Merry Christmas, vampgirly!

[ultra_fic]

vampgirly - My dear friend, you are wonderful and I hope the fic I have written for you does not disappoint *hugs*

Title: Snow Day
Fandom(s): Leverage
Prompt: Parker/Eliot - snowball fight or making snow angels
Timeline: post Season 5
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Any and all recognisable characters do not belong to me.

“Damnit, Hardison! Where the hell is Parker?”

“The one man that don’t mellow even in the holiday season,” the hacker muttered as he turned away from his computer screen to glance over. “I dunno, man. Ain’t like I got a lo-jack on the woman. She a law unto her ownself and you know it.”

After so many years, Eliot supposed he really should know that, and yet every time Parker pulled one of her disappearing acts he still got mad and expected somebody to tell him just exactly where she had run off to. Parker was the queen of the escape and even now she was not used to having to tell people where she was headed. It was strange to think she had been all but running the Leverage crew these past two years, and still she could be such a kid sometimes.

Snow continued to fall outside the window at a pace. Most would say there was no chance Parker had gone out in a veritable blizzard, but Eliot knew better than that. The woman really was a child at heart and had no thought for safety or being sensible. She loved the snow, especially with Christmas right around the corner. It was almost definite that she would be somewhere out there, playing around like a kid. That’d be fine if they didn't have work they were supposed to be doing.

“That woman’s gonna be the death o’ me,” he muttered, pulling on his coat and hat before heading out.

Hardison tried to hold in his chuckling until the hitter was gone but barely managed it. Months had passed now since he and Parker decided they ought to be team-mates and friends alone, no more dating. Hardison had expected it to hurt more than it did, but he knew by now they just weren’t suited. More and more he had come to realise that one of the main reasons he wanted Parker so badly was because it would get one over on Eliot. That all seemed so petty now as he watched the two continue to be close. One day he was going to be their third wheel and yet Hardison couldn’t mind too much. They put Eliot in that position for long enough and he never flinched. They was family, that came first. Hardison genuinely wished them luck.

Eliot knew none of this as he headed out to find Parker. Calling her cell got voice mail and she wasn’t on comms. Fortunately, he didn't have to walk far before he spotted her. The parking lot out back of their building was all drifts of snow on one side and ice on the other. In the middle of a blank white scene, Parker was dancing. Actually it more like a combination of that and skating. She seemed to know nothing and no-one as she turned circles, eyes closed, face to the sky. For not the first time since he met her, Eliot was bowled over by how beautiful Parker really was.

“It’s rude to stare!”

Her voice came so suddenly, and he hadn't even realised she knew he was there. Eliot ought to have known better. Parker always knew when she was being watched, and usually she didn't like it much. Where her team-mates were concerned, she was a little more forgiving these days, hence the smile on her face right now.

“Eliot, isn’t it great?” she yelled to him from too far away. “Snow in time for Christmas! I missed this!”

Last year they had been in California for the holidays, and before that even the east coast hadn't always brought the expected flurries. Parker hated it, every single time. This year had landed them up in Canada, right before Christmas time, and the snow obliged Parker as it was bound to do. Eliot couldn’t help but return her smile, amused by her enthusiasm even though he should be mad that she was out here playing when there was work to do.

“Parker, could you just..?” he started, but she was back to dancing around like the crazy person he often called her on being. “Parker!”

He stomped through the snow to get to her, catching her arm on the next twirl and pulling her into him. Parker was startled but didn't flinch, she never had with Eliot, and neither of them were entirely sure why that was. If they knew, they certainly never spoke of it.

“I’m not coming inside, Eliot,” she told him definitely, eyes defiant. “I haven’t played in the snow in forever, and I’m going to do it now, whether you like it or not.”

Eliot had never figured out how she could be so childish and yet an all-powerful woman all at the same time. He never knew another person who pulled it off so well, but it floored him every time. She was one of very few who could leave him speechless so often. Pulling her arm free of his grip, Parker danced away, skidding her feet across the ice and waving her arms happily.

She expected him to leave her be after that, and Parker got a real shock when something cold hit her shoulder, shattering shards of ice down her back. She turned with wide eyes and gasping expression to see Eliot standing behind her still, a triumphant grin on his face and a second snow ball in his hand ready to shy at her.

“Hey, you said you wanted to play,” he shrugged.

Eliot didn't know why he started this. He had to be as crazy as Parker herself, but somehow the only thing he could think to do when she acted like a stubborn kid was throw the nearest non-fatal item at her. Snow seemed like the obvious choice, and then her shocked expression had just been too funny not to smile.

“You’re going to pay for that,” she told him, even as a grin curved her own lips.

“Bring it on, darlin’,” Eliot challenged her.

That was how it began, the most epic of snowball fights that went on for at least an hour. The two adults in the privacy of a walled parking area, dived between snow drifts, dumpsters, and any other item that could be used for cover, throwing snowballs hard and fast between them. As quick as they both were, it was quite the challenge to get a hit in. Parker had all the stealth she always possessed and Eliot all the skills he learnt in his profession. They were so evenly matched, it was never really a shock when one hit the other with their latest handful of snow. Parker had somehow managed to sneak up behind Eliot this time, a double handful of snow ready to drop all over his head. She hadn’t accounted for her very distinctive shadow that fell at such an angle that he saw her coming. Turning fast, he grabbed her by the waist and bodily threw her into a snow bank. Parker's handfuls of snow flew everywhere as Eliot’s quick reactions stopped him landing right on top of her, but beside her instead. He couldn’t he
lp but laugh at how they ended up, and she joined in too, even though he had intercepted her attack. It was pretty funny, she supposed.

“I know I bust your ass for acting like a kid sometimes, but other times, I know why you do it,” said Eliot thoughtfully, surprised by his own admission when he realised it had been aloud.

Parker smiled as she got up onto her elbows and leaned over towards Eliot.

“I don’t know, there are advantages to being grown up too,” she told him, the look in her eyes unmistakable.

“Parker...” he began, though he wasn’t sure what came next, an attempt to stop her maybe, though he was too late either way.

Suddenly Parker had her lips on his and her arms around him. Eliot grabbed onto her just the same, the pair of them rolling over and over in the snow as passion heated up between them, enough to melt the ice on the ground they touched.

So much for work, for being adults, for acting sensible. Today was a snow day, and they were going to do just exactly what they wanted, rest of the world be damned. It felt good.