked up to her for so long, is used to Parker's excited brand of physical affection. Tackle hugs, shoulder claps, the like. I think for a younger kid, Parker would have been a great person to have over because she would roughhouse with the kids in a way that they'd find super fun (and something they're not used to seeing from other grown-ups). Parker's accepted Breanna as a part of the family a long time ago. What we do see is them discussing a little bit of how that manifests in their new relationship as teammates (and that's the whole discussion about being pushed off a building). Jumping off the building holding hands at the end of the season is, in a lot of ways, indicative of them working out who they are to each other now. Parker listens to what Breanna wants, and they jump off together. There's a lot of love there already, lots of professional respect being built.

Breanna...is not as touchy-feely, but that's likely a function of her being new to the crew. What Breanna is naturally good at is boundaries and putting people at ease, and she seems to know through a combination of instinct and previous experience that the best way to be with Parker and Eliot (and even Sophie, by extension) is to let them initiate physical touch with her (which they do! pretty early on actually - even Sophie, who has arguably never met Breanna before). That changes a lot in the finale

13. What do they do to make each other smile or laugh on bad days?

Crime is fun! I love that we establish early on that Parker's happy to steal things for Breanna, which is a sweet thing to do when Breanna gets down about a job. Less common but still important would be when Breanna gets down about the world (we all have those days, when the world sucks a little more than usual), and at that point, I think Parker has a little mental file of general things that make Breanna happy. She'll ask Breanna about "that one movie where they do the thing with the stuff" and it's just an opening for Breanna to organize a movie night to tell them.

I think Parker being visibly sad is at first very hard for Breanna, because Breanna feels so compelled to fill Hardison's shoes - and whether or not Parker is feeling sad at that moment about Hardison not being there, I think Breanna might put that on herself at first. Not to mention she's living in a new environment with a lot of people who have some very strong emotions but clearly need to come around to processing them in uniquely private ways?

And in that way, Breanna's very necessary - it just takes her a while to learn that she has that superpower: just having her around puts people at ease. I like to think about how when Hardison comes back and the ot3 need to have their conversation about how Eliot missed Hardison, Sophie's in the corner dressing Harry down, but Breanna's in the room with the three of them as they talk? She's a stabilizing force. I think at some point, when she's not around, Parker finds herself looking for her. Because whether she's lending a listening ear or clicking away at her keyboard upstairs, Breanna's a very comforting home presence, you know?

And of course, when all else fails, they poke some good-natured fun at either Eliot or Harry.

I have complicated and often contradictory thoughts on Regina! I think there was a lot of potential to go for an actual healing/learning from her mistakes and wanting to become a better person kind of redemption arc, OR to go a route where she chose not to change or become better... and canon consistently waffled and didn’t commit to either in a way that just was so much worse. Even the way she was written could mostly have worked for me on an individual character level possibly but I didn’t like the way the narrative reacted to it.

What quirks/mannerisms do they consider characteristic of each other?

This is interesting, because both of them are very observant (Sophie about people, Eliot more in general) so their mental catalogue has potential to be bigger than most peoples'.

Sophie is very good at all but erasing her personal tics/body language/etc. in favor of something much more deliberate when she's acting. But when she isn't, Eliot notices the way she likes to sit curled up in a chair, keeping her feet off the ground. She sometimes chews on her lip when she's lost in thought. If she isn't thinking about it, she's a middle finger pointer. Eliot being Eliot, what he considers most characteristic is food-related. Sophie doesn't seek them out herself, but she really likes finger-foods - even if they're greasy, or fatty, or cheesy or whatever, if they are the right size to pick up in your fingers and absently pop in your mouth in one bite, she goes for them.

Eliot of course does the hair toss. He has a tendency to sit closer to doors. He learns everyone's dietary preferences/allergies. He crosses his arms more often when he's thinking about something. There's a whole bunch of stuff Sophie notices, but one that sticks out to her most is the intent way he often watches people. He is very aware, deliberately so, his attention focused, and she knows that his mind is working and it can translate to action in a second. That might be to attack or just to grab the sugar away from Parker, but his eyes are the same.

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