Summary: Written for comment-fic at LJ. Prompt: Eliot & Sterling, Magic brownies as revenge for the drugged coffee.

Shiny

The phone rings.

"Yeah…Sterling?" At that, everyone's heads swivel to look at Nate, apprehension freezing them in place. "Uh, what? Whoa, whoa, what the hell is this?"

Parker's head tilts.

"Is this some new trick to get us to trust you? Again?" Nate growls into the phone in a passably good imitation of Eliot in protective mode.

The corner of Eliot's mouth twitches and he fairly glows with pride. A job well-done.

Sophie looks at him suspiciously, yet refrains from speaking.

"Shiny fairy lights?!" Nate says incredulously, "Did you drunk-dial me? Jim?" The first name slips out unconsciously.

Hearing that, Hardison taps a key on his laptop and the room's speakers come to life, just in time for Jim Sterling's wobbly, happy, sing-songy voice to echo throughout the room:

"Mummy said the fairies would come back, Nate! She was right! They did! And they're so very, very shiiinnnyyyy."

"The hell?" says a bewildered Hardison, staring at his computer in shock.

Eliot grins and chuckles silently, like a wily old coyote.

Parker sidles over. "Eliot?"

"Magic brownies," the hitter cackles, "Ain't no one can resist my brownies, 'specially if I paid a cute little girl to sell 'em to him."

Sophie covers her laughter with her hand in an attempt to remain dignified. "You didn't!"

"I did."

Hardison recovers. "You hired a little girl to trick him?"

"She was cute, okay? Friggin' overflowing with adorable. All big blue eyes and dimples. No way he coulda said no to her."

"You paid her?" Parker asks.

"In cookies," Eliot confirms, much to the thief's satisfaction.

"The unicorns are here!" exclaims Sterling excitedly. "And they're galloping down on rainbows!"

Nate rubs his head (and concentrates on not bursting out into laughter). It's not like he could have stopped the hitter had he wanted to. And besides, in retrospect, magic brownies are much better than say, poisoned brownies or an outright assassination. This way, there's humiliation involved.

AN: Notice how my stories get crazier and crazier as I get stressed? And how many of them are comment-fic one-shots instead of long-fic chapters? Yeah...about that...Does anyone want to do my homework for me so I can write fanfic? No? Okay, then...

Edit 10/23 because I'm an idiot and I keep forgetting: Whoever nominated me for the Fulcrum Leverage Fanfiction awards-thank you!