Miss Steal Your Girl

by Starburner Steam

Chloe convinces Nate and Elena to help them on just one more job. All they need to do is pick up a journal from a collector and Chloe and Nadine will take care of the rest. But nothing ever goes to plan, does it?

Previously posted on AO3. Find me there as Narcissisticpeacock. Find me on tumblr as Starburner-Steam.

Miss Steal Your Girl

"No. Chloe, no more jobs. Elena and I-"

Chloe huffs. "Twenty percent. Do you understand how much twenty percent of three billion is?"

"A lot, but Elena doesn't want me doing that anymore. I've learned my lesson- no more lying to my wife." She can hear the frown in Nate's voice.

"Yes, yes, happy marriage, healing relationship, blah blah blah."

Chloe leans back on the armrest of the couch and puts her feet up on Nadine's lap. Nadine raises an eyebrow and sets her book aside. She then takes off her reading glasses too, tucking them away. Chloe briefly thinks on how she's just gone from "sexy librarian" back to "gorgeous mercenary". Well, ex-mercenary.

"All I'm saying is that it's simple. You help me get this guy and Nadine and I take care of the rest."

Nadine puts her hands on one of Chloe's feet and kneads the bottom of it with her thumbs. Chloe only just holds in a moan from how good it feels.

"Chloe, I can't just-" Nate starts to protest but she cuts him off.

"You know what? No. Is Elena home?"

"Yeah, she just got- why?"

Chloe loses focus for a moment as Nadine moves her hands up her calf. This massage is magical.

"Uh, oh, right, give her the phone."

"I don't-"

"Nate."

There's a sigh. She hears some background noise and the phone being handed over.

"Hey, Chloe. What's up?"

"Sunshine!" Chloe greets happily. "My favourite blonde. How are you?" Elena chuckles and Chloe shoots Nadine a wink.

"I'm fine, thanks. How're you and Nadine?"

"Absolutely golden. I-" She gasps. Nadine has just pressed her fingers just right to the back of her knee. Any other time, Chloe would welcome it, but during a phone call is the wrong time. She holds the phone a bit away from her mouth. "Darling, if you could stop for a few minutes- before I make a noise that suggests something far from innocent."

Nadine smirks but nods and removes her hands from her girlfriend.

"Anyway, sunshine, where were we?"

"You were probably going to bring up that job you needed us on," Elena responds. Chloe wishes she could see Nate's face. He's got to be more than confused.

"Technically, we just needed Nate. You're the pretty little bonus." Chloe watches Nadine as she speaks. The woman has gone back to reading. She's got those cute little glasses on again. The first time Chloe had seen her in them, she'd practically jumped her. Even now, she's tempted to toss the phone aside and make love to her absolutely amazing girlfriend at the end of the couch.

"Aw, how sweet. Did you want to talk about the job or do you just plan to flirt?" Elena asks. Her tone is good natured; she's far from insulted that Chloe is acting how she is.

"Fun thing about flirting is Nadine trusts me and I trust her. I can pass the phone off if you'd rather she flirt with you," Chloe jokes. She blows a kiss to Nadine, who just rolls her eyes. She's still smiling though. "Or speaker phone and we can both have our way."

"Chloe," Elena chastises. She's probably blushing.

"Alright, alright. That aside," Chloe continues. "Could you please tell your husband that you're okay with him helping us out, as long as you're involved?"

"Sure. Did you send the plane ticket info?"

"Yup. Let me know if there are any issues. We fly in the day before- should be at the hotel when you two get there."

"Got it. See you next week! And tell Nadine I say hi."

"Will do, Sunshine. See you."

Chloe hangs up the phone and spreads out. She nudges at Nadine's book with one foot. "Phone call is over, so you should definitely get back to that show of exactly how skilled your hands are. Oh, and Elena says hi."

Nadine tosses the book aside and takes off her reading glasses again. Her hands return to their quest up Chloe's leg. She pauses and hooks her hands under each knee and tugs Chloe further down the couch. The treasure hunter lets out an "oof" as her back hits the cushions. She pushes up, leaning on her elbows.

"Mm, darling, you get prettier and prettier, you know that?"

Nadine smiles but doesn't say anything. Her cheeks have grown a bit more red. She massages her way up Chloe's thighs, under the little shorts she's wearing.

Chloe sighs and lays back again. "We need to pack," she decides.

"Essentials are already packed," Nadine responds.

"Right. I always forget you always have a Go bag ready." They've been together for nearly a year and been partners for longer, but Chloe is still trying to get used to that "always prepared" mindset Nadine has for jobs. She's more than thankful for it, as it's saved their asses plenty of times, she's just unable to get herself in the same mindset. "I'll work on packing us some clothes in a bit," she adds in lazily.

"Oh, will you now? The last time you packed clothes for me, liefie, I ended up wearing sleeveless tank tops for two weeks straight." She's reached the top of Chloe's leg, but rather than go to the spot Chloe wants, Nadine starts on the other leg. "I need a range of outfits if I want to be prepared. Not a dozen muscle tanks."

Chloe about giggles. "I chose what looks good on you. You've seen your arms, right? Darling, your arms are amazing. Women find them a turn on, men find them intimidating."

"You find them a turn on."

"Well, yes. Duh." She moans. Nadine is once more nearing the very important area between her legs. "I find an incredible amount of the things about you a turn on."

Nadine remains quiet. She's focused on teasing her girlfriend. Both her hands are up Chloe's little pair of shorts, but neither are even close to where Chloe wants them. One up each pant leg, she's got them resting on the woman's hips.

With little warning, Nadine removes her hands and slips out from under Chloe's legs. "C'mon." She holds out a hand.

Chloe sits up and huffs. "What's all this about? I was comfy."

"Let's go pack."

She frowns and crosses her arms. "We've got a week!"

Nadine smirks. "Five days. I'll make sure you get off after. Promise. But we should pack first."

"After five days or after we pack?"

"We'll see."

---

Elena sets her suitcase aside and looks around the hotel room. It's just like every other hotel room she's been in. Well, close enough. It's on the nicer end- she's got Chloe to thank for that. Their trip and hotel room had been paid for by the woman.

"So who's this man you and Chloe have to meet?" she asks, glancing at Nate as he enters behind her.

He shrugs. "I think it's one of the guys we ran a con on when we worked together." Nate heads straight for the bed and collapses on it gave down. "I hate flying. I love this bed."

Elena rolls her eyes at the way he's avoided saying "dated" but doesn't bring it up. Instead, she takes out her phone and flips through her messages. "Chloe and Nadine have the room three down. Four oh eight. They should be up by now."

Nate groans into the bed. "Go talk to them if you want. I'm taking a nap."

"Nate, we have to find out what the plan is."

"You go do that. I'll catch up." He worms his way under the covers.

Elena huffs, but heads over to kiss his cheek. "I love you. Head over when you wake up."

Nate smiles and looks up at her. "I love you too."

She leaves him there and heads down the hall.

Her knock on the door of room four oh eight is answered within a few seconds. Nadine is standing there. She's got a sports bra on and a pair of work out shorts. She's looking a bit sweaty.

Elena tries not to look at her abs but she can't help but glance. Nadine is an absolute sight and Elena can't help but be just a bit envious of Chloe.

"Oh. Hey, Elena. We were wondering when you'd get in." She steps back. "Come on in. Maybe you can convince Chloe out of bed."

Elena gives her a smile but shrugs. "I don't know about that. I couldn't even get my husband out of bed." She heads in and spots Chloe seated on the bed. There's a hot cup of tea in her hands and she's got a map on the blanket that's over her lap.

"Sunshine! Good to see you." She sets her cup on the nightstand and they share a brief hug.

"It's good to see you too." The blonde glances back at Nadine who's resumed the work out she'd been doing. "Both of you."

Nadine smirks and Chloe breaks out into a grin. "She's lovely, isn't she?"

A pretty little blush reddens Elena's cheeks. "That's not really what I meant, but I can't say you're wrong. Anyway, I came to be caught up on the job. What's the plan? Assuming there is one?"

"As if Nadine would let me not have a plan." Chloe stretches and climbs out of bed.

Chloe's in shorts that barely count as cover. She doesn't really mind that Elena is in the room, apparently, and has no issues showing off her legs. She leads the way over to the table. It's covered in papers and pictures and there's a half open laptop off to the side.

Chloe sits and gestures Elena to the other chair. Nadine makes her way over and stands quietly behind Chloe. "Alright, where is it..." She finds a picture of an older man. He's well dressed at first sight, but with a moment or so's scrutiny, Elena notices it's a false sort of "well dressed". His watch is a fake, his suit has a few small stains, and his shoes are scuffed. His hair is thinning, but he can't be older than forty or so. "This is Landon Palmers. Nate and I ran a con on him back when we dated. He never really liked me much- Trusted Nate much more. Something about how I wouldn't sleep with him blah, blah, blah."

Nadine leans down, close to Chloe, and tugs a paper out from under the laptop. "Palmers stores antiques for rich assholes who aren't quite legal. He's also a contact for when interested buyers would like to contact the owners."

"Where do we come in?" Elena asks.

"Ah, see. Nate and I had aliases for him. I was Alice Mahajan, Nate was... Theodore. Theodore Ford. Called him Theo though. He and I will approach him on behalf of some interested buyers. That's where you come in." Chloe pushes around the papers. "Darling," she says over her shoulder to Nadine. "Do you know where that ID went?"

Nadine leans over Chloe again, and digs under a few papers, pulling out an envelope. "Here."

Chloe takes the chance to press a quick kiss to Nadine's bicep. "Thank you." She takes the envelope and removes its contents. There's two IDs inside. One she tosses back to Nadine, the other she hands to Elena. "You, Sunshine, will be Seraphina Fawkes. Rich heiress who's recently partnered with..." She trails off and gestures to Nadine.

"Estelle Hughes," the woman fills in. "Skilled in art authentication and more."

"You two have partnered up to fill out a particular collection. One of you is more interested in Spanish Conquistadors, the other in artifacts from the Inca. A nice crossover, I think."

"Alright. So what are we trying to get off him?" Elena turns the ID over in her hands. It's her own picture, but the accompanying information is all faked. She's three years older, according to it. And her birthday is four months off.

"He's one of the only people who knows where we can find a journal with the original copy of Derrotero de Valverde. It's directions to the location of a roomful of gold. It had been hidden away after the murder of the Inca King Atahualpa." Chloe grins. "A huge amount of money just sitting in some cave. Ripe for the taking!"

Elena laughs and rolls her eyes. "You treasure hunters and your South American gold. You do know what happened with Nate and El Dorado, right?"

Chloe purses her lips. "Of course. But he was after a "city of gold"- which, by the way, isn't the translation. Took Nate awhile to realize it, but El Dorado was "the Golden man" or "the gilded man". There was a Muisca king who would cover himself in gold dust for some ritual or other." She shrugs. "Spaniards sometimes called him "El Rey Dorado". The golden king."

"But what makes this hunt of yours different from his with El Dorado?"

"Well, my dear, we'll be headed to Peru. The Muisca people were in what's now Columbia." She smiles as though her point has been proven.

"And?"

Nadine chuckles. "I like her, you know," she says to Chloe. "She doesn't let you get away with your bullshit."

"Pfft. You two, always doubting." Chloe moves the documents around again and moves a map in front of Elena. "Look, this can be verified much more than the myth that was El Dorado. There are multiple written records that have survived. Those spanish murderers wrote of it, and even one or two mentions from Inca- those are much harder to find and translate though."

"Alright, alright. I get it." Elena sits back and rolls her shoulders. "When is this going down? And where?"

Nadine opens the laptop up and wakes it. "Three meetings, but we'll only need two. First meeting will be just with Palmers. He'll want to meet us- the buyers- before he moves on to showing us the merchandise."

"If it wasn't obvious, we have no intentions of actually buying the damn thing. But we need him to lead us to where it's stored so we can pick it up later. It wouldn't be as much of an issue, but the house is huge."

The blonde nods.

Nadine continues. "The four of us- if Nate ever gets his ass up- will meet him the day after tomorrow. He's invited us to go to a high end restaurant in the center of the city. Nate and Chloe will get there first, we'll show up a few minutes later."

"And after that?"

"If it goes well," Chloe picks up. "And it will go well- he can't resist a pretty face and you've both got 'em. He intends to have the artifact brought out at some fancy party or other. Hosted by the current owner of the journal, most likely." She moves the picture of Palmers aside and shows Elena a picture of the journal. "You two get to get a look at the journal then. That's all we need- the journal out of storage. We'll skip that last meeting, which would be the one where you actually bought it."

Elena gives Chloe a long look. "Chloe, I feel like you never used to plan out a job this well. I seem to remember you liked to improvise a lot. I mean, so did Nate, but he's out of the job now and only just survived."

"Sunshine, I have a sexy and stunningly gorgeous reason for having this much of a plan. She happens to be standing behind me." Chloe glances back at Nadine, who just gives her a smile.

"Just keep me around for my looks, ja? I see how it is."

Chloe blows her a kiss. "I implied how smart you are."

The blonde at the table smirks. It's damn near adorable. Chloe seems genuinely happy with her. It's good to see her friend like this. And Nadine, Elena doesn't know as well, but she knows her reputation . She's been able to have a few decent talks with the woman, mostly over the phone. They've only met in person two or three times before this. She's not nearly as scary as Nate has claimed, but Elena has never been on Nadine's bad side. If she has a bad side. Looking at her, Elena has a hard time seeing anything physically negative about her.

"Anyways," Chloe speaks up, tearing her eyes away from Nadine. "We'll have to go over this again with Nate. Why don't you two join us for dinner tonight?"

Nadine groans. "We have to invite Nate?"

"Would you rather I call Sam up?"

She frowns. "Nate's fine then."

---

"How do I look?" comes the question.

Chloe glances over and pauses. "Beautiful, China."

