My first Leverage fanfic! I never thought I'd do one but the muse struck so I went with it. Just a little snippet that popped into my head as I was watching the DVDs earlier today. Hope I did the show justice and that everyone enjoys!

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Leverage. Just having a bit of fun.

The Hug-a-Day Job

By: Vanessa Sgroi

Parker leaned over to Alec Hardison and whispered in his ear. "Eliot looks crabby."

He looked at the thief, lips curling in amusement. "Eliot always looks crabby," the expert hacker replied.

"Yeah, but he looks even crabbier than usual. I think he needs a hug."

"Eliot? A hug? Girl, you'd be taking your life in your hands."

A gleam fired in the blonde's eyes and her lips quirked. "Yeah, but I've got a plan."

*Leverage*

The following morning just as Eliot entered Nate's apartment, Parker stealthily sideswiped him, wrapped her arms around him and gave him a squeeze. "Mornin', Eliot." She walked away before he could react or reply.

Minutes later, Hardison came up behind him and did virtually the same thing though without speaking. Elbowing Alec aside, Eliot growled and moved to the couch to hear the latest update on their case. Sophie paused as she walked by to give him a light clinch.

A similar pattern repeated the next day. With a scowl, Spencer ignored his team-mates odd behavior. Until the third day, when it started all over again. He graciously stood still while Parker repeated her hug. But when Hardison made his move, Eliot sidestepped, twisted, and gripped Alec's wrist—hard. "What the hell, man?"

Hardison's eyes widened and he pointed with his free hand. "Parker made me do it."

Eyeing both Parker and Hardison in turn, he growled, "What's with all this infernal hugging?"

Alec sighed and tugged his hand free. "Parker said you looked crabby."

Parker tilted her head. "Crabbier than usual."

"I'm a hitter; I'm supposed to look crabby. And then some."

"Well, Parker said we needed to do something about it," Hardison groused. "She had a plan."

The hitter's eyebrows lowered and he ran a hand through his long hair, tucking it behind his ears. "What? A plan to hug me to death?"

The blonde shrugged, all calculated innocence. "A Hug-a-Day plan. For a mon…err…week. Until you didn't look crabby."

"Well, stop it. Y'all are seriously creeping me out."

"You know, man," interjected Hardison, "it wouldn't kill you to smile once in a while—know what I'm sayin'. Keep Parker from worrying and all."

"What—you mean like this?" Eliot offered up a too-wide, feral, and ultimately petrifying grin.

Hardison blinked. "Uh…okay…look…nevermind. You can stop smiling now. In fact, crabby is good. Go back to looking crabby." Alec's gaze slid to Parker. "Right, Parker?"

Parker squinted at Eliot, studied him and his purposely manic grin. "Well, I dunno, I kinda like it."

"Seriously? Woman, please—he looks like he's gonna murder us in our beds." Hardison backed away muttering under his breath all the while. "Looks like one of those super psycho killers in those crazy scary movies. Looks like he needs an industrial-strength straight jacket…"

As Hardison turned and continued to ease away, Eliot's grin softened, became much more real, and he couldn't hold back a chuckle of mirth.

Parker squinted at him before turning away. "See, I knew it would work!"

FIN