The secret lair, as Sophie called it, has come to be everyone's favorite place to be in New Orleans. This is true for no one more than Sophie herself. Though she may not be ready to say it, Parker, Hardison, and Eliot saved her by bringing her here. They gave her life again. It had been like all of her life left when Nate ascended from this world, and she had been floating through time dead in every way that matters. Except suffering, for that she was very much alive.
On the anniversary of Nate's death, they had insisted on going to the gravesite, and then they insisted on staying in her house, and then they insisted on stealing something. No matter what, they always pushed. They got what they wanted, and they wanted her to be happy.
On that day, walking into the museum, Sophie was browsing the options as they pushed her to be happy by pushing her to steal. She was standing there eavesdropping, falling into old habits when she first heard his voice and saw his face. She judged him in that moment alone. He was trying to be something he wasn't in order to hide his plan and to gain redemption, and she saw right through him. It was the easiest thing in the world, and it was the greatest thrill.
Ever since, the thrills have not ceased. Most of them associated with that guilty man in a suit that was originally no good at stealing, but he is improving. He is improving his skill at stealing while improving her life, and he doesn't even realize it yet.
She doesn't know how to deal with this, honestly. This feeling in her chest is unusual, but not entirely unknown. She felt some of it with Nate before, but this is different. The pain mixed in with the pleasure makes the taste of this feeling more spirited, more strong, more vibrant that it nearly makes her feel guilty. In fact, it does make her feel guilty, but only when she is lost in her memories all alone.
That is why she loves this lair so much. Here, she is never alone. Here, she is surrounded. Here, she is happy. Never guilty. She's sitting at the bar, looking at the team. Breanna and Parker are playing a card game, which has become a standard night for them. Eliot is sitting there in judgement, but not really. He is loving it, just like everyone else.
Sophie is sitting at the bar nearby with an effortless smile from observing them. In the year after Nate died, she can't remember smiling effortlessly even once. Now, it is often just her natural appearance.
From behind the bar, she hears him clear his throat, and she turns back to face Mr. Wilson with the smile still easily and widely displayed on her face. He meets her eyes, and the strength of the feeling between them is startling to them both. For Harry, his eyes turn to the whiskey glass that he pours first for her. For Sophie, her eyes remain still on his face. The emotion is felt in the tension between them, which only grows when he says, "You seem happy."
She smiles impossibly wider, only a hint of moisture making her eyes glassy as she responds, "Why, yes, I am happy." With that, the tension melts into something else. A soft comfort, perhaps.
He smiles, finally meeting her eyes again. He pours his own glass and moves over to stool beside her at the bar. In that time, her eyes return to the team—her family—and the smile grows. When he sits, she glances up at him, meeting the look of joy in his face with that of her own. "I'm very glad to hear that," he says quietly.
They fall silent for a moment, taking sips of their drinks as the younger team members roar with laughter. They calm down, and Sophie looks back to Harry, saying in soft voice, "And you, Our Mr. Wilson?"
His eyes glow with the possibility of tears. "Happy… I'm happy too," he says quickly, drinking to replace the threat of emotion bubbling in his throat. Sophie searches for his eyes, and when he meets them, he says, "I can't say how grateful I am to be on your team."
Parker and Breanna call Sophie over at that moment, saying it's her time to play. With a wave sent to them in agreement, Sophie stands between the barstool that she had been sitting in and the one that Harry is in now. She places a gentle, warm hand on his chest and says, "The team is ours… all of ours. You are a part of this team now too." She moves to take a step forward, but she thinks better of it. She touches his arm and leans toward his ear, whispering, "Little secret, Our Mr. Wilson?" The question is rhetorical which is lucky for Harry because he is barely able to croak out a grumble of agreement. "You being here makes us happy too."
She pulls back and smiles brightly to find his face stunned. She can read him so easily once again, and she likes what she sees. She moves over to the table, swaying gracefully in her walk. Harry clears his throat once again just in time to not be caught totally off guard when Breanna says excitedly, "Come on, Harry, you're playing against Sophie this round!"
"Oh, I don't know—" he tries to argue, but the attempt is a fool's errand, especially when Sophie looks up at him with those soft eyes and a beautiful grin.
"What, Our Mr. Wilson? Are you too scared?" she teases.
He walks to the table then, accepting the challenge. "Nope, I'm happy to win this game against you."
"You will be happy to lose this game against me," she says, holding his eyes while the meaning only known between the two hovers in their words. Before he can argue, she says, "It's the power of the grifter."
Breanna deals out the cards between the two of them. "We'll see what happens," he says, looking between the cards and Sophie.
"We will see, Our Mr. Wilson. We will see," she responds softly, and the game begins.
That night, Sophie was the happiest she has been so far, and suffice it to say, Harry could not take his eyes off of Sophie for the whole game. With every laugh and every flash of a smile, he was utterly distracted. It wasn't the power of the grifter though. It was the power of Sophie. The effect of her happiness on him.
This secret lair belongs to the team, all of them. Together there, they are home and oh so very happy. Sophie is the happiest overall, but Harry is the next best. Together, they don't feel grief or guilt or sadness. Together, they are truly happy, and for whatever lies ahead, games or not, they will see… happily together.