Nadine is wearing a lovely little red button up and a loose vest that Chloe recognizes as her own. She's got a nice pair of dress pants for bottoms. The button up has the top two buttons undone, displaying just enough to be a distraction. Chloe dips in to press a kiss to the cleavage on display to her. She leaves a mark with her lipstick which she wipes away with her thumb.

"Can't believe I'll have to act as though I haven't seen you naked. How am I supposed to avoid undressing you in my mind?"

"By controlling yourself. I'll let you take this off me when we get back."

"Ah, what's the phrase you say? Lekker?"

Nadine grins. "Ja. Lekker." She looks over Chloe. Chloe's wearing something that's a stage or two down when it comes to style. It's on purpose, so Palmers will still see her as a lower class than the clients.

A simple dress, dark red with an open back and a few gold flowers on it.

"Any chance I can convince you out of those clothes now?"

There's a knock on the door.

Chloe sighs, disappointed. "I suppose that decides that. But you're in a lot of trouble later."

Elena and Nate are on the other side of the door. Nate is in, again, a purposely shabby suit. He wants to look "middle class well dressed". Elena, however, certainly looks the part of rich heiress. She's got a lovely blue dress on that fits her in all the right ways. It's enough to distract both Nadine and Chloe for a split second.

Nate barely notices, he just gives them a strange look. "You two ready?"

Nadine snaps out of it first. "Ja. There are two cabs outside. Better if we arrive separate."

"You, sir, best be prepared for this," Chloe says, tapping Nate with her pocketbook as she passes him. The three follow her as she heads for the elevators.

"I listened! I'm caught up."

"Nate, if you blow this for us..." Chloe grins. "I'll let Nadine teach you why you shouldn't have."

He goes pale. "That's... not necessary."

They reach the lobby with minimal chatter. Chloe blows Nadine a kiss before climbing into the first car. "See you in a bit, love!"

Nate gives Elena a kiss on the cheek before getting in with Chloe. They depart.

Nadine and Elena wait a few minutes before they get in their cab. When they do, Nadine opens the door for Elena.

The blonde gives her a smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." She tells the cab driver the destination and the car starts to move.

In the quiet, Nadine takes her wallet out and reassures herself her fake ID is in place. As she does, a pair of rings fall out of the bill fold and onto the floor. "Crap."

Elena leans down and picks them up. "Wedding rings?" she asks.

"Ah, ja. Last job, Chloe and I were "married". I keep forgetting to tuck those away."

She hands the rings back and watches as they go back into the wallet. "Married to Chloe, huh? How'd that feel? You two already seem pretty close."

A soft chuckle leaves Nadine. "Won't lie. Felt nice. Very nice." She takes a deep breath and lets it out slow. "Being with her always feels nice."

"You two are cute. I'm glad Chloe has found someone who's good for her."

"Never thought I'd end up with someone like her, but I'm glad I have. Even if she drives me crazy at times."

Elena nods. "Yeah, that's how I feel about Nate. I love him, I do, but he really needs to think things through more often." She huffs. "The whole thing with Sam... It was a rough patch, that's for sure. But we're stable now."

Nadine snorts. "Sam seems pretty good at putting relationships on thin ice. Did Chloe tell you I punched her?"

"Yes, actually! I punched Nate, before I was with him. I wonder if that's a thing?"

The ex-mercenary is way too pleased with this information. "I'd pay to see that. And it might be, in this line of work." She tucks her wallet away, the rings back inside. "Ah, I'm happy to pay for your dinner tonight, by the by."

"I'm fine. Nate and I were both prepared for this sort of place."

Nadine waves her off. "I insist."

"You're sure? You and Chloe already paid for the flight and hotel. A really nice hotel."

A shrug. "Our last few jobs have been profitable. I've set up savings accounts for the both of us. I've realized it's easier to save when you aren't running an army. Paying for dinner is no issue."

"You know, Chloe has told me more than a few times how good of a person you are. I'm glad she wasn't exaggerating."

A pretty little blush warms Nadine's cheeks. "She told you that?"

Elena nods and picks a bit at her dress. "Before you and I met, I had very conflicting views of you. Nate and Sam both said you were scary beyond belief. But Chloe had nothing but good things to say. Where they said you were ruthless, she said you cared too much." She treats Nadine to a small smile. "Where they claimed you were a brute, she said you were gentle and warm. The only thing they all agreed on was that you knew how to throw a punch."

They share a laugh as the cab arrives at the restaurant. Once more, Nadine opens the door for Elena.

Chloe and Nate are waiting just inside. They act as though it's been a while since they've seen the pair. Palmers must be just out of sight.

"Good to see you again," Chloe starts. She shakes their hands in turn. Nate follows suit. "Estelle. Sera."

"Alice," Nadine greets with a head nod. "And, ah, what was it? Theodore?"

Nate looks a bit put out that she's chosen to act this way, but he dips his head in response.

Elena looks around. "Is he here?" she asks in a low voice.

"Yup. Waiting at the table." comes the soft answer. "Shall we lead you?" The treasure hunter rolls her shoulders and rather casually checks out Nadine. And, for a sparse second, Elena. She's not quite allowed to look at her girlfriend while they're near Palmers, so she gets her fill now.

Elena and Nadine share a brief look. They're supposed to be the partners after all. They look back to Chloe and Nate. "Ja."

It's Nadine's turn to steal a look, watching as Chloe moves forward. She's looking forward to getting back to the hotel.

Palmers looks a bit older than in the photograph, but he's in an almost identical suit. The first thing Nadine notices is a mustard stain on his tie.

"Alright Palmers. These are the lovely gals that hired us." Chloe gestures to Nadine and Chloe.

Nate handles the introductions. "Palmers, these are Estelle and Seraphina. "

"It's nice to meet the two of you," he answers in a predictably irritating voice.

Palmers seems to focus in on Elena. He looks down her form, slow and deliberate. Elena notices and seems to close in on herself, become more guarded. She's uncomfortable, Nadine realizes, and unable to respond as she might naturally. Elena doesn't want to blow the con by doing something... violent. So Nadine does it for her. As Palmers reaches forward, towards Elena, to grab her arm or touch her or in general do something he really shouldn't, Nadine puts a vice grip on his wrist.

"Don't touch my wife," she says in a hard voice. It's an easy lie and immediately puts her as an obstacle standing in front of Elena. One that won't move.

Chloe lets out a sharp bark of laughter, but covers it as a cough. Nate goes pale. He looks like he's having a heart attack. Elena, she mouths the words "thank you".

Palmers scowls. He opens his mouth to say something, but Nadine squeezes his wrist. "Consider what you're about to say. We intend to pay a large amount for that journal- can you afford to miss this payday?"

His expression drops. He tugs his arm away and turns back towards the table. "Shall we sit?"

Nadine makes a show of pulling Elena's chair out for her. The blonde thanks her and touches her arm, lingering a bit. They have to commit to this now.

She catches the look on Chloe's face. It's one she recognizes well. Chloe is finding this whole thing amusing and probably more. She certainly has no problem with it.

Nate, on the other hand, seems to be thinking hard. Or studiously trying to avoid any thought of what has happened. And that makes Nadine all the more invested in this cover.

Now seated, she shoves a hand in her pocket and slips the wedding rings from last job out. She puts her own on. The other, the one Chloe had used, she keeps in the palm of her hand. Elena is seated beside her, but not too terribly close. She moves her chair over just a bit, disguising it as a want to be close to her wife.

Chloe notices the movement and takes attention away from it. "I hear the wine here is fabulous. Should we go for a red or a white?"

"Wine?" Nate says. His voice nearly cracks. If anything is going to blow the con, it's his reaction to his wife being "married" to an old enemy turned ally.

"Red," Nadine answers. "Unless you'd prefer something different, dear?" She reaches out and touches Elena's arm. They're seated closer now. She squeezes Elena's hand, briefly, and leaves behind the other ring.

"Red is fine. Or maybe a nice rosé?"

"Rosé then," Nadine decides.

Palmers frowns. He's not a fan, apparently. "The sommelier will be able to recommend one. I prefer a solid Jameson to a wine."

"I agree," Nate joins in, finding his voice. He's studiously avoiding looking at Nadine.

"Alright," Chloe concedes. "Wine for the ladies, whiskey for the men."

A man comes over then and introduces himself as the sommelier. There's a brief conversation, a few recommendations of wine, after that, some orders placed. It's another twenty minutes before any business talk is actually done.

"It's in good condition," Palmers says. "Liberated from a the collection of a rich man in California, my employers purchased it. They've moved on from their interest recently, enough to sell it off."

"And the man it was... liberated from? Is there any connection? Has he tried to find it?" Nadine's face is neutral. She's acting professional. Elena is leaning into her side just a tad bit. That alone makes her feel more confident than usual, if only for the sour look on Nate's face.

"I doubt he noticed it was gone," Palmer responds. "It passed into his hands by inheritance. A spoiled brat who didn't know how to handle his money."

Nadine narrows her eyes a touch. "I know the type."

"And the price?" Elena asks. "Alice mentioned you were unwilling to pass it on through her."

Palmers takes a small notepad out from inside his suit jacket. He jots down a number and passes it to Elena. She nods.

"Acceptable- if it's genuine."

"They've had it authenticated-" he begins, but she cuts him off.

"I'd feel more comfortable having someone I trust," she sets a hand on Nadine's forearm. The wedding ring shines off her ring finger. "Authenticate. I happen to be married to someone very skilled in it."

Chloe watches Nate's face as Elena says this. His jaw tenses and his eye twitches. Chloe resists the urge to laugh aloud.

Palmer doesn't like the reminder, but he nods. "I'm sure it can be arranged. As for invitations, I'll be sure to get them to you before the gala."

"We look forward to seeing the artifact," Nadine responds.

"Will we be able to meet your employers at the gala?" Chloe asks, swirling the wine around in her glass.

"My employers are rather... shy. They prefer if I handle the people portion of sales. They may make an appearance, but it's unlikely." Palmers folds his hands in front of him. "They prefer the company of the dead, by means of old books and strange ancient artifacts."

"I mean, the dead won't talk back, or try to con them," Nate comments. "Ideal friends."

"I believe that's why they prefer it, yes."

"I prefer live people myself," Nadine comments. "Some of them, anyway." She wants to glance over at Chloe, to show that her preference is towards the treasure hunter. But instead, she sends a soft look towards Elena. After all, they're supposed to be married. Elena responds accordingly. "Old books can be awfully boring- without proper company."

Elena smiles at her.

The entrés arrive then, and conversation dissolves into small talk. Business can be discussed again when they reach the gala.

---

Chloe wakes up, feeling all sorts of content. She's curled up on bed, back to back with Nadine. Just knowing the woman is there is a nice feeling.

She stretches, but rolls towards Nadine rather than leave the bed. Where Chloe has an over-sized shirt on, Nadine is completely naked. She hadn't bothered to redress after their activities the night before. The treasure hunter, ever the opportunist, spoons her partner and ever so casually cups one of her breasts.

The woman is awake, she's certain, but dozing.

"Dinner went well," she comments.

Nadine looks back at Chloe, eyes barely open. "That man is insufferable."

"You think all men are insufferable."

"I mean, ja. But he was horrible. Did you see how he looked at Elena? Should have his eyes ripped out."

Chloe grins, slipping an arm under Nadine to hold her better. "Mm, your wife, huh? Should I be jealous?" She feels Nadine's blush more than sees it.

"It was the easiest way to stop him. Barely changed our cover stories," she defends.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing." Chloe moves her free hand, the one not trapped beneath her girlfriend, very slowly down Nadine's stomach. "What issue am I supposed to have seeing two women I care about act that way? Though I've never seen Elena the ways I have you, but I suppose the day is young."

Nadine isn't really surprised that Chloe is hinting at how she'd like it. She's known Chloe to be a bit more adventurous and the woman has helped her to try new things- both in life and in the bedroom. But this is teasing. Elena is their friend and, well, yes, she's lovely, Nadine is certain the woman will always be off limits. But then, that could be why Chloe seems into it too. She's always been one to push limits, both her own and that of others.

Chloe's hand finally finds its target between Nadine's legs. Still slick from their fun the previous night, Chloe sets to work right away. Still sensitive too, judging by Nadine letting out a soft moan.

"Mm, I do love the sounds you make. Touching you is always so rewarding." Chloe continues, but reverts back to the original topic. "I'd say we could snag up the journal… hell, we can pick it up that night, as long as we're led to the right place."

"S, sounds good. I don't get how..." She loses her train of thought for a moment before she finds it again. "I don't understand how he didn't connect the last theft to you."

"Careful planning," Chloe jokes. "And a bit of subterfuge." Chloe scrapes her teeth over Nadine's shoulder before soothing it with a kiss. "Nate and I inquired on a different object and stole what we needed when we found the stash."

Nadine frowns. She grabs her girlfriend's wrist, stopping the motion. "Do not mention a Drake while you finger me, Chloe!" She releases her wrist.

Chloe grins and starts moving her fingers again. "Oh? But Elena is one. She took the name. Can I talk about her? I mean, she is your wife after all."

"Chloe," comes a soft protest. She's close and her leg is twitching from how Chloe is touching her. "Please."

Chloe drops her voice low, making it a practical rumble against Nadine's ear. "I could ask her, you know. See if she's willing to join us for a night... And she is just down the hall..." Chloe is enjoying herself too much. "She does like women too, you know..."

Nadine whines. It drives Chloe crazy; she wants nothing more to pull sounds just like it from Nadine whenever possible. "Mm, darling, have I ever told you how amazing you feel? Every bit of you, so good, so lovely..." She presses a hot kiss to her partner's neck. "And these sounds you're making- I'll never get tired of those."

Chloe expects a response but doesn't get one. This happens from time to time. Nadine gets to overwhelmed, too close to the edge, to speak to her.

