AN: Musa and I were talking about my original heist story, and this came from it.

A gif set on tumblt also inspired this.

Disclaimer: Because I'm not Dean Devlin, I can't say 'let's go steal a trademark'.

Title: when we seek friendship

Word Count: 427

Summary: Maybe the real con were the friends we made along the way. And the penguin.


"Parker, stop playing with the penguin!" Nate ordered. He tilted his hat low enough to cover his eyes, letting the security guard pass him without comment.

Her merry laugh bounced around the connection. "But it's so cute! Aren't you the cutest, Mister Waddles?"

Nate groaned into his cupped hands.

"Y'know, we could benefit with having a team pet," Hardison was saying, followed by the sound of him chewing loudly on his second bag of chips. "Think of it as a way to strength community bondin'."

"No," Nate interrupted. He stared at one of the walls that were covered in posters about upcoming events at the science museum. "Remember the fern that was going to be the 'Team Plant''?"

Silence. Blessed silence.

"Guys, we have a small window and we're in open daylight. Let's make this grab a quick one. Sophie?"

He could smell her perfume first. The faint scent of gardenias with the tell-tale click of her heels hitting the floor. As Eliot would say, she was very distinctive.

After all, Sophie Devereaux was a very distinctive grifter to Nate.

"Oh, Nate," she said, her accent rounding her consonants and softening her speech to something low and husky. Sophie stood behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I think we could all do well with a pet," she said in his ear.

"A pet?" It was Eliot. "Hell, no!" The rest of his argument was distracted as Nate heard him knocking out another guard on the rooftop. "Hardison, you're enough of a slob, and I'll be the one taking care of it. Do you hear me, Parker? No pets!"

"Do you hear me, Parker?" she mimicked. She switched to her usual voice. "We should let Mister Waddles have a say."

"Babe, Mister Waddles needs to go back to the research institute that he was stolen from," Hardison reminded her.

Sophie laughed silently into Nate's neck.

He smiled, albeit grudgingly.

A new group of bumbling security guards entered the lobby. They looked around; bewildered and bruised, obviously trying to figure out why their video feed wasn't matching anything in the museum.

Nate automatically looped arms with Sophie. They started a casual walk, appearing like a normal couple to anyone else that was about to leave. "Continue on with the plan, we have a penguin to still steal."


What we're doing, first and foremost, when we seek friendship or give it is to cry: "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" That cry is certainly the best thing in us, so we may as well keep the rest dark as long as possible.