A/N: Its official, I love this TV show called Leverage, and I am totally onboard the E/P ship :-) And so, I needed to write more fic, and here's what I came up with. It was supposed to me a one-shot only but now I'm thinking I could make something more out of it. Should there be more? Thoughts? Comments?

Disclaimer: Characters from Leverage belong to John Rogers, Chris Downey, and other important people that aren't me.

Faking It

A lot of things had changed for the Leverage team these past few months. They had all gone off on their own adventures after LA, and yet all found each other again in Boston to reconvene and begin their 'Robin Hood-style' works again. Instead of an office, they worked out of Nate's apartment, and instead of being a drunk the Mastermind was constantly on a caffeine fix. They all knew each other better now, and this whole thing seemed to have become less a job and more a way of life.

Of course, some things didn't change. One of the more annoying for Parker was that Hardison seemed unwilling to let go when it came to their last job in LA.

"Hey, on the subject of that second David job we pulled" said Hardison as the topic came up between them one more time, "We never did talk on that" he reminded her as he followed her across the apartment.

"What's to talk about?" she asked, either entirely oblivious to what he meant or playing the part of confused very well.

"Uh, maybe how you and me was... We made out, Parker" the geek told her in a low voice, checking none of the others were listening, a pointless exercise in secrecy since Nate, Sophie, and Eliot all knew just exactly what had happened that day.

"Yes, we did" agreed Parker with a single nod, before going back to packing things she needed for their latest job into the bag in front of her, "I still don't understand what we need to talk about" she frowned slightly.

It seemed to Hardison that maybe she really didn't get it, though he was baffled as to how it could be true. As far as he was concerned, you didn't just kiss a person like that without it meaning something. He certainly meant it when Parker started macking on him and he kissed back with a passion. From the beginning he knew she was hot stuff, and as they got to know each other he realised he genuinely liked her for much more than just her body and mad skills in thievery and rappelling. When she kissed him that way, he was sure she felt the same; now he wasn't so sure.

"Parker" he tried again to get her attention, his hand at her arm finally making her look at him though she seemed quite annoyed that he was still bugging her, "I don't... I thought that when you kissed me, it meant something" he said with a look that he hoped conveyed a meaning he was having trouble getting out in words.

A light seemed to dawn in Parker's eyes then, which pleased Alec Hardison at first, until her expression shifted from understanding to almost a kind of pity. She knew what he meant, she got how he felt, and yet she couldn't feel the same.

"Oh, you're so sweet" she said with a smile that ought to have pleased him, except Hardison already knew what was coming, "We were in the middle of a con" she reminded him, "We needed to trip the alarm somehow without the guards knowing we were thieves. Making out was the easiest way to do that" she shrugged, looking apologetic somehow and yet that didn't make Hardison feel any better.

"You seriously tellin' me you can kiss a guy like that and not feel a damn thing?" he checked, hardly able to believe it was true.

Parker huffed out a deep sigh, apparently a little bored with this now. He wasn't getting that she was just good at what she did it seemed. Sure, Hardison was a nice guy and she did like him a lot, which was strange since there wasn't a whole lot of people she did like. Still, she never really thought about sleeping with him or anything serious like that. Clearly she was going to have to prove her point or he was never going to leave this alone. It had to be the tenth time he'd brought up that stupid kiss in the last couple of weeks alone.

"Okay" she said, brushing past him to walk over to the couch where Eliot was sat going through some papers, "Eliot, can I borrow you?" she asked abruptly as ever and without even enough thought to use the manners Sophie had taught her and say 'please'.

"Borrow me for what?" he asked curiously, looking between Parker and Hardison who had now appeared behind her.

"A demonstration" was all the explanation she gave as she took a hold of his arm and yanked til he got to his feet.

"Hey, I don't..." he began to protest.

"Oh, hell no!" Hardison's words drowned out the hitter's own and both lost the ability to form further words then as Parker's arm snaked around Eliot's neck and she pulled in to her, crushing her lips against his own.

The hacker couldn't stand to watch the display before him, turning his back as Parker made a big deal about getting up close and personal with the team's muscle.

Eliot was kind of confused, truth be told. He wasn't so very used to girls just launching themselves at him without warning like this, and Parker was certainly the last person he'd considered doing such a thing. Still, having her in his arms like this, kissing him like it was going out of style, it certainly didn't feel like such a bad thing from where he was at right now.

When Parker's air supply started to run out, she reluctantly broke the kiss that had gone on somewhat longer than she'd intended, but then she hadn't really expected Eliot to join in with her so willingly. Here she was trying to prove a point that sometimes a kiss was just a kiss, a means to an end, and didn't have to have any feelings attached to it, and yet, she wasn't entirely sure that was what she'd confirmed at all.

Swallowing hard and breathing erratically, her eyes were locked onto Eliot's own, and the world around her seemed to have gone completely out of focus. She hadn't meant for that to happen, really she hadn't. It was meant to be a simple kiss and then walk away, telling Hardison that it all meant nothing, that he was reading too much into it and being dumb. Unfortunately, right now she wasn't so sure she could even move. Eliot's arms around her offered support she felt she needed after such a moment, because if she tried to walk away Parker fully expected her knees to buckle under her, not just from the kiss they had shared, but from the intense way his eyes bore into her own still.

"What was that for?" he said eventually.

Since he was sure the moment was over and it was safe to turn back, Hardison was the one to answer.

"Parker was trying to prove to me that our making out at the gallery six months ago wasn't anything but an act" he said, a little sadness and annoyance both lacing his tone.

"A demonstration" she agreed, shaking her head a little and trying to bring herself out of the daze she'd apparently landed in.

Parker very deliberately extracted her body from Eliot's grasp and backed up a couple of steps. He let her go only because he wasn't sure what else to do right now, as bemused as her by the way their bodies had reacted to each other in such a moment.

"Right" he nodded slowly, eyes finally leaving her face to look at the hacker he often bickered with but liked and respected nonetheless, "You thought it meant something, man?" he forced an amused smile, "I didn't feel a thing" he lied like the pro he was as he re-took his seat on the couch, clearing his throat and going back to looking over the paperwork he'd been dealing with before.

"Not a thing" Parker agreed though her eyes betrayed her, Hardison saw, as she glanced from one man to the other and then turned to walk away, her fingers going absently to her lips.

"Yeah, maybe not with me..." he muttered to himself, as he looked between the pair.

It didn't make him feel great to know that he and Parker were never going to be closer than they were now, at least not romantically, but there wasn't a chance in hell of Hardison believing the thief and the hitter hadn't felt a whole lot more than they were admitting to when they kissed just now. He wondered how long it would take for them to realise it for themselves.

To Be Continued ?

29/11/10 - ETA: Okay, given the huge amounts of feedback for this fic and the fact my imagination wants to run riot through Season 2, there will definitely be more of this story, just give me time because I have a lot of stories going on right now. Many many thanx for all the feedback - you reader/reviewer peops are awesome! :-)