"Dearest, you're so close... why not just come?" she inquires between kisses. Chloe, of course, is purposely making it hard for her girlfriend to reach her climax. It's too tempting.

But she does, eventually, give Nadine what she wants. She goes for the spot that never fails to get her girlfriend there. At the same time, she murmurs a soft command in Nadine's ear. "Come for me, darling."

Nadine goes rigid as pleasure rolls through her. The hand between her legs is trapped by the squeeze of her thighs and she's got one hand grabbing at Chloe's leg, which is against the curve of her ass. Eventually, she goes limp again and Chloe pulls her hand free.

"Chlo-" Nadine starts, before a knock on the door interrupts her. So she swears and rockets out of bed for clothing. She manages to find a pair of shorts and a loose shirt.

Chloe, however, oh so casually sits up, pulls a blanket over her lower half, and takes out her phone. She's still wearing an oversized shirt.

When Nadine is finally able to answer the door, her face has turned red from the events of the last five minutes.

Elena, of course, is the one at the door. Which makes Nadine blush all the harder. "Morning," the blonde greets happily.

Nadine steps back so she can come inside. "Good morning."

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Chloe asks. She's still smirking.

Nadine slips away and into the bathroom. Behind the closed door, the shower turns on.

Elena spots how Chloe is on the bed, thinks on the state Nadine was in when she opened the door, and makes the connection. She raises an eyebrow. "Did I interrupt something?"

Chloe waves her off. "She got what she needed."

This time, a blush springs to Elena's cheeks. "Oh ah, well, Nate and I were gonna go get some coffee. Did you two want anything?"

Chloe rolls her shoulders and smiles. "Nadine would probably like a chai latte. Tea would be good for me- oh, the citrusy one with the steamed lemonade, if you're going to the place a block over."

"Got it! We'll be back in a bit."

Chloe bites her lip and watches the blonde disappear back through the door. She looks to the bathroom door after. She could probably get Nadine off again before the other two get back. It's more than tempting. And she does need a shower...

She stretches and turns to put her feet on the floor. She'd love to stay in bed, but she'd also love to be pressed close to her girlfriend under the hot water. She makes her way across the hotel room and slips inside the bathroom.

Only to find Nadine already drying off.

"Oh, come on. That quickly?" Chloe complains.

Nadine smirks. "I didn't wash my hair this time round. You seem disappointed."

"What else would I have come in here for but shower sex?" She gives a once over to Nadine's naked body before dropping to her knees in front of the woman. "But I suppose I can still do part of the plan." She drags her hands down the front of Nadine's thighs.

Nadine bites her lip and considers it for half a moment. "Wasn't Elena here not ten minutes ago?"

Chloe presses a chaste kiss to her thigh. "She's not now, if you were thinking of her joining us." The comment does what Chloe wants- Nadine blushes that deep red. "She and Nate went for coffee. She wanted to know if we wanted any- she's bringing you back a chai latte." She rubs her thumbs in small circles on the inside of Nadine's thighs, asking permission.

Nadine sighs and pulls back. "Not now, liefie. I doubt it'll take long for them to return."

"Who said I couldn't make you come quickly?"

She scoffs and purses her lips. "Chloe. I've slept with you enough to know you have a penchant for teasing."

Chloe sighs and sits back. "I suppose that's fair enough." She stands and places a kiss on Nadine's lips. "And, I suppose, it's my turn for a shower."

"Ja, I'll say. You're starting to stink."

"Rude!"

Nadine leaves the bathroom, laughing. She hears the shower start back up as she digs around in their luggage for something to wear. She starts up some music on her phone and tosses it onto the bed, humming along.

This is vastly different from where she was a year and a half, nearly two years ago. Life has brought her somewhere much better. Shoreline had been her life for so long. It was constant tension, constant peril, and very little chance for romance.

She is happier where she is now.

It has everything to do with Chloe.

She loves the woman. It's scary but it's good.

Nadine is fully dressed when there's a knock on the door for the second time that morning. She answers it to both Elena and Nate this time. Nate has a drink carrier in hand.

"Morning," the man greets.

"Drake," she responds, stepping back so the two can enter.

"Chloe said you'd be happy with a chai," Elena speaks up. She tugs a drink from the carrier Nate has and passes if off to Nadine.

"Thanks."

"We brought Chloe her weird... hot lemonade... thing." Nate sets the carrier down and frees his own drink.

"She's in the shower. She'll be out in a bit." Something occurs to Nadine then. She sets her drink down, heads over to Chloe's suitcase, and pulls out a pair of pants, a bra, and shirt. She's realized Chloe didn't exactly have something to change into when she went in there. She tosses them just inside and turns back to the other two.

"Uh, Nadine..." Nate starts. She raises an eyebrow at him. "I know you, ah... said the whole "wife" thing so he wouldn't touch Elena. So, uhm. Thanks."

That feels better than Nadine could have expected. She grins. "Elena, did you make him say this?"

A chuckle from the blonde. "Maybe."

"I swear, it's genuine, I just..." Nate frowns. "It's just all sorts of weird to see my wife acting... romantic with someone who's bounced my head off the pavement more than once."

Nadine takes a sip of her drink and smirks. "It's no problem. I've never had an issue in the company of a beautiful woman."

"Right." It's Chloe who speaks as she steps out of the bathroom. Her hair is still rather wet, but she's already tied it back. "That's why you stumbled through asking me on our first date."

"Outlier," Nadine responds.

"Well, I count it."

"Of course you do."

Elena seems to notice the music playing and perks up. "SPG?"

Nadine nods. "Ja. One of my favourites."

"Same here. I wasn't able to make it to their anniversary show, but I wanted to go. Had to get the digital ticket." She shrugs. "I'm going to try next concert they give."

"The one where the others came back? Upgrade and them?"

"Yes! Hatchworth was first, then Upgrade, then The John."

Chloe chuckles as she listens to them. "I prefer Florence, but you're speaking her language, Sunshine."

"It's a good band."

Nate raises an eyebrow. "This is the band with the robots? I never understood that."

"Who's your favourite?" Elena asks. She sits on the couch as Chloe heads for her own drink on the coffee table.

"Rabbit."

"She's mine too."

"She-"

Chloe's phone goes off, loud and obnoxious. She has to dig for it under the blankets on the bed. Finding it, she answers. "Yeah?" She steps back, sipping at her drink. Elena and Nadine continue chatting. Nate looks a little lost, but he picks up his own phone and pokes around on it.

Nadine catches Chloe's body language and keeps an eye on her. She keeps talking to Elena. It's good for them to get to know each other a bit more. It'll help them keep their cover.

It's a few minutes later that Chloe hangs up, sighs, and effectively catches everyone's attention.

"Alright. That was Palmers."

"What?" Nate starts. "Why?"

Chloe purses her lips. "He wants Alice and Theo," she gestures between herself and Nate, "To meet him to discuss something. And also to pick up our invites to the gala." She rolls her eyes and shoves her phone back into her pocket.

"Seems fishy. Why can't he give us the invites out front of the party?" Nadine practically scowls. "I don't like it." She's always quick to say it. Especially when something involves Chloe being farther away from her than truly necessary.

Chloe gives her that crooked grin she's grown to love. "You don't like anything."

"Except you." It's a well rehearsed set of dialogue, but it shows their familiarity with each other.

"As adorable as that is," Nate interrupts. "What'd you say?"

"That'd we go." The treasure hunter acts as though he should've known what she would've said.

Nadine crosses her arms. "Not without me."

"Darling, you know I love having you around, but if he spots you, we'd be blown."

"I don't like it either." Elena also has her arms crossed.

"Nate and I, we've gotten through worse than a meeting from some poorly dressed arsehole. We'll be fine- we can even bring guns." Chloe makes a vague gesture to her bag, where a para is tucked away.

"Guns don't really make me feel better," the blonde counters. She looks over to Nadine.

Nadine hesitates. "Actually, them having guns does make me feel better."

All three women look to Nate. He gapes like a fish for a moment. "I mean… As long as the meeting is public, I think it'd be fine?"

Elena huffs. "Fine then."

Nate looks a bit sheepish. "So, ah… When are we meeting him?"

"Huh? Oh, about forty minutes." Chloe pulls the hair tie from her damp hair and drags her fingers through it. "I wanna blowdry my hair before we go."

Nadine catches her arm before she can disappear back into the bathroom. "Where are you meeting?"

"Don't get your broekies in a knot, love." Nadine gives her a good natured roll of her eyes. "I've already sent you the address. On your phone." Chloe gives her girlfriend a peck on the cheek and heads for the bathroom. A few moments later, a blow dryer can be heard.

Nadine sighs and heads for her bag. "Did either of you bring a weapon?"

Nate shakes his head. "No. This was supposed to be a quiet thing."

"Hopefully it will be quiet. But I like to have contingencies." She grabs her suitcase and pokes around in it.

"I… actually brought a pistol." Nate and Nadine both look at Elena. She flushes a bit. "Listen, I'm used to these things going sour. I'd rather be prepared."

Nadine dons a pleased expression and looks at Nate. "You have an amazing wife."

Nate nods. Nadine saying something nice to him surprises him but manages to find words. "I mean, yeah, you're right."

"Listen, I put up with this crap for how many years? This time it's on my terms." Elena purses her lips. "My terms, my gun."

Nadine lets out a soft hum. It's a habit she's picked up from her talkative girlfriend. "Chloe was right about you."

"What do you mean?"

"She said you were smart. And planned well. And, well, some comments on your looks. Which also weren't wrong. But she's Chloe, né?" Nadine pulls her glock from her bag. "She likes to look." She checks the chamber. "Elena, can you grab your gun? Nate'll need it."

"Sure."

The blonde heads for the door. As it closes behind her, Nate stands up. "I, uh, I'm gonna go with her."

Nadine snickers. Nate's still not comfortable being alone near her.

Chloe emerges from the bathroom. Her hair is dry now, but she's yet to pull it back into her ponytail. Nadine lets out a pleased noise as she sets her gun aside. Her fingers comb through the long locks.

"Where'd they go?" She leans into the touch. "We've got to leave shortly."

"Elena went to get her gun. They'll be back in a few minutes."

"Elena brought a gun?" Chloe stops the hand in her hair, pulls it from the dark mess, and kisses Nadine's knuckles. "I should be surprised but I'm not. She's too smart to show up without one."

There's a few moments where Chloe ties her hair back. Nadine watches her with a soft gaze. It's noticed with an almost confused half grin. "What?"

"I love you," Nadine murmurs.

Chloe tightens the band on her hair and let's a broad smile spread across her cheeks. It's far from the first time it's been said, but it always feels good to hear. Chloe drops her hands to Nadine's hips and tugs her closer. Front to front, Chloe kisses her. It's soft and slow and the standard way Chloe replies to the statement supplied. She's said it before, but it's not always easy for her. Nadine understands. Chloe doesn't always use words to say it. Instead, it's in all the little things she does.

Nadine manages to pick her gun up off the bed and slip it into one of Chloe's hands. "Here. Take mine. And some ammo."

Chloe chuckles low as she tucks it away. "Leave it to you to express your love by handing me your gun."

They kiss again and melt into each other. Surprisingly, Chloe is the first to pull away. "Mm, you know I could do that all day. But, alas, I do have to go talk to yet another boring man so you and I can get a pay day."

"Ja. We both know you're looking forward to the hunt. You get bored when we have to grift."

Chloe shrugs but nods. "Some of this is fun. Seeing you and Elena as a married couple? Goodness. I never knew I needed it." She bites her lip. Gentle, she runs her hands down Nadine's sides. "But you're right. This is nowhere near as good as being out there in the wild. Yeah? You, me, a four by four, and a tent. That's all I need. Well, and some treasure to hunt."

That's how Chloe says I love you. It's casually admitting things like this. It makes Nadine feel warm and happy.

Again, a knock on the door. Nate and Elena have returned.

Nate has tucked a pistol into his belt, under his jacket. Nadine holds her hand out. "Let me see."

He hands her the pistol, handle first. In that, he doesn't hesitate.

She examines it. She's got more experience in guns than the other three in the room combined. It's an aegis in good condition. Not Nadine's favourite gun, but it's good for closer quarters. She prefers a glock or possibly a beretta. Even Chloe lets her help decide on a gun.

"Have you used it before?" she asks Elena.

The blonde shakes her head. "Not this specific one. But the same model, yes."

Nadine's eyes fall on Nate. "I trust you can use this well? Judging on by what I've seen you use before."

"Yeah. I've got it." He goes to reach for it back, but she hangs onto it.

"I'm serious."

"I've got it!"

She sighs and relents. "Just don't hurt yourself. Or Chloe."

Nate practically huffs. "I won't!"

"Especially Chloe. You get her hurt and I'll make sure you get hurt." She's enjoying messing with him, but she's not joking. If Chloe gets hurt, she'll make sure the same happens to him.

"Oh, I'll be fine, dearest. Nate was always the one that got hurt when we worked together. For the most part, at least." She's maybe spent just a little time hurt- but it wasn't the scuffs and bruises. Him choosing Elena over her had hurt. She'd gotten over it, of course, but it hadn't helped her self esteem back then.

"Just gonna say, I'd prefer if neither of you got hurt?" The statement comes from Elena. "I'd much rather this stay a quiet job."

"It'll stay quiet," Chloe reassures. "Nate?"

"Yeah?"

"We've got this, right?"

He nods. "Definitely. We've gotten through a lot worse. Like that time with the rocket launchers?"

"You go to the rocket launchers over that whole damn train ride? Where it crashed and you ended up crawling through the snow? It's the second worst train ride I've ever been on."

He tucks the pistol back into his belt. "Only the second? I nearly died!"

She shrugs. "I didn't say it was your second worst. Just mine. I mean, you got to see Elena right after, even if you were a little banged up. I was stuck near Flynn and Lazaravitch. Arguably, that was worse. Emotionally, at least."

