Having people on my team used to mean slowing me down. It used to mean more liabilities to worry about. More people that would eventually hurt me in the end.
Not worth the time or trouble.
So I stayed on my own. I liked it that way. I only had to worry about myself, and taking care of me. No one else to worry or think about.
But eventually I saw that also means no one else to love. And no one else loves you.
But I already had so much practice being on my own and keeping it that way, I didn't know how to change it.
I tried. I tried to make friends and get people on my team. But it didn't work out. I learned quickly that I wasn't the best when it comes to people. And getting along with people. So I retreated back into my own little world. It was quiet, but at least I knew how to operate inside it.
And then I was recruited to do this job. The job itself was pretty simple. It was an in out kind of a thing. But in order to get paid I had to work with three other thieves. Each different. One hitter, one hacker, and one good guy. The good guy was new. I had never worked with someone like him before. But he sure knew what he was doing for a good guy.
The job went great. I think it was the best job I've ever done. Well, besides the one I pulled in Mexico. I still have that necklace somewhere...
Anyway. I liked working with them. Which kind of bothered me. I wasn't used to liking being around people so much. So I was almost glad when the job was over and I got to go be on my own again.
And then turns out the guy who hired us all for the job majorly screwed us over. So we were all reunited (plus one other person that the good guy decided to bring along) to take down this guy and get our money. And once that was done we were all supposed to go our separate ways, and be good with that.
Except we weren't. Turns out everyone was kind of like me-tired of being on their own. And we had all liked working with each other more than we ever expected to.
So we formed our own group. And instead of stealing from people like we were so used to doing, we helped people. We reversed what we used to do for a living and made things right.
I have never loved anything so much in my life. I was a little skeptical at first, but after the second case I was pretty much one hundred percent on board. I even bought a plant for the offices the hacker-Hardison-has rented for us.
I let myself get completely caught up in the idea of having people by my side. People I could turn to when I needed help. People that I just genuinely enjoyed having a good time with.
It was the first time I had ever had anything like that. Ever. So I wasn't prepared for it to end. I wasn't surprised, but I wasn't prepared.
After having people around me, even though it didn't last too long, being on my own was even worse than before. I had to totally retrain myself how to work alone. And no matter how many times I reminded myself that I didn't have the four of them to back me up, I was always surprised when I finished a job, turned around ready to celebrate with my team; only to find that no one was there.
I hated it. I hated being so vulnerable and bored. And I hated that people had gotten so far underneath my skin that doing jobs wasn't as fun anymore because they weren't there to do it with me. It sucked the fun out of everything. Even stealing the hope diamond. I had been planning on stealing that thing since I was fourteen. And then I ended up putting it back. 'Cause I was bored. I was bored stealing the hope diamond. This whole team thing had changed me beyond repair, I knew that then.
Just as I had accepted the fact that I was now a broken thief, they came back. All four of my old teammates. They came back into my life.
And they stayed this time.
It was even better than the first time we grouped up. Because we knew this time that we needed to be together. We needed each other as teammates, friends, family. We were the only people who really understood each other. The only people could see the real versions of each other, and still love one another.
I had never had this before. Everyone around me left when they saw who I really was. They either didn't know what to do with me, or they didn't like me. I was used to that. I prepared myself for that so it didn't hurt when it happened.
But these four were different. They saw me. They saw the real me, and they liked it. They welcomed me. They didn't make me feel like I needed to change myself. For the first time I was starting to be okay with who I am. Thanks to them I didn't hate the way I had turned out anymore. And I still don't. Now I like myself even more. And not just because of them, but because they helped me to see it.
I would do anything for them. Without a doubt. We all would do anything for each other. Eliot's clearly shown that with all the hits he's taken to keep us safe during jobs. And Nate always does the best to make sure we come out of jobs okay. And I try, in my own ways to show them that I would do the same. I worry sometimes they don't get how much they all mean to me. Like when Sophie left. I wasn't just sad that she left because that meant I had to play more parts in the con