This is my first Leverage fic, but by no means the first fic I've ever written. I'm in love with the TV show, and even more in love with the adorably awkward Parker/Hardison dynamic. XD They're just too cute. (And I'm mildly confused about the obsession out here with Parker/Eliot… am I missing something here?)

Anyway, I've been meaning to write something short and sweet with these two, and I finally decided to put my thoughts down. Which is hilarious, because at the moment, I have no idea what I'm about to write.

But that's how I usually operate. XD

(It seems to work quite well for me, actually… ;p)

Contains minor spoilers for The First and Second David Jobs, The Beantown Bailout Job, and a really itty-bitty reference to The Bank Job. :D

$4$

There'll be girls across the nation that'll eat this up
Babe, I know that it's your soul, but could you bottle it up?

- "Bottle It Up," by Sara Bareilles

Parker didn't have relationships.

Before she started working with Nate and the rest of the Leverage crew, it was just out of necessity- thieves did not work together. It was a basic rule of thumb for her: You can't trust another thief. And as for anyone who wasn't a thief- why bother? It wasn't like she could ever tell her 'boyfriend' about her real job. She didn't even have a fake job to cover up for the real one.

There was no point.

After she got in with Nate, things shifted- dramatically. She wasn't a team-player, she wasn't good with people- she didn't even like people- and she most certainly didn't make connections with anyone beyond a glance on the streets.

And then, suddenly, she became one of those people. She was spending large amounts of time with them, having dinner with them- she even went out for drinks with Sophie after they got back after the David job.

She really didn't know how to process it. It was so weird to realize that she actually had a relationship with these four people. They were her… friends.

She never had friends before.

It was an alarming thought.

She didn't know how to handle having friends. Instead of casing possible jobs and searching for good buildings to scale and skydive, she was eating burgers with Eliot and reminiscing with Sophie about past jobs and watching old episodes of Docter Who with Hardison.

Hardison… he was the scariest of them all.

Even though she realized she was becoming quite close with all of her 'co-workers,' it was Hardison that freaked her out the most. Because she felt something.

She didn't feel things. She didn't like feeling things. That meant she was getting attached, and, she knew best of all, when you got attached, you got hurt.

Parker liked money. She liked stealing things (for the fun- not for anything stupid, like hording crap like Sophie did- she never got that). She liked Doctor Who, amazingly enough.

But she hated getting hurt. She got hurt a lot when she young, when she was too small and defenseless and very, very un-Parker to do anything about it.

That was half the reason she became a thief. You can't get hurt when you were only out for Number 1.

Which was why Hardison scared the crap out of her. If she got too close, spent too much time with him, she'd start to want to spend more time with him. That kind of closeness was dangerous. It led to bad things, like a permanent relationship.

It was one thing to become friends with Eliot and maybe even Nate, that was fine. She still had leverage of her own- if she wanted to, she could pack up and leave in 5 minutes notice. She was good at that. She kept things light- she rented her apartment, only kept a few changes of clothing on hand, and always had her large duffel bag by her door, always packed with three razors, an array of travel-sized bathroom products, and about ten grand in small bills.

She was prepared. It started out a nervous habit from her foster care days, and now she couldn't go a day without always having that duffel bag by her door. It was her own personal version of a security blanket. Even if she never used it, she liked to have it nearby at all times, always in the back of her mind.

That was why she didn't let Hardison find her when they split up. He actually came close to catching her a few times, once outside of Big Ben, the next time in the Cairo Museum. Each time, she hesitated for a millisecond, weighing out what might happen if she let him spot her. And each time, she bolted, hiding behind groups of people or buildings or, once, the Hope Diamond (before she decided to steal it).

She didn't like putting herself out there. It terrified her, even though she really, really liked spending time with Hardison (who knew BBC had such awesome TV shows?).

So it was better if she didn't fall for Hardison.

It was so funny. She lived to fall off of buildings, plummeting until, at the last possible second, the line snapped and she was yanked back to reality, hanging several dozen stories above the ground, with only a harness and cable to keep her from death.

But the idea of falling for a person, investing her feelings instead of adrenaline, to spend hours getting close and comfortable and putting your heart and soul out on the line instead of just your body? It was enough to make her grab her duffel bag and head to the farthest city her money could buy her.

She had to stay with Leverage. But she couldn't start staying with Hardison. It was too damn scary.

"Parker?"

Her head snapped up, big blue eyes wide with fear as Hardison walked into the kitchen. She had a mug of coffee- black- clutched in her hands, and she fastened her eyes on the cup, so that way she wouldn't have to remember how nice it was that one time they pretended to make out for the David job.

"So I was thinking… you really like Doctor Who, and I figure if you like that, you're gonna love the new Star Trek movie. Because, c'mon, there isn't a closet geek out there that didn't like the new Star Trek. So whaddya say, girl?"

She chewed on her bottom lip, still studying her coffee mug. She had already watched almost the entire first season of Hardison's favorite Doctor Who (apparently, there were over a dozen Doctor Whos…) with Hardison, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she spent another two and a half hours to watch some silly movie.

Parker glanced up, releasing her bottom lip to ask quietly, "Does it have anybody good in it?"

If she was more observant with people, she would've noticed the almost miniscule way Hardison's broad shoulder's slackened, happy with her answer. "Does it have anybody- woman, it's got Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, the lovely Zoe Saldana, and- who can forget, the one and only Spock Prime, Mr. Leonard Nimoy, the great!"

His puppy-like excitement over the nerdy movie was admittedly adorable, and it managed to worm a small smile out of her. She smiled a little brighter when he studied her and said, "Girl, you even know who I'm talkin' 'bout?"

She laughed a little and set down her mug, trying to relax a little. This was just Hardison being Hardison- it wasn't like he was trying to push her into a date or something.

His jaw dropped and he shook his head, like she committed some horrible crime (ironic). "I- you- Parker- woman, you and I gotta talk about some things about the great Spock before I can allow you to watch this beautiful movie." He stepped closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, steering her towards the door.

She was disturbed to realize that she was completely comfortable his latest form of affection, but before she could be crippled with fear, Hardison distracted her with a long and convoluted discussion on why Spock is clearly better than Captain Kirk. She understood exactly zero of his speech, but it kept her from freaking out and bolting.

Hardison was good at keeping her from bolting.

If she thought about it, that fact was probably the scariest of them all, but Hardison managed to keep her distracted the whole two and a half hours, sitting close to her, arm still snuggly wrapped around her shoulders.

As the credits began to roll and she did have to admit Star Trek was possibly even better than the Doctor Who series, she also had to admit that watching a movie with Hardison was better than running away from her relationships.

Settling back against his arm, Parker grinned to herself. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she got a little attached.

$4$

It was short, but most of my oneshots are about in this length-frame. I managed to combine to basic plot ideas into one, and I'm pretty happy with the results. Which is surprising, because I tend to be pretty picky. :)

I think I really nailed Parker's character in this (I thought the duffel bag idea was a personal stroke of genius XD), but I'm not so sure I got Hardison's quirky colloquialisms down pat. It may take one or two tries before I'm totally comfortable. :D

And I have yet to ever watch an episode of Doctor Who, but I'm told it's pretty good. However, I have seen Star Trek, which is insanely awesome, especially coming from a girl that's never seen an episode of the show before. It made a closet Trekkie out of me. XD

Plus, oh yeah, Chris Pine is hottt. I could watch that boy in almost anything.