"Little banged up- Chloe, I was unconscious for days! I nearly bled to death, nearly froze to death, and ended up getting chased by those demon sasquatch things!"

"Oh, hush. We all ended up chased by those things."

"But I had to fight Lazaravitch when he got all crazy powered up."

"And I got blown up!" Elena interrupts. "Not really the greatest of memories, but I'm pretty sure, at the end of that whole fiasco, I was the one in the worst state."

Nate and Chloe look to each other and nod emphatically. "Yeah. Yes. You're right," Nate speaks up.

"I agree," comes Chloe.

Everyone looks to Nadine.

She tosses a hand up, palm to the ceiling. "Why are you looking at me? I wasn't there."

"I have told you all about it," her girlfriend points out.

"Elena got the worst of it." The answer comes with no hesitation. "Blown up and ended up married to a Drake. Can't be worse than that."

Nate sighs. "Hurtful. But I expect it by now."

"She's said worse to Sam." Chloe glances at her watch then and swears. "Shit, we've gotta go or we'll be late."

"You? Late? How surprising." It's more playful than actual sarcasm. Nadine is smiling as she says it.

Chloe rolls her eyes, gives Nadine a quick peck on the lips, and urges Nate towards the door. "Let's go, cowboy. I'm sure our gals will keep each other company."

"Keep in contact!" Nadine calls after them. She frowns and shakes her head. "I wish Chloe had let me trail them. I'll be worried til she's back."

Elena thinks for a moment. "Then let's find you a distraction."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, I've got that concert I mentioned on my computer. I wouldn't be against watching it again."

Nadine perks up. "The ten year anniversary show? Lekker. I'm down."

---

"So it's not weird to you at all?"

"Nope."

"Seriously? Not even a little?"

Chloe sighs. "No. If anything, I like it."

This makes Nate stumble over his words. "I- you- but- you like it?" He seems flabbergasted.

She rolls her eyes but keeps them trained on the road. She's driving the rental, because of course she is. Nate has the front passenger's seat. "Oh, you know it takes a lot to put me off. Two women- who I care about the both of, mind you- getting on as they have? Yes, I like it. It's... intriguing."

Nate groans. "Why are you the way that you are?"

She responds with an aggravated sigh as she pulls the car into a parking space and it comes to a stop. She turns to him. "So your wife is flirting with my girlfriend. And Nadine has more muscle than you've ever had and- and Elena is bi, but..." Chloe trails off. This wasn't where she meant to go.

"That's your pep talk?" Nate squeaks.

"I..." Chloe sighs. "It needs a little work."

"A little work? As a friend, you're dead to me."

She tries another tactic. "Listen, mate. I trust Nadine. She's my favourite person in the world. I know that she wouldn't do anything with anyone else unless she knew for a fact that I was both aware of it and okay with it."

"... You're in an open relationship?"

"No. But if we both decided we wanted a third and agreed on who it should be, we might act on it. Keyword, might." Chloe waves her hand a bit. "That isn't what matters here. What does is that we trust each other. You trust Elena, right?"

He almost looks offended. "Of course!"

"Then why is this such a big deal? We both know she'd never cheat on you. Even with someone as stunning as Nadine."

He looks away and slumps in his seat. "It's not a trust thing."

"Alright, then what is it?"

He frowns deep. "It's... she's already left me before. And I deserved it, I was being a dumbass. Both times. But... Nadine is Nadine. Looking between us, she's a lot more impressive than I am. And Elena, god, Elena is amazing. She deserves everything she wants. But... but what if she looks at me, after, after spending this time with Nadine, and realizes she can do better?"

"That's it? That's what you're worried about?"

"I'm serious, Chloe."

"So am I. Because I think you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"You think that, but I feel like she could realize she deserves more!" He drags his hand over his face. "Because she does but I'm lucky enough she puts up with me."

Chloe sighs and sits back in her seat. At this point, they'll be a minute or two late to meet Palmers. But this is obviously important to Nate. "Fine. You want something comforting?"

"Please."

"Fine," she repeats. "You remember the first time you left me?"

He cringes. "Yup."

"Barely a word. Just disappeared. But I hunted you down, didn't I?"

"You did."

"And do you remember the second time you left me?"

Another cringe. This isn't making him feel better. "Yeah."

"It was for Elena. You left me for her." She makes him look at her. "When you and I were together, it made me happy. Happier than I'd been for a while before that. Okay? That thing we had was good, felt good, and I was happy." She crosses her arms. "You left me for Elena. Because she was who made you happy. And guess what?"

"What?"

"I got over it. It took time and yeah, it hurt like hell, but I got over it. I was even a little okay with it, because obviously you were happier. But I moved on. And then, by some stroke of amazingly good luck, I ended up with Nadine. And I realized I could be so much happier than what I had been. Because what we had was good but I'm better now, where I am, with Nadine."

His frown stays fixed on his face. "This is supposed to make me feel better?"

She lets out an annoyed groan. "Nate! What I'm saying is, even if something happens, you'll get past it. And if something happens, it's more than likely you'll be even happier in the end, with someone even better for you." Again, Chloe sighs. "Change is a fact of life, Nate. Roll with the punches. You don't think I'm terrified Nadine might leave me? I love that woman. It'd destroy me. But I could still pick up the pieces and keep going. No matter how much it'd hurt." She takes a deep breath. "Focus on the fact you and Elena love each other. Maybe you think you're not worth her time some days, but she gets to make that decision. Not you. She bloody married you, mate. You've got nothing to worry about."

Nate contemplates this for a few long moments. "I... I guess you're right." He chuckles. "When you get so smart on this crap?"

She gives him a bitter grin. "Sometime after you left me. For the second time."

"You're really playing that up, aren't you?"

"Oh, I think I deserve to." She opens the car door. "Now come on. Time to go see what this asshole wants to discuss."

---

Nadine looks up as the hotel room's door opens again. Chloe and Nate come traipsing back in.

"I'm just saying- why do they call it a bear if it's a kangaroo?"

"Nate, it's... it's not a kangaroo. It's a marsupial. I mean, so is a kangaroo, but so is a opossum."

"Where do get all these animal facts?"

Chloe grins as she looks to Nadine. "Why, I get them from my girlfriend." She only glances over to Elena, who's asleep to the side, leaning just a touch on Nadine.

Nadine taps on the laptop she's got on her lap, pausing the video. "How'd it go? What'd he want?"

Chloe tugs a chair over and straddles it, leaning on the back as she faces the women on the couch. "Oh, just wait til you hear."

Nate steals the seat on the other side of Elena. The blonde shifts in her sleep to curl against him. He nudges her a bit. "Hey, beautiful. We're back."

Still half asleep, she mumbles out a soft "How'd it go?"

"Well, he gave us our invites..." Nate starts.

"And he tried to get us to con you," Chloe finishes.

Elena yawns and sits up. "How?"

"Tried to have us sell you on a fake journal. And then sell the real one to another collector." Nate shrugs.

Chloe bites her lip. "Took a bit of work to convince him you were too good an authenticator. Made something up about how we had already tried to con you." She gives them both a pointed look. "So if he asks, say it took time to trust us and you keep us on a short leash- well, Nate, at least. I put most of the blame there, admittedly."

"Yeah. Thanks for that."

"No problem."

"So what're we doing?" The blonde asks as she rolls her shoulders.

"Same as before, ja?" Nadine stands and moves across to the table. It's still covered in their conglomerate of information. She takes the image of the journal and offers it to Nate. She then stands to the side of Chloe, arms crossed.

"I think so, yeah," Chloe responds. "Not much else we can do. Be a bit more prepared at the party, maybe."

Elena raises an eyebrow. "A bit more prepared? How?"

"Well, I'm thinking we go over it again." Nadine is rather proud that Chloe has suggested that first. It's taken a whole lot to get her to that point. "Other than that, we can wing it." There's the Chloe she loves. "And, well…"

"What?"

"Nate and I bring guns again."

Elena huffs. "I thought this would stay quiet."

Nadine bites her tongue and doesn't make a comment about how it's never quiet.

"Oh, it will be! But we have to be sure."

She's gifted a roll of the eyes. "Okay. Fine. You two bring guns. What then?"

"We can rework the plan a touch. Nadine and I have earbuds, we can use those." Chloe rolls her shoulders. "You have extras, right, dear?"

Nadine nods. "Ja. Always."

"Right. We use those. Keeps us in contact the whole time. Nate and I tail Palmers to storage or vault or whatever they're storing it in. My bet is the basement of the place."

Nadine frowns; she's got an issue with this. "Wait, you and Nate tailing Palmers now? Why?"

"It'll be easier for us to slip away. Two lovely ladies like yourselves are more likely to be missed, as you're the buyers. Us? They'll be glad we're gone." Chloe shoots both women a smile. "We'll be fine! And a few months from now, we'll all be rich."

Nadine and Elena share a look.

"This is ridiculous," Elena starts.

"I agree," Nadine finishes. "This needs to be planned out more."

"And better."

Chloe huffs. "Alright, fine. Why don't we sit down? Plan for contingencies?" She eyes her partner. "I know how planning for contingencies gets you all hot and bothered."

Nadine's shoulders tense and she sighs as she stands, taking the laptop with her. "Table," she orders. It's directed at everyone. "We need to make sure we've got everything down."

"You know, planning for how things can go wrong? Is a good thing," Elena states, mostly to the air.

Chloe waves her off. "Yes, yes. But you can't plan for every contingency."

Nate gets up and offers a hand to Elena. "Some is better than none."

"You too now?"

"After that whole "desperate times" thing, yeah." He and Elena both move to the table. His next question is directed to Nadine. "I'm guessing you've already got some contingencies thought of?"

She nods. "Of course. I do work with Chloe."

Chloe huffs and looks offended. "Work with?"

"I worked with you before I ever slept with you." Nadine acts as though there's nothing wrong with what she's said.

Her partner seems a bit put out, but she takes a seat at the table anyway. "Well, come on then. What's first?"

Nadine takes the seat beside Chloe. "First, let's get our Plan A figured, ja?"

---

It's well over an hour later that Nadine is mostly satisfied with their plan. Nate and Elena take their leave after that, letting her alone with her girlfriend.

Nadine turns to Chloe, who's walked across the room, towards the balcony.

"What's wrong?"

Chloe still seems sort of, well, pouty.

"Nothing," comes the response with just enough hesitation to let Nadine know something actually is wrong.

Nadine moves closer, slipping her arms around her partner's waist from behind. "Liefie, I know you. I just want to know what's wrong."

Chloe frowns, but lets herself relax back into the arms around her. She isn't big on this stuff. Or she wasn't. She's better at it now, but still. It's when Nadine nuzzles against the crook of her neck that she sighs and relents.

"It's dumb," is all she says.

"What you're feeling isn't dumb. Tell me what's wrong. Asseblief. I love you and want to help."

"You know, you saying that does help." She hums. "It's just…"

Nadine tries to fill in where Chloe trails off. "Is it about my "marriage" to Elena? Does it make you uncomfortable?"

Chloe manages a chuckle. "I told you, I've no problem with that at all. Besides. I got you last job, it's only fair someone else is married to you this job. Just as long as it's my turn next."

Her partner presses a kiss to the side of her neck. "I can promise that, ja. But what is wrong?"

"I don't mean for our jobs to go sour, you know," the treasure hunter admits softly. "And we've had a string of bad luck with them lately, even if we actually got something out of the last couple jobs. After the failures before them, I suppose we deserved something, but still…"

Nadine tightens her arms around her lover. "I never expected it to be quiet, working with you."

"Oh?"

"Certainly not. You think I didn't know what I was getting into?"

Chloe has a small smile on her face, barely there. "Hm, I'm not sure. I'm told I'm good at tricking people."

"If I remember correctly, I asked to be your partner, liefie."

Chloe doesn't really respond to that, just sinks into the arms around her.

"Believe it or not, the job I had before this was much more gun heavy. Much louder, much more likely to get hurt in it." She kisses Chloe again. "Being your partner, your girlfriend, is much safer than Shoreline was. Even if I had a couple hundred men between me and the fight at times."

"You know, I think I like the girlfriend part more than the partner part." Chloe turns around in the arms holding her. "I really am sorry when they end up like that. Our jobs. I, apparently, have a bad habit of picking the ones that end in gunfire."

Nadine thinks on the statement for a moment. "I've survived war. Growing up with a mercenary father. The Drakes. I think I can survive going on jobs with you." She grins. "After all, I've got someone I can trust at my side, ja?"

Finally, Chloe smiles, really smiles. "Ja, " she jokes.

They hug properly. They're like this for a few long moments before Chloe decides she's had enough of being emotionally vulnerable for the day and pulls away.

"C'mon, China, I want to show you the outfit I brought for the gala. For you."

"Let me guess. It's sleeveless?"

---

"Just over for the earbuds," Elena explains, halfway through the door to Chloe and Nadine's hotel room.

Nadine nods and pushes up from the table. Chloe leans on her hand, watching. She's got nearly finished makeup applied. Her dress in

Nadine already has the earbuds set aside, so it only takes her a moment to bring them to Elena. "Ever used something like these before?"

"Nope. We usually just used phones and walkie talkies."

The ex-mercenary isn't surprised. "Those are easy to break, lose, or have stolen. These are better for sub-rosa communication." She taps her own ear with a finger. "Not many people check for them. Keep us all in contact. For the most part."

"Sounds good. Anything else to know about them?"

"Water," Chloe reminds.

"Right." Nadine nods. "Don't submerge them in water. We had a bad time with that in Ireland."

"Bit of an understatement, judging by the reaction you had."

"I don't like you getting hurt."

Chloe blows her a kiss.

Elena rolls the earbuds in her palm. "Alright. I'll get these back to you after."

