Everything they did, they did for Nate.
"I used to steal."
Oh sure, they used their…talents to help other people, but it was technically a job, and it was usually a job Nate picked out.
"I used to hit."
He led them. Directed them in certain directions, like tools that were made to be used by him and only him; he got them through the messes they ended up in that way.
"I used to hack."
And he cared for them, in his own way. Their needs were twisted in the first place, and he had warped his care to fit that perfectly, whether it be a strong hand on the shoulder, or a shrug in sight of letting one dive head first off a building.
"I used to con."
He never left any of them behind, either. And if he did, it wasn't by choice and he always came back. Maybe that one thing was what endeared him to them.
"For myself."
They ended up more than friends, almost more than family.
"You took the world's best criminals and broke us."
They had a connection that was strong, though not necessarily thick. It couldn't be thick because they were thieves and sometimes they had to scatter. But they came back. For him.
"Now we do it…"
Nate grinned at his team and clapped his hands together almost mockingly. His eyes were bright though, and his whiskey glass was filled with milk instead. "You guys ready?"
"For him."
"Let's do this."
..
An: So yeah... had writer's block for SwI, and watched the season final for Leverage last night (which teared me up, because Nate + bullets usually = bad things. And maybe a mad Elliot [winkwink nudgenudge]) and then I watched the Season 3 promo, because its all over TV, and interrupting my LaO:SVU time... but still. So... yeah. Bad or just pointless?