Disclaimer: I don't own Leverage, nor the references to 3x2 "The Reunion Job" and 4x10 "The Queen's Gambit Job."

Prompt #20: Prom - She had never gone to one, but as Hardison twirled her in her harness, Parker knew that this more than made up for it.

Words: 1,003

Parker never went to high school. Never went to homecoming, saw school sports, had a high school crush or sweetheart, nothing. She never had an opportunity to slow dance with a cute guy.

She used to think it wasn't a big deal.

Two things made her think otherwise.

The first was after they took down Larry Douberman and Manticore. That was a fun con, but Parker had been a little left out when the other members of the team made small comments about their own high school lives.

So when it ended, she smiled as the announcer read out the names of the King and Queen of the Reunion. Nate and Sophie deserved it. They would've been good together in prom. Well, if Nate didn't wear so much denim, maybe. But still, he and Sophie made a cute couple.

Now, although Parker didn't know much about school, she had known about prom. She'd heard people planning for it when she was a kid, all the money that changed hands for dresses, limos, flowers, and booze. She hadn't understood the need - why waste all that lovely money for something that only happened once?

"May I have this dance, miss?"

Looking down, Parker saw her favorite hacker standing on the catwalk with a smile one his face. She pulled a line and dropped down in her harness with a smile of her own. He put his hands on her hips and slowly spun her around in midair.

"So this is what high school's like, huh?" she asked, her arms resting on his shoulders.

"Eh," Hardison said in an offhand tone. "Pretty much."

Parker had felt a little niggle in her mind, asking in a voice that sounded surprisingly like her own, D'you think we would've been a couple?

But she didn't voice that aloud. Best not to ruin the mood.

The next time she thought about it, they were in Dubai to steal the weight before the terrorists could. Having figured out that Livingston's security system recognized him by a weight-gait authenticator, Hardison had designed a pair of weighted boots for Parker to wear that mimicked the Mark's limp.

Problem was, Parker wasn't entirely thrilled to have a hundred pounds of deadweight strapped to the soles of her feet. A fact she vehemently stated after her umpteenth time of failing to correctly mimic Livingston's walk. The sound of Hardison's laptop yelling at her was beginning to make her consider throwing the device out the window.

But he calmed her down, like always. He framed her face with his hands (which she found were large and warm, and incredibly nice to feel on her cheeks) and told her, once again, that she wasn't alone, she had a team behind her. And that she had him. And that he had her back.

While Parker was digesting this, she let herself be led back to the DDR pads. But when he spoke, she had to pay attention.

"Remember how it was when we took down Douberman?"

She nodded, giving a small smile as she recalled their "dance" after the con's conclusion. That, of course, made her wonder if she and Hardison would've been a couple in high school.

His large hands moved to rest on her hips, transferring a warmth that started to calm Parker down even more. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she moved closer. Closer than they'd danced before. Close enough that she could feel his head beside hers and his heart beating in his chest along with hers.

"Now just, get on my toes."

"On your toes?" she repeated, wincing. At his insistance, she slowly edged her black weighted boots on the tips of his brown ones. She was really worried, and that worried transferred to her hold on him, but he assured her that he was fine. Soon it was almost like Parker was standing on his toes like a small child, holding him in an embrace.

"Okay, just move with me," he said softly. His voice vibrated across her skin, they were so close. Parker nodded slightly, feeling his feet move beneath hers as he shifted back a few steps.

Then he started humming.

Parker closed her eyes, listening and feeling the tune as he slowly stepped back, then forward again. It wasn't as stressful this time; instead of an annoying mechanical voice, she had her own personal musical countdown. As they swayed to his tempo, Parker found herself concentrating on when her feet moved in regard to the song rather than her own rhythm.

It really wasn't dancing, she told herself. He was helping her train to mimic Livingston's walk. It wasn't dancing.

But it made her think of dancing with him. Actually, really, truly dancing. Not in a harness, not in weighted boots, and not for a job. Just because she wanted to dance with him.

So after they left the bar, still laughing about Nate's plans and how Hardison was the only one who died in any of them, Parker managed to catch up to the hacker and tug on his shirt. "Um, Hardison?"

He turned around. "Yeah girl, what's up?"

"Um...w-well I was wondering if, um..." Parker swallowed hard. She could jump off the second-highest building without fear, but she couldn't talk to Hardison? Weak. "D-Do you wanna g-go dancing sometime?" she said quickly.

His smile was brilliant. "Uh, sure! When?"

"Now?"

"Sure!"

Parker smiled back, feeling immensely better. So what if she never went to high school? Prom is overrated anyway.

And Hardison's plenty cute.

I thought the dancing scene in "The Queen's Gambit Job" was too cute!

Review please!