"Please. We lose them more often than I'd like."

The blonde nods and disappears back through the door, back towards her own hotel room with her husband.

Nadine sits back down and returns to helping Chloe with her makeup. It's an intimate gesture they started back before their partnership turned into a relationship. It's calming for Nadine; it helps her center herself before a mission.

She purses her lips, focusing as she brushes eye-shadow on. Chloe stays still. But not quiet.

"You look lost in thought, dear. Care to share?"

Nadine shrugs. "I was thinking about giraffes."

"Of course you were. Anything specific?"

"How their ossicones developed. What they were before they became ossicones."

"Right. Ossicones. Not how they got so tall?"

Nadine smirks. "No. Obviously they ate too many magic herbs. And ossicones are their little horns. It's actually ossified cartilage." There's a pause as she finishes up. "There. Perfect."

Chloe stands. She's wearing another lovely red dress, deeper in colour than the last. She's beautiful. As always. Nadine says as much.

"Thanks, darling. Now why don't you get dressed and I'll help with yours."

"No place to hide a gun in that outfit. Sure I can't convince you to let me wear pants?"

"You might if the pair you'd brought weren't torn. You're supposed to be a wealthy woman. Above wearing that sort of thing."

"Eish. They weren't torn when they got here. Wonder how it happened…"

Chloe grins. "Now, maybe I don't know my own strength. But I'll buy you a new pair to make up for it." She motions towards the suitcases. "Come on. Get dressed."

The time before the bigger parts of jobs always seems to pass strange. Faster than usual, but still putting just enough nerve into Nadine to prepare her.

Soon enough, she's dressed and Chloe has applied her makeup.

The treasure hunter gives her a soft look. "You ready for this?"

"Ja."

"Can't wait for you to be mine again," Chloe admits. "Publicly that is. I'll share with Elena but she can't hog you forever."

Nadine ignores the comment and traces the edge of Chloe's lips with her thumb. She'd kiss her, but it'd mess up their makeup. "I love you," she murmurs.

Chloe's smile is slow and warm. She gets a look in her eye that makes Nadine feel like she could conquer the world with her. "We'll have to redo our makeup if you keep that up," Chloe answers in a low voice. She raises her hand to her own lips, kisses two fingers, and presses them to Nadine's lips. "Feelings mutual, dearest." She activates her earbud and places it in her ear. "Now go on. I'm sure Elena is already downstairs."

"Yup," Elena responds through the ear piece.

Nadine activates her own. "I'll be out in a moment."

"I'll be here." The blonde answers. "Nate, you ready?"

"I am if Chloe is."

"You know it, cowboy." She opens the door and holds it for Nadine. "Go enjoy married life, dear. But don't get too attached. You do have to give her back after today."

"Well..." Elena trails off.

Nate lets out a squeak. "What?"

"I'm joking. Probably."

Chloe chuckles. "It's always the quiet ones. I suppose I mentioned a possibility of sharing, but you have to ask nicely."

Nate remains quiet. He's pouting again, most likely.

Nadine heads downstairs to find Elena standing in the lobby, waiting for her. She looks stunning in a slim blue dress with silver heels and sapphire studs for earrings. Nadine treats her to a warm expression and manages to keep her eyes from straying. "You look great."

Elena looks her over. "So do you."

Nadine really had wanted to wear dress pants and a nice shirt, but Chloe had made her wear a sheer dress of deep purple. It's got an open back and barely goes halfway down her thighs. She's very aware of how Chloe wanted her in it for eye candy. It seems Elena is pleased with it too.

Despite how good she looks, Nadine feels naked without a gun.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

Nadine offers her arm and the blonde hooks her wrist there, hand curving to rest on Nadine's bicep. She's familiar with the trick- Chloe does it too, but not to the same degree. Chloe is just a bit too tall to do it comfortably. Elena, however, is the perfect height. But Nadine doesn't complain.

"There's a stain on your tie." It's Chloe's voice, through the earbuds.

"What? I don't see one," comes the complaint from Nate.

"Right there, mate. Go change. It's a fancy party, not some college fraternity mixer."

Nadine can't help but snicker. This whole job has been Nate getting picked on. It's probably bad that it makes her feel good, but it makes up for the few weeks of hell the man put her through. And the fact she lost her company. And didn't get a single bit of treasure. She doesn't hate Nathan- He's a good man and she sees that. She's thankful he pulled that gun away from her head (something she will always hold against Sam). She also trusts Elena's judgement. If he's worth a woman like that marrying him, he's some sort of good.

"Listen to the woman, Nate," Elena says under her breath.

"Ugh. Fine." He mumbles to himself as he follows the order given.

It's strange, having three people being able to hear her instead of just Chloe. They don't use earbuds too often, despite Nadine's insistence. There's been too many instances of getting separated while on jobs for her comfort. She'd burn the world down to keep Chloe safe- but she won't tell Chloe that. The woman would be entirely too smug about it.

The ride to the party is quiet. Nadine drives, and they both listen to their counterparts bickering back at the hotel. It's a bit more than usual, but Nadine is certain Chloe is giving Nate a hard time on purpose. Heartwarming, really.

Elena is poking around on her phone. She's pretty, no doubt. Nadine feels honoured to keep up the appearance of being her wife. Past her beauty, she's a genuinely good person. If that's not enough, she's one of Chloe's closer friends, and Nadine knows from experience that being a friend of Chloe's isn't always an easy thing. And anyone who can stand Nate's bullshit is tougher than anything.

"Oh! Look!" She scoots a bit so Nadine can glance at the phone. "SPG has a show this summer. You and Chloe should visit so we can go."

"What do you think, Chloe?" Nadine asks. "Want to make a trip to the states?"

"So my girlfriend can see her favourite band?" Chloe responds over comms. "Certainly."

Elena grins and taps away at her phone a bit. "I'll buy the tickets." She pauses. "Nate, are you in?"

He hums and haws. "Ah, nah. Robots kinda freak me out."

"Your loss."

A few minutes later, Elena announces, "Done. Three tickets."

Nadine smiles, but addresses Chloe instead. "You two on your way, liefie?"

"Yup," comes Chloe's response. "You two there yet?"

"About to pull in."

---

The authentication goes well. Palmers pulls them aside almost immediately. He almost doesn't wait for Nate and Chloe to arrive. Nadine has to stall, force a wait until Chloe walks in the door.

It's afterwords that the four, Nate, Elena, Chloe, and Nadine, all head for the corner of the room. The gala seems well attended, but there aren't any familiar faces in the crowd. A comfort, really.

"That went better than expected," Nate admits.

"Irregardless. Stay alert." Nadine, of course, is the one to say this. "We need to wait out the clock a bit."

"Right," Chloe picks up. "Give it a half hour or so. Then you and I," she gestures to Nate, "Will make our exit. Well, if Palmers hasn't left by then. We've all got to keep an eye on him."

"We should keep a reasonable distance from each other," Elena adds. "Well, like. As pairs. You two around each other," again, a gesture to Nate and Chloe, "more than around us." She waggles a finger between herself and Nadine.

Nate isn't fond of the idea, but he seems to be handling it better now. He frowns but nods. "Alright."

"Earbuds stay on. Keep track of him."

With that, Nadine offers a hand to Elena. "Would you like to dance?"

Surprisingly, Nate doesn't bristle when Elena accepts.

Chloe watches for a moment, that familiar look in her eye, like a cat watching the birds out a window. She just wants to eat them up.

A moment later, she pulls herself out of it, and motions Nate towards the open bar. "Let's get a drink, cowboy. They can handle themselves."

With drinks in hand, they hover at the edge of the party, making pointless small talk. One of them always knows where Palmers is. He's yet to deposit the journal anywhere. They can see it's impression on the inside pocket of his jacket.

It feels like forever before anything really happens.

Nadine is not far off from Elena, chatting with a woman she's never met. It's about some charity or other. Nadine isn't sure. She's not invested in the conversation.

"Some help here?" The statement is half under a cough, almost mumbled.

Nadine's eyes find Elena. She's been approached by an older man, bald but with impressive greying mutton chops. He's a bit too into the woman's personal space. It doesn't look like he means to, he's just too invested in what he's speaking about to realize Elena is uncomfortable.

Nadine excuses herself from the conversation she's stuck in and heads for her. It only takes a moment.

"Hello, darling. I was wondering where you'd gone." Nadine is a solid presence beside Elena.

"I was just talking to… Mr. Morgenstern. He's got a collection not far off from ours." The blonde takes the chance to hook her hand onto Nadine's arm.

Morgenstern attempts to get a word in, most likely to speak about his collection, but Nadine speaks before he can.

"Sounds interesting. Perhaps we can speak later, Mr. Morgenstern? I'd like to steal my wife away for a drink."

The man nods, smiling broad. "Of course! I gave her my business card! Perhaps I'll have something of interest to you! Or the other way around!"

Thankfully, he lets them leave with no more than that.

"He was… an odd man," Nadine states softly.

Elena shrugs. "He seemed nice, if a bit eccentric. I did ask him to back up, he was just very into what he was talking about. He made it hard to do the job we came for." She smiles and tilts her head towards an empty table. "Why don't we find some drinks and sit?"

"Our man is on the move," Chloe's voice sounds in their ears.

Nadine doesn't react physically, but she murmurs a soft. "Can you follow?"

"Ye- No. Not now I can't."

"I got it," Nate answers.

"Keep us updated."

Nadine pulls a chair out for Elena. "I'll get us drinks?"

Elena shakes her head. "Might as well not for the moment. I don't know if we'll be able to finish them if things go wrong."

"Things will go fine," Chloe hisses.

"He's gone through a door." Nate's voice again. He's being quiet.

"Did you see what's on the other side?" Chloe's voice is just a touch

"Hallway."

Nadine takes a deep breath, sitting beside Elena. "Wait a few moments and try it. If he's still there, you can say you came to ask him a question or some nonsense."

Elena gives Nadine a concerned look, but doesn't say anything.

Barely a minute passes before Nate's voice comes through again. "I'm not gonna be able to get through this door," he mumbles. "It's just a push handle, but-"

"It'll go fine," comes a mutter from the blonde at the table.

"Locked?" It's Chloe's voice. She's pointedly ignoring Elena's statement. "I've got my picks on me, I can-"

"It's got an alarm. Not a lock. He must've had a key or card or something."

"Where's the door?" Elena asks in a low voice.

"North side of the room, around the corner."

Elena stands and takes Nadine's hand. She gives a rather coy smile. "Come on. I've got a plan. And I'll need you for it."

Nadine raises an eyebrow but allows herself to be pulled from her seat. Hand in hand with Elena, she's led across the room.

"What's your plan, Sunshine?"

"Nate, get away from the door," is the blonde's response.

"Are we going to like this plan?" he asks. He sounds worried.

Elena chuckles. "Uh... You won't."

Nadine can practically hear the tension in him when he croaks out, "... Great."

Elena tugs on Nadine's hand again. "You might like it, if that helps."

Nadine laughs. "Oh?"

"I'm getting very interested in this plan of yours, Sunshine," Chloe whispers. Nadine can picture what she's doing right now. Biting her lip, grinning, and, if Nadine had been beside her, she probably would've been just a touch handsy.

Elena doesn't respond. The two of them slip around the corner. There are a few doors opposite a wall of windows.

"Which door?" Elena asks.

Nate is quick to respond. "First one."

Elena turns, putting her back to the door. She lets go of Nadine's hand to fumble around in her pocket for a moment. She pulls out the business card of the man she'd spoken to earlier. She folds it in half and holds it in her left hand. Her right hand, she holds out to Nadine. "Come here."

Nadine steps a bit closer, not sure what the woman is doing.

Elena puts the hand on her shoulder. "Alright. Kiss me."

Nadine blinks; they can hear Chloe and Nate's separate reactions. Chloe is trying, and failing, to hide her rather pleased laughter. Nate had, apparently, been taking a sip from his glass when he heard what the plan consisted of; he's coughing and trying to catch his breath.

"That alright?" Elena's voice has dropped low. She's unsure, now, with the hesitation she's sensed in Nadine.

Chloe interrupts before Nadine can respond. "Nadine, darling, if you don't kiss her, we are going to have a serious talk about missed opportunities."

The only response she gets is a chuckle. Nadine nods.

Elena bites her lip, cups the side of Nadine's face, and pulls the woman in.

The first thing Nadine notices, it's different than kissing Chloe. Elena is shorter. Nadine isn't used to leaning down for it. Elena is gentler, too. Almost timid, but only just. She chalks it up to this being their first kiss.

It's a few seconds into it- Nadine has one hand on the small of Elena's back, the other pressing between the blonde's shoulder blades, and Elena still has one hand cupping her cheek- That she hears the click of the door handle. She's not really paying attention to that though. It's another couple seconds after hearing it when Elena's other hand goes to Nadine's hip. The timidness, the slight hesitation, dissolves like sugar into hot tea. Nadine is pulled even closer. Elena kisses her hard and with a passion that could nearly but not quite match Chloe's. She breaks away only to kiss over Nadine's jaw, sending shivers down the woman's spine.

Nadine isn't sure how much time passes before they're interrupted. She just might be enjoying herself. But a man clears his throat, enough to catch their attention and they break apart.

Both are flushed, Elena is looking thoroughly kissed, and Nadine can feel the lipstick that's been trailed over her cheek and the edge of her jaw.

The man is a security guard, by the looks of him. He seems embarrassed to have had to broken it up. "Uh, you, uhm, you two are just... on the door." He makes a vague gesture towards the alarmed door.

"Sorry," Elena answers. She's got some sort of smile on her face.

Nadine nods. "We, ah, got carried away."

"That, that's fine," the man responds. He's not making eye contact. "If you could maybe move to another location?"

Another nod. "Ja."

He leaves them be with that.

As soon as he's gone, the two break into quiet laughter.

