A/N: I wrote this for a challenge at leverageland using the prompt After Nate decides to steal summer television, Parker and Hardison end up on the couples edition of the game show Wiping Out. ((Please be kind, this is my first fic that I'm actually publishing.))

"Alright, let's go steal television," Nate declared.

"I've never stolen a TV before but it'll be a piece of cake. Mmmm, cake. I'm hungry," Parker said as she got up and started heading towards the kitchen in search of food.

"Not a TV, Parker," Eliot grumbled. "He means an actual TV show."

"Ooooh," Parker said as she rummaged through the refrigerator. "How are we gonna do that?"

"Here's the plan," Nate said.

"He can't be serious. There's no way I'm gonna do this," Hardison complained.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Sophie said reassuringly. "Plus, Parker will be with you."

"That's what I'm worried about," he muttered.

"How bad could it be?"

"Trust me, it's gonna be bad. Parker actually likes living on the dangerous side. Me, on the other hand, not so much. I'm perfectly content sitting at home, hacking into the nearest security system."

The sound of someone skipping echoed down the hallway. Hardison glanced nervously towards the door.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Parker exclaimed as she bounced into the dressing room. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Hardison mumbled as he finished securing his life jacket. "Let's go before I change my mind."

"Have fun," Sophie shouted after them as Parker dragged Hardison out of the dressing room by the arm. "I'll meet up with you after the show."

In reality, the job went down a lot quicker than the team expected. Sophie was busy schmoozing the mark who happened to be an executive producer of the hit show Wiping Out, which Parker and Hardison were set to compete on. But by a stroke of luck, Eliot and Nate found exactly what they needed in the mark's office to take him down before Parker and Hardison made their national television debut. Instead of disappointing Parker (she was really looking forward to it), Nate decided to let her have some fun.

When this little piece of information reached Hardison, however, he was none too pleased.

"Wait, are you telling me I didn't have to get smashed in the face a bunch of times by some stupid gingerbread house door?" he shouted.

Sophie glanced sympathetically at him, "You did a great job, though."

Ignoring her, Haridson continued, "Or how about getting knocked off a 20-foot platform into freezing water by a giant snowman head?"

"Parker didn't have any trouble with that," Eliot smirked.

"And you're telling me I didn't have to risk my life by trying to run across those big, red balls?" Hardison shot harshly at whoever would listen. "Those things are much bouncier than they look, man. Did you see me go flying when I jumped on the first one? Not cool, guys. Not cool."

"Yeah, you weren't very good at those," Parker interjected. She, on the other hand, had no trouble at all getting across the obstacle. It was like she had done it 100 times before.

"You should have seen your face as you started to fall. I can't wait to see the repeat performance on TV," Eliot joked. He then proceeded to laugh some more, giving Hardison a playful punch on the shoulder when the hacker looked angrily in his direction.

"Alright guys, come on. We should head back to the bar," Nate said, trying to ease some of the tension.

As Nate turned to leave with Eliot and Sophie following close behind, Hardison looked back at Parker.

"Just ignore Eliot. You were great," Parker said. "I wouldn't have wanted to tackle those big balls with anyone else."

Hardison stared at her for a long minute, caught off-guard by what she had just said.

"Are you coming or what?" she asked, oblivious to the shocked look on Hardison's face. "We don't want to keep the rest of the team waiting!"

Parker bounded out of the room and down the hall. Hardison shook his head, but followed Parker out the door.

Despite the reminders he would undoubtedly hear from Eliot for the rest of his life about his less than amazing performance, maybe tackling the big balls with Parker wasn't such a bad thing after all.