Nate is the first one to speak, through the comms of course. "You two done? Great. Did-"

Chloe cuts him off. "I'd like to point out I am the only one who hasn't kissed Elena, out of the three of us. I find it both unfair and unjust."

Elena plays along. "Well, I have kissed Nate and I have kissed Nadine... The only logical assumption is you're next."

"Ladies," Nate starts again. He's more than exasperated. "Please. Did your plan work, Elena?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. See, alarms like this only kick in when the latch clicks in. I made sure it couldn't." Her eyes stray over Nadine's face. "You, uh... You've got a little lipstick right..." She taps her own jaw.

Nadine chuckles and rubs at her cheek. "I wonder why." She looks over Elena as well. Her lipstick is smudged, and a few marks are very clearly from Nadine, being in a darker shade. "I think we both need to clean up." She offers her arm to Elena.

Elena nods and accepts the arm. Nadine leads the way towards the bathroom where they can freshen up.

"How do you know that lock thing?" Nate asks. Nadine spots him across the crowd. He's frowning in their direction, but no more than that.

"Oh, uh... Had to use it in college once or twice," Elena admits. "But hey, it came in handy."

"Ja. It did."

They share a smile and Nadine can feel Chloe's eyes on them. She glances around a bit and finds Chloe leaning against the wall not far off. She gives Nadine a slow nod, looking entirely too pleased by what's gone on in the last ten minutes.

"I'm going to try and find Palmers." Nate this time. "Wish me luck."

Another ten minutes later, Nadine finds herself seated alone at a table. Chloe is quick to join her, placing a wine glass before her and taking the seat beside her. "Well, this is fun, isn't it?"

Nadine resists the urge to set her hand on Chloe's. She does so by reaching for her wine instead. "What was it you said before? You, me, a four by four, and a tent? We can get to that part soon."

Chloe bites her lip and leans a bit closer to her girlfriend. "You're just saying that because you've had more fun here than I have. I haven't been able to kiss any pretty women. Yet."

"Yet?"

"The night is young. And I happen to be sharing a hotel room with someone quite lovely."

They're leaning a bit too close together for the con. Nadine wants to kiss Chloe, leave the party and go for dinner- real dinner- and just enjoy each other's company. But that isn't how they should act here. Because here, they aren't lovers. They're acquaintances, employer and employee. So really, Nadine should pull away, act as though Chloe has been too forward. But it's more difficult than it should be.

"Found Palmer's." Elena's voice comes in at a hiss through the earbuds. "He's got eyes on you two."

It's almost an issue, with how they're acting, but suddenly Elena is taking the seat on the other side of Chloe. She leans in with them, Chloe being close between her and Nadine. "If he says something about it, play along," she whispers to them.

Palmers seems oddly calm, but at the same time, uncomfortable. Nadine can't help but think the word "homophobe".

"You ladies enjoying your evening?" he asks. He only just manages to avoid sneering, but Nadine can see him hold it back.

"Of course," Elena responds. She gives him a smile, pointedly making sure he knows he's not welcome at their table.

He looks as though he might say something else, but he moves on when Nadine's face darkens just a tad.

As soon as he's out of range, Chloe and Elena laugh a bit together.

"I don't like that man," Nadine mutters.

"You don't like any man, darling. We're aware." Chloe hums before she looks to Elena. "So what would your plan have been? If he'd brought it up?"

Elena waves a hand in the air. "Oh, just planned to make up something about my wife-" she grins at this. "And I inviting someone to join us."

"You three are killing me today," comes Nate's voice.

Chloe ignores him. "Why, Sunshine! A threesome? Now that's an idea."

Nate groans. "Could you just kill me now and get it over with?"

"Elena, darling, when's your birthday? Because I'm sure Nadine and I can think of something to give you," the treasure hunter purrs.

"Chloe!" Nate snaps. He's really not enjoying the party.

"Or, sunshine, you and Nadine could get me a present, for my birthday…"

Nate just lets out a groan of annoyance. Chloe almost feels bad for him, but she doesn't really.

"Are you still past that door?" Nadine asks, bored with his annoyance. It is, however, a distracting thought, what Elena has brought up. She'll ignore it for now, though.

"Yeah, but I'm not finding anything. Does he still have it on him?"

Nadine finds Palmer's in the crowd. There's the tell tale press of the journal under his jacket. "He's got it."

"Ah, crap." He avoids pointing out how Elena didn't have to kiss Nadine at all, if that's the case.

"Get back out here, cowboy." Chloe pushes herself up from the table. "I'll keep him in sight."

Elena slides into Chloe's vacated seat. "Looks like he's headed for the door."

Chloe looks up. "Shit. Nate, out here. Now."

"I've got a path to the car," he answers, soft. "If he actually leaves, you can meet me there."

"Good," Elena comments. "He just left."

Chloe swears again. "See you at the car, Nate."

Nadine's jaw tenses and she shifts in her seat. "I'm following in five minutes."

At first, there's no answer. Chloe is focused on getting to the car without drawing attention to herself. She's thinking on the pants she's stashed in the back seat of the car to pull on under her dress, trying to remember if she thought to grab shirt. "Should be fine, dearest. Why not wait twenty?"

"I'll give you ten."

"Fine. Deal."

"If you think I'm not going too," Elena starts.

The ex-mercenary frowns. "You don't have to. I'd rather you safe back at the hotel."

"You'd rather Chloe safe back at the hotel too, but that won't happen either." She's matching the frown. "I've survived plenty more than what had better be just following a man to rob him. And I'd rather make sure my husband is okay too." Her voice is hard. She's more stubborn than Nadine had known.

"Alright," Nadine relents. "But if things go sour, stay behind me."

"Things will be fine, goddamnit!" Chloe insists, as if her repeating it will make it true and the uneasiness in her gut isn't telling her something is about to go wrong.

"Nine minutes," Nadine warns.

"Ugh," is the only response she gets.

Only four more minutes have passed when Nadine and Elena make it to the car. Both have a change of clothes in the backseat- Nadine insisted. It's another way to prepare for any hiccups in the plan. Changing takes another two minutes.

Nadine takes out her phone and messes around for a moment before handing it to Elena. "Earbuds have trackers in them," she explains. "Give me directions as I go."

"Got it."

"I still have two minutes!" Chloe protests through the ear piece.

Nadine ignores it. She has a gut feeling that something is about to go very wrong with their plan.

"He's turning up there," comes Nate's voice. "At the docks."

A huff. "Well, let's go then!"

Preemptively, Nadine motions to where Elena is sitting. "Reach under your seat," she tells her, starting the car.

Elena pulls a gun out. "You think we'll need this?"

Nadine doesn't get a chance to respond. Instead, they hear Chloe swear. "Shit… well, hello, Palmers. Fancy meeting you here."

Nadine hits the gas. "What's going on?" Her voice is harsh.

"Surrounded," Nate whispers. "Guns."

The car isn't far off. Maybe two minutes tops.

"Handcuff them. Bring them inside." They hear it faintly. Palmers voice. He must be standing just close enough for one of the earbuds to pick him up.

It's almost a minute later that Nadine pulls into the lot. The other rental car is there.

Both women hop out.

"Let's go."

---

Chloe and Nate are inside a warehouse house, handcuffed. Four men with guns stand around them, not including Palmers.

Palmers is pacing back and forth, looking entirely too smug. The journal is missing from his pocket, by the looks.

"What's the hold up?" Chloe asks. "Too busy to deal with us now? I must say, you don't seem to understand how to treat business. Handcuffs and guns don't actually lead to a profitable venture in this sort of case."

"Hush," he orders. "All in due time. Right now, we're waiting on your friends."

"What do you-"

Palmers phone rings. "Looks like we won't have to wait long." He answers. "Do you have them? … Good."

He gives that stupid, smug look to Chloe and Nate again. "Kill the mercenary. But bring the blonde here."

---

Surrounded. Nadine hadn't heard a thing but now they were surrounded.

Seven men, all with guns. Two are aimed at Nadine, both very close. A third stand nearby, but his gun is aimed down. Two more meet are by Elena. One steps forward and cuffs her.

Nadine gets angry and tries to move towards her. "Don't you dare touch her."

One of the men on Nadine hits her with the butt of his gun. "Shut it."

It takes a moment for her head to clear. One it does, she realizes they're trying to cuff her too. She tenses her arms at her sides, making it impossible to bring her wrists close enough. The man struggles with it, until Nadine spits out "Not happening."

One of the other men, the tallest of the bunch, takes out his phone and makes a call.

"We've got them." A pause. "Got it." The man snaps his phone shut. Nadine briefly thinks on how Chloe would find it ridiculous- who has a flip phone nowadays? But she can't think on it long. Maybe she'll mention it to Chloe later.

He motions to the two behind Elena. "He wants her there."

"Touch her and I swear I'll kill you." Nadine's voice is dark and deep. No one who hears her doubts it.

The man with the flip phone, Palmer's second in command most likely, stares her down. "You're the one with a gun to your head."

"See, that's the thing about guns." She's returning his gaze, unflinching. "They have a specific range of efficacy. Most men? They make one mistake." Her eyes narrow just a bit. "They get too close."

A shot goes off as she catches one of the men holding a gun on her off guard. The bullet misses, ricocheting of the concrete of the dock. She rips the gun from his hand and tosses him into the other man there. The first goes down, the second stumbles back up with a wild swing. She dodges and sends him down with a quick jab to his back.

One of the men holding Elena comes after her next. He charges and she ducks down low. Catching him in the center of his mass on a shoulder, she flips him over her and he lands hard. He doesn't get back up.

One of the others does get back up. She dodges punches and delivers some herself.

Elena is struggling against her restraints. She manages to send an elbow into the gut of the remaining man holding her, but a blow to the side of her head sends her stumbling and she's easily recaptured.

Nadine sees the hit land and gets angry. She's bracing herself to run over there, end the pathetic man who'd done it, when she takes a hit to her stomach. It's the taller man with the dark hair, Palmer's second. She swears and is knocked off balance by another blow from the other side. She's fighting two at once, then three. Her vision is swimming but she keeps fighting.

Elena watches, but she can't do anything. She's unable to break free again despite her struggles. She watches as Nadine is backed to the edge of the dock. She watches as Nadine grapples over a gun with the dark haired man. She watches as the two go over the side of the dock. Hears a gunshot go off.

"Nadine!" She cries out. "No!"

Seconds pass. Elena waits, waits for Nadine to come back out of the water.

Only the dark haired man climbs back up. He spits over the side. "Now that that's done..." His eyes narrow as he looks at Elena. "We'll bring you to Palmers."

---

Chloe has to listen to it. The ear buds are still in so she has to listen to Nadine fighting. Typically, she'd be watching Nadine fight. Hell, she usually fights at her side more often than not. But now she has to listen and wait.

But then she hears the gunshot. She hears Elena cry out.

She jerks her whole body away from the man holding her cuffs, aiming for Palmers. "You son of a bitch!"

Chloe feels herself be grabbed and yanked back.

"Oh, calm down. She wasn't worth the money you were paying her."

He doesn't get it. He doesn't realize that it's not Nadine Ross the mercenary that he's just killed, but Nadine Ross, friend, lover, woman Chloe would give anything for. He still thinks she was hired for protection. That she was Chloe's subordinate.

Elena is brought in. She's got tears running down her face. Chloe makes eye contact with her, a desperate question in her eyes. Elena shakes her head and barely holds back a sob.

Chloe goes still. A sort of preternatural calm falls over her. She doesn't cry. She doesn't yell. She stands straight and stares Palmer's down. There's not a damn thing he can do to her that will be worse than this. Her list of goals dwindles down to two: get Nate and Elena out of here, and kill Palmers.

Palmers seems almost unsettled by the look he's getting. He plays it off, though, and twirls his fancy little gun in his hand.

"I can't believe you thought I didn't know. I mean, sure, it took some time, but finding out who Theodore and Alice really were? I just asked around for people who looked like you." He points to the ceiling and makes a circle with his finger. The three of them are thrown back to back, hands jostling each others. He starts to walk around them. Apparently even low class, sub par assholes monologue. "Thieves. You're nothing more than thieves."

Nate is frowning. Chloe has gone silent and he can only imagine what's going through her head. He turns his head, meeting Elena's gaze. He squeezes her hand. They'll get through this. There's been... well, maybe not worse, not with Nadine being... But they'll get through this.

Elena takes a deep breath. She feels Nate's reassurance, but she also feels what Chloe's doing. She realizes she needs to buy time.

"What was the point?" shes asks. "You could've saved yourself the trouble and done this at anytime since you were contacted."

Palmers scoffs. "It takes time to get people together for this sort of thing. I wouldn't expect you to understand- you're the only one I couldn't find information on, so I doubt you're a big player in this. I only had them bring you in because of your pretty face." He uses the muzzle of his gun to caress the side of her face. "Watching you play the part of some dyke's wife was ridiculous."

She squeezes Nate's hand, begging him not to do anything. Chloe needs time. But she does spit at Palmers. "Don't you talk about her like that."

He scowls, but it turns smug. "What? Should I not speak ill of the dead?"

Elena is almost surprised that Chloe hasn't said anything. It's almost as if she doesn't care anymore, but she must, because the handcuffs on Elena's wrists have just unlocked. Elena holds onto them, letting Chloe move on to Nate without being noticed.

Palmers walks at an almost leisurely pace over to Nate. "And you. The great Nathan Drake. Sad to think the man who discovered Shambala will end here. And your body will be dumped into the river... And you'll fade into oblivion."

Nate's heard these sort of things a hundred times from a hundred different men. But he starts. Chloe is messing with his cuffs. Oh. He gets it now.

He rolls his eyes. "I've heard it all before, Palmers. Doesn't matter if I die today or in a year, I've still done more in a week than you've done in your entire life." He continues on before the man can speak again. "What, by the way, was the point of asking us to con them? To sell them a false journal? Because honestly? I don't see a point."

Palmers sneers. "You wouldn't. But if you must know, I was uncertain if this one here," he gestures to Elena. "And the mercenary might actually be buyers. I had to be certain. Thieves like you two would've seen no problem in betraying them. Unless they were in on it."

Nate rolls his eyes. He feels his handcuffs loosen. "You're bad at this. I'm not gonna lie, I've seen a lot of men try their hand at this sort of thing, but you are by far the worst."

"Oh? What do you think I've done wrong? Because as I see it, I've got the three of you in handcuffs, minutes from being shot to death."

Nate's eyes narrow and he gains a bit of an unhappy smirk. "Well, first off, you dragged the whole thing out. Wasted time and money with that. Theatrics have a time and place. Secondly? You insulted my wife- yeah, that's right, Elena? The beautiful blonde here? I'm married to her. And lastly?" He trails off.

Palmers is scowling again. "What? What's this last thing you think I've done wrong?"

Nate raises his eyebrows. "You made her-" He tilts his head towards Chloe. "Angry."

All three cuffs fall to the floor. Palmers is caught off guard by a hard right hook from Chloe. His gun falls as he stumbles back. She scoops it up and stares him down for just long enough for him to run.

Chloe chases after him.

Nate calls out to her as she disappears down a darkened hallway, but she doesn't come back.

It leaves Nate and Elena to handle the others on their own. Elena uses the distraction to throw a punch of her own. She catches the closest mercenary on the jaw and uses his loss of balance to rip the gun from his hands. Now armed, she finishes him off and dodges behind some crates.

Nate joins her half a second later. He's got a pistol clutched in one hand and a clip in the other.

"We have to get to Chloe," he says.

"Well, duh," she manages to respond. She pops up from behind the crate and lets off a few shots. She catches a man in the arm, and then the torso. "But we need to take care of these guys first."

He nods and aims around the corner. His shots finish off Elena's target.

Elena takes a deep breath and fires again. The remaining mercenaries have started firing back. A few bullets pass close but none hit. She wants to make a comment, something like "I knew this wouldn't be quiet", but she doesn't have to heart to. She can still see Nadine going over the edge of the dock in her mind's eye. She's angry and knows the man who'd tossed Nadine in, who'd been the only one to climb up after, is one of the ones firing at them.

"Do you see a taller guy out there?" she asks Nate. "Dark hair? Black jacket?"

"Yeah?"

"He's the one who…" She trails off, but he understands.

"Okay."

They trade shots with the men attacking. Some fire is focused at the dark haired man, but no shots land. They do manage to pick off most of the others before their ammo runs dry.

Elena peeks out of cover before ducking down again. "What next?"

Nate takes a deep breath. "Wait here." Before she can answer, he dodges around to another set of crates. Steadily, he makes his way to the remaining men shooting at them. One is the dark haired man, the other two are of no importance. Nate takes the first off guard and snaps his neck. He trades punches with the second before the dark haired man catches on and turns the gun towards him. Elena is out of cover then and throws her- empty- gun at the man, catching him on the side of the head. It's enough for Nate to finish off the man he's fighting with and stand.

Nate faces the dark haired man.

The man raises an eyebrow. He can tell this is something a little more than he expected.

"Someone killed Nadine Ross," Nate speaks. "Wasn't you, was it?"

There's a gunshot and scream down the hallway.

The man raises an eyebrow and seems to smirk. He thinks it's Chloe being shot down there, but Nate and Elena know their friend's voice. Chloe isn't the one losing the battle.

"I've got a gun," he states. A warning or a threat, maybe, but it won't matter.

Nate nods. "That's what makes this fair." He charges shoulder first into the man, knocking the breath out of him. The fight is over before it starts. The two hit the ground hard, but the dark haired man doesn't recover fast enough. His gun is tossed uselessly to the side as they hit.

Nate is breathless when it's over, and Elena helps him up. They stay silent, but pull each other into a hug. It feels bittersweet. They have each other, but they know exactly what's been taken from their friend. They both start to turn towards the hall, to go find Chloe, but the door opens.

Four more mercenaries make their way in.

Each has a gun and take aim at the pair. The one at the front stares them down.

Elena and Nate glance at each other and smile.

The man doesn't like that. "What's so funny?" he barks.

A pipe comes down hard on the back of his head.

---

The scream rings in Chloe's ears. She doesn't care. A bit of blood splatters onto her face.

She's got one knee on Palmer's gut, the other pinning his uninjured arm. She's put his other out of action with a bullet through his palm and another through his elbow. One of his kneecaps is a bloody mess. A lucky shot, really, the one that made him drop to the ground initially.

She'd followed him deeper into the warehouse to where they were now, a room near the back. There's an exit not far off, but he hadn't been fast enough.

One of her hands is at his throat. The other is holding the gun, his gun, to his shoulder.

"Guess what, asshole," she hisses. "There is one thing you need to know before I kill you."

His eyes are filled with fear and he can't take a big enough breath to actually respond.

"Nate already told you; you made a lot of mistakes in how you handled this, but there's one very important one that's led you here." She's tempted to bash his head against the concrete, but she wants him lucid for what she's going to tell him.

When she doesn't say it immediately, he manages to rasp out "what?"

Chloe is scowling. It's a hardened look, with no mercy, no intent to let him free. "You killed her. Ordered her dead." She digs the muzzle of the gun into his shoulder. "Do you even realize how out of date your information is? Nadine Ross is-" she stumbles past the word and has to correct herself. "Was no mercenary. She's hasn't been for a long while." The look in his eyes tells her he's not making any of the connections he should. "She, dumbass, was a treasure hunter. A damned good one. She was my partner. And most importantly..." She cocks the gun, making a satisfying click. "She was the woman I loved."

He seems to panic. "Pl, please..."

The gunshot is deafening. He screams again. His whimpers are silenced by her hand on his throat, cutting off airflow.

"Here's the thing, Palmers." She releases her hold there and almost casually reloads her gun. "I've lost everything. But you? You have your other arm."

But she doesn't go for his opposite arm. She brings the gun to his throat and fires.

---

The three remaining men are taken down fast. As soon as they've hit the ground, Nate, Elena, and Nadine exchange looks.

"You're alive," the blonde manages. She's looking more than relieved.

Nadine takes a deep breath and nods. "Ja." She glances between them. The light-hearted, happy Nadine, the one Elena got to spend time with at the party, is gone. In her place is the Nadine that Nate is most familiar with: angry, cold, and prepared for anything. "Where's Chloe?"

Nate gestures to the hall. "She ran after Palmers. I think sh-"

He cuts off as a fresh batch of angry men with guns enter. The three are forced to dodge behind more cover to avoid being shot.

"Can you two handle this?" Nadine calls over gunfire.

"Go get your girl!" Elena yells back.

Nadine doesn't need anymore confirmation than that; she sprints down the hall and around the corner.

She has to go room by room, not wanting to risk calling out to Chloe if there are more dangers back here. It's the second to last door where she finds a grisly sight.

Palmers is on his back. There's a pool of blood beneath him and one arm looks ripped to shreds. The other has got a hand to his own throat, as though he tried to stop the bleeding. He hasn't been dead long.

After the initial inspection, she ignores his body. Instead, she follows the couple drops of blood that lead away from him and towards the door. There's a gun on the ground. It's got a spatter of blood up it from the muzzle. She guesses it was the weapon to kill Palmers.

Ahead of her, she finds a door with some blood smeared on its center, as well as on the handle. As though someone had pushed through it. Recently, judging by the freshness of it.

Nadine follows. It's Chloe, it's got to be.

The door leads outside. She finds herself on the opposite side of the warehouse from the entrance. It's mostly an empty parking lot. Around the edge is a bit of grass and a few trees.

She finds Chloe sitting with her back against a particularly large tree. Her eyes are closed, her legs out in front of her with knees bent. She's got her wrists resting on top of her knees. Blood is splattered on her clothes and on her face. It's on her hands and there's a few specks of it up her arms.

Nadine doesn't speak. She kneels by the woman, pulls a handkerchief from her pocket, and leans forward to wipe some of the blood from Chloe's face. Chloe doesn't react. Doesn't even start at an unexpected touch.

After a few long moments, once all the blood is off her face, Nadine speaks. "Chloe…"

Chloe's eyes shoot open. "You… You're alive?" Nadine isn't who she'd been expecting. Elena would have been her first guess, followed by Nate. She'd thought Nadine was gone.

Nadine nods. "Ja. Didn't think I'd be taken down that easily, did you?"

Chloe sobs. She pushes herself into Nadine's arms and clings to her. "Don't you dare do that again! I, I don't think I can-" she breaks back into sobs.

Nadine pulls her close and holds her through it. She murmurs what comfort she can. It's not much, but she does her best to reassure her girlfriend.

Some time passes before she calms enough to speak. She pulls away from Nadine and sits back against the tree. She focuses on steadying her breathing as Nadine moves to sit close beside her.

"I don't know if I could stand that again," Chloe admits.

Nadine stays silent and lets her girlfriend speak.

"God, Nadine, I love you. I'm horrendously bad at saying it but I do." She turns her head and nestles closer. "I thought you were gone. That I'd have to hunt down your body and bury you." She tugs Nadine closer, practically sitting in her lap. "Ugh, that I'd have to tell your father. And I can't, I don't want to have to."

There's a few seconds if silence between them. It's filled with nearby birds chattering and the flow of the river nearby. Chloe uses it to collect her thoughts and actually formulate a way to express them. This sort of thing is new to her, but she's faced all sorts of new things with Nadine by her side.

"You know," she mumbles. Her hand has found one of Nadine's and is keeping it close. "I had a talk with Nate. Earlier this week. Told him how… we were talking about you and Elena, if I'm honest. But he was concerned because he didn't want Elena to leave him for- well, for someone like you. But I… I told him it wouldn't happen, but I also… I told him it'd hurt but he could move past it. I used us as an example." She squeezes her eyes shut. "That I love you. Dearly. But if you left me, I know- knew I could get over it, no matter how much it hurt. But…" She swears. "When I thought you were dead, I… It was worse. Because that wasn't you making a choice to leave me- if you made that choice, at least I know you're out there yeah? But this… it was you leaving, but not willfully. And I… maybe I could move on. Heal. But… I didn't want to. Don't want to. I just… I just want you."

Nadine kisses her, soft and gentle. "Chloe, the only way I'm leaving you is if I'm taken by force."

Chloe sits up more and turns towards her. "But that's just it! If you left by choice, at least I could know you were alive. If you're taken from me, how… then it's hopeless. You leaving me by choice is the only way I could handle it."

Nadine shifts. She turns to Chloe and takes her hands. "Are you… Are you saying you want me to leave?" She's dreading the response. Her favourite place is the one she's found here, beside Chloe. But if Chloe asks her to… she'd leave. There's no doubt. She'd hate it, but she'd never hate Chloe for it.

Chloe's eyes snap up to meet Nadine's. She's still crying. "You…" She takes a deep breath. "You'd leave? If I asked?"

Nadine's heart is in her throat. This isn't what she wants. But she nods. "Yes."

Chloe is practically shaking. She looks down, away from the beautiful brown of her lover's eyes. "Would… would you forget me?"

Nadine gulps. Tears are pricking the corners of her eyes. This is it, it seems. She's going to be asked to leave. She offers the truth. It's what Chloe deserves. "I wouldn't remember anything else."

Chloe feels like she's going to throw up. Part of her, the part that's interested in self preservation, in avoiding emotional damage, is screaming at her to take this chance. Tell Nadine to go. It'll be better for her in the long run. No more worrying about losing her. No more worrying about losing herself.

But that's just it, Chloe has to remind herself. How she was before was lost. No attachments, no commitments, and far less chance of being hurt. Well, of being hurt emotionally.

It's been a long time since she's listened to that part of her. It's shrunk down, turned to practically nothing.

Chloe realizes that she's better off without it.

"No," Chloe mumbles. "No, I don't want you to leave. I don't think I ever want you to leave."

Nadine pulls her into a hug and holds her tight. "I have no intention of leaving."

Laughter bubbles up Chloe. Being here, in Nadine's arms, she feels better. They're cemented together, and Chloe is laughing. Nadine joins in and they pull apart just enough to share a few chaste kisses.

"You smell like river water," Chloe says with a chuckle before returning to the embrace.

"Happens. Especially when I get thrown into a river."

"No more of that." Chloe takes a deep breath. And then something occurs to her. She pulls away again. "Where are Elena and Nate?"

Nadine frowns. "They said they could handle it."

"They probably can, but we should probably find them."

"Ja."

They find Nate and Elena out front of the warehouse. Elena has got the journal clutched in her hand. Nate has his arms crossed and is looking thoroughly worried. He perks up when he sees them.

"You're okay!"

Chloe takes in a slow breath and nods. "Yeah." She looks to Elena. "You found the journal?"

"Yup. He left it out in the room he took us to. And, well… I didn't grab anything, but I'm sure you'd like to know this place is full of artifacts. Not that I approve of theft but, after what he did? Palmers deserves to come back to an empty storage shed."

Chloe avoids eye contact long enough to say "Actually, he won't come back to it. He's dead. I killed him."

Elena seems to understand. "Okay. Then he doesn't need anything in here, does he?"

Finally, the treasure hunter smiles. "We'll probably pick out a few things. And send twenty percent your way, of course."

"Of course."

---

The next day, Nadine finds herself laying in bed. It's two in the afternoon, and neither she, nor Chloe have gotten out of it yet. Chloe is nestled at her side, asleep. She'd been awake, maybe an hour ago.

After picking out some of Palmer's now ownerless artifacts- all small things that won't be missed, but a bumper to their payday, for sure- the four had headed back to the hotel. Getting back to the hotel room, Nadine had gone for the shower, and Chloe, being Chloe, had snuck in too. But it was different from her standard "share a shower, have shower sex". Instead, she had just had Nadine hold her under the hot water.

Nadine had done her best to make sure Chloe could forget the day for at least a little while. They hadn't fallen asleep until very early in the morning. Chloe had woken her up to return the favour.

And now, Nadine was lazing in bed with her girlfriend. Soft music was playing. One hand was tangled in Chloe's hair, the other scrolling through her phone. Nadine was singing softly to the music; she wasn't a great singer, but the music made her feel good.

"Oh, oh it's so down, but baby, its sound makes your worries cease to pound..."

Nadine can't stop thinking about the discussion they'd had the previous evening. "I don't think I ever want you to leave," Chloe'd said. It's beautiful, hopeful, and absolutely terrifying in the best way. Nadine isn't quite sure how to express her feelings for Chloe, her love for Chloe, but she has some ideas. An idea. One she's considered before. It's risky. She's got a hundred reasons not to follow through with it. But she's got three reasons to go for it. First, she loves Chloe. Second, Chloe loves her. And thirdly, that line: I don't think I ever want you to leave.

Chloe has taught her to take risks. Now she has to act on it.

"And oh, maybe it's alright, cause baby it fights for some time just to be hel-" she cuts off as she feels Chloe stir in her arms.

Chloe lets out a soft hum. "Mm, why'd you stop?" She nuzzles against the ex-mercenary, cheek resting in the area of her collarbone.

"Didn't want to wake you," Nadine murmurs.

"I like when you sing. Means you're happy." Chloe presses a kiss to Nadine's neck. "And... I was certainly awake for at least the last song and a half."

Rather than be embarrassed, Nadine just chuckles. "Why'd you move then?"

Chloe pushes herself up. "Honestly? Really have to use the bathroom." She gets up and heads for it.

Nadine sits up and takes the opportunity to stretch. By the time Chloe returns, Nadine is dressed, albeit barely. She's also started a kettle.

"Plans for today?" Chloe asks as she pulls on clothes.

A shrug. "We'll have to pack up. Could try to find local buyers for the loot, but it would be better to hold onto it for a bit. Ensure it can't be traced back to us."

"That's it?"

There's a knock on the door.

"Unless our friends a few doors down have any other plans."

Chloe pauses, eyebrow raised. "Did you just refer to Nate as your friend?"

"I said our. Answer the door, liefie."

The treasure hunter chuckles, but does as she's asked. Nate's outside.

"Well, hi there, cowboy. What's up?"

"Elena's in the shower and I've only got two hands. Wanna help me go get some coffee?" It sounds a little forced. Something is on his mind.

Chloe raises an eyebrow and is about to ask what's up when Nadine speaks first. "Go ahead."

Rather than ask what's up, Chloe just purses her lips and nods. "Chai, darling?"

"Ja."

"Alright. Back soon."

Chloe heads out the door, following Nate.

Now alone in the hotel room, Nadine takes a deep breath. Elena should be over in a moment.

Sure enough, another knock. Nadine is there and ready to open it.

"So, any reason you needed Nate to distract Chloe?" is the first thing out of the blonde's mouth.

"Need your help. There's a shop in the city-" She sighs. "Easier to explain when we get there."

Elena raises an eyebrow. "You… need me to help buy her something?"

Nadine nods and grabs for her wallet. "Ja. You know her too. Just need a second opinion." She moves past Elena and into the hotel hallway, "C'mon. We don't have long."

Elena follows. "You know, I think she's rubbed off on you. Stringing along friends without telling them what's going on?"

A shrug. "Feels like if I say it, I won't go through with it."

With an enigmatic look, Elena nods. She's got some clue as to what Nadine is on about, but she won't say it either.

They talk as Nadine drives them towards the destination.

"How'd you convince Nate to distract Chloe?"

"He's checking on her, making sure she's okay. And I'm checking on you," comes the answer. "After yesterday, are you… doing okay?"

Nadine chews on the question for a moment. It's a loaded one. Yesterday. All of it, the fight, seeing Chloe crying… was horrible. Everything from leaving the party to finding Chloe behind the warehouse had been a bad time. But everything after… it was getting better. She was certain it always would.

"I am, actually." She taps her thumb on the steering wheel. "Been through worse, physically. Emotionally, well… I'm not happy with what happened. But I've got Chloe. And I've got a plan."

Elena's smile is ear to ear. "That's absolutely adorable."

Nadine flushes pink. "She's important to me."

"A good adorable!"

The ex-mercenary takes a deep breath and parks the car. "Come on. It's nearby."

"And then I get to know what this is about?" Elena is sure she already knows. Certain, actually.

"Ja," is the only response she gets.

Nadine doesn't talk as she leads the way to the shop.

Looking in the window of the little place, Elena grins. She knows exactly what Nadine is buying for Chloe.

---

Chloe and Nate start their walk towards the coffee place. Nate is suspiciously quiet until they get out of the hotel and he sighs. "How are you?" he asks.

She's amused by it, more than anything. "Nate, we've been hanging out for like a week. And now you say a greeting?"

"Ugh, not like… Chloe, are you okay? After what happened yesterday? It was… shit, really bad for a bit. And…" he trails off. He'd seen Palmer's body, when they were getting some of the artifacts out of the warehouse. Chloe certainly hadn't been in a good place then. "Elena and I, we want to make sure you're okay."

Chloe bites her tongue. Sometimes it's strange, remembering she has firm friends, ones that care about her.

"I wasn't, but… Now? I think I'm good. Nadine and I talked a few things out. And talked a few things out…" She chuckles a bit.

"Yes, yes. You had sex. I'm really more interested in your emotional well being."

Chloe pauses, looking into a shop window. Nate follows suit. "Do you remember when we talked after your whole issue in Yemen? When you finally stopped being an idiot and made up with Elena?"

Nate sighs again. "Yup."

"You went on and on about how you were done. How you didn't want anything else than to be with Elena. No more risking your life."

"I remember that, yeah."

"At the time…" She stares long and hard into the store they're in front of. Jewelry, by the looks of it. She turns and they keep walking. "I didn't get it. Didn't sound like my thing at all. I told you as much."

Nate tilts his head. He remembers what she's talking about. He's all too familiar with the casual way Chloe had gone through most relationships. He's lucky that she'd dubbed him important enough to chase. He's pretty sure he's been one of the only ones, along with Nadine.

"And?" he asks.

"I might get it. Now. It's been… years, but I think I get it." She takes a deep breath. "God, I love her so much, Nate. I… Anything, Nate, I'd do anything for her."

"I see that," he admits.

She grins. "I love her," she repeats. "I do. I can't see myself without her at this point." She whirls to the side, pointing at him, halting their progress again. "And this is just between us, alright? I mean- yeah, I've talked to Nadine, and I don't expect you to not tell Elena, but no one else. No Sam, No Sully."

"Alright, alright. I get it. No one else."

They keep walking, just about at the coffee shop.

"So… does that mean you don't wanna risk your life anymore?"

Chloe has to think about that for a moment. They're in the coffee shop now, in line. "No. I'd happily risk my own life," she admits. "But I don't want to risk hers. You know?"

Nate nods. "Yeah. I do."

They reach the counter and place their orders. They move to the side to wait. "I just… I'm done with the guns and, and… I just need to make sure I have Nadine. We'll finish up this job. Hopefully, get the money. But after, nothing but low risk. I can't… Can't do it again."

Nate whistles low. "The infamous Chloe Frazer, looking to settle down?"

Chloe hesitates in response. She honestly hadn't thought of that. "I mean… I don't know. I just want to be with her."

"That could qualify along the lines of settling down."

Chloe swears, then apologizes to the barista behind the counter who's just called their order. She takes the drinks and gives a thank you.

They head out the door, back towards the hotel.

"Yeah, mate, I suppose you're right. It does."

"Gonna do anything about it?"

She hums, thoughts on the jewelry store they had passed. "I… don't know. Maybe."

"Well, let me know. You know I'll help you if you need it."

She smiles. "Yeah. I know."

---

The next day, Chloe and Nadine see Elena and Nate off. Their flight is around midday. Elena gives both women a brief hug- Chloe, she gives a kiss on the cheek. Chloe declares this fine, for the moment. While Nate gives Chloe a hug as well, he and Nadine shake hands. They seem… oddly okay with each other now.

With the pair on their flight, Nadine and Chloe head back into the city, in the vague direction of their hotel.

Nadine gestures to a spot nearby. "Let's stop."

Chloe raises an eyebrow. "Any reason why?"

Her partner grins. "Ice cream!"

They order cones from a little shop and find a place to sit.

"So," Nadine starts. "You, me, a four by four…"

Chloe leans onto her hand, elbow on the table. "You know just how to sweet talk me."

"When we get back to the flat, we'll start planning, ja? I think we'll have to wait a month for the best weather in the area we'll stay. I've got-"

Nadine gets cut off. "Shh, darling, no work right now."

A smirk. "Enough, huh? Wait til home?"

Hearing Nadine refer to the flat, their flat, as home sends a pleasurable little chill down Chloe's back. Home is with this woman.

They chat a bit, light talk, as they finish their ice cream. Things are quiet. Calm. They both feel good. It's a few minutes of something entirely domestic, and they both realize that it's not necessarily a bad thing.

On their way back to the car, Nadine tugs Chloe down a side path. "Let's take a walk." The path leads to a small park.

"Hm. More nature before we head into the jungles of South America?"

She shrugs. "It's quiet here. Civilized nature," she jokes lightly. "Besides. You said no talking about work."

Nadine feels calm, with Chloe's hand in hers. There's just a prickling of nerves in the back of her mind. But they're easily overcome. She's confident that she'll end up with the answer she's hoping for.

The park is quiet. There's few people around and the sun is coming through the leaves of the trees, dappling the ground.

It's good. Maybe not what she'd want exactly, but Nadine doesn't think she can hold off asking. That's what Chloe does to her, makes her impulsive and impatient. And it's not always a good thing but she doesn't care. She loves Chloe.

They come to a stop as they near the edge of the park. The river runs past, almost lazily. They're well upriver of the warehouse but Chloe still frowns at the reminder. The two lean on the railing overlooking the water.

"Crazy week," Nadine murmurs.

Chloe lets out a soft chuckle. "That's an understatement if I've ever heard one."

The ex-mercenary thinks about it for a moment. "Ja," she answers simply.

"Met up with some old friends, you got married to one- albeit temporarily. Went to a fancy gala. Got shot at a bunch... A typical job, at this point." She leans into Nadine's side.

"Marrying Elena was worth it if only for how Nate responded."

"Oh? Not for that little make out session you two had? Because I'm still a bit envious that I haven't gotten to kiss Elena myself. A real kiss, not that peck on the cheek nonsense."

A shrug. "It was nice, but I think I still prefer kissing you."

Chloe bites her lip before leaning in to do just that. It's brief, but promising.

"Being "married" to Elena was good, but..." Nadine takes a deep breath. Her free hand is rummaging around in her pocket. "Remember what you said earlier this week? That your turn was next?" She pulls her hand out of her pocket and holds out the ring. "It's your turn. If you'll take it."

The ring is rose gold, a standard band until it turns into a small elephant that's holding a ruby with its trunk. Nadine had barely needed Elena's opinion. She knows Chloe likes elephants and she knows Chloe likes rubies.

Chloe laughs. She laughs.

Nadine's face falls. That nervousness, that anxiety that was barely there, comes raging up. This was a bad idea.

Chloe notices the change and strives to save it. "I'm not laughing at the proposal, darling! I just- it's funny, the coincidence." She reaches into her own pocket and pulls out a ring box. "I... okay, I bought this on an impulse, actually, but I thought I'd ask you. After what we've talked about recently..." She trails off. "Actually, Nate gave me the idea to ask."

A smile breaks out across Nadine's lips. "So you'll marry me?"

Chloe laughs again. "Ask the right way. C'mon. You beat me to it, so I'll need to see you on one knee before I answer."

Happily, Nadine goes down on one knee and offers up the ring. "Will you marry me?"

Chloe can't keep the smile off her face. "Only..." She takes a knee in front of Nadine, putting them back on the same level. She offers the ring box out, opening it to reveal the engagement ring. "If you'll marry me."

The ring Chloe picked is simple. It's white gold- rhodium plated, the woman who'd sold it had said. Nadine isn't big on gaudy. She doesn't need a dozen tiny diamonds. Instead, the ring is shaped into that of an infinity knot. In the spaces the knot leaves, two small bits of tanzanite gleam.

Nadine pulls Chloe's left hand closer and slips the ring on. Rather than do the same, Chloe kisses Nadine, their hands sandwiched between them. It's as she kisses that she manages to get the ring out of its box. It takes some effort, but she manages to get the ring on Nadine without parting their lips.

They break apart laughing.

Nadine cups the side of Chloe's face. "I love you."

Chloe kisses her again. "I love you too, my darling fiancée." She laughs again. "God, we're engaged. Feels strange."

"Feels good."

"Feels good!" Chloe answers back. Kisses her again.

They're kneeled in a public park, hands clenched together, new rings shining bright.

"When'd you buy yours?" Nadine asks as she stands and pulls her partner, her fiancée, up.

Chloe uses the momentum to get closer to Nadine. "When Nate and I went for coffee yesterday. It was… like I said, it was an impulse. A totally amazing one, but I hadn't even thought of proposing before it."

"I asked Elena to have Nate distract you. Went to a jeweler on the edge of the city," Nadine admits. "We were buying the rings at the same time."

Chloe's grin is ear to ear. "Had you?"

"Had I what?"

"Considered proposing before?"

Nadine gulps. It's followed by a shrug. "Maybe once or twice."

"Recently?"

Nadine is a bit red. "Uh. Ja. First time was- Last job."

"I would've said yes then too, I think."

One more kiss. "I'm just glad you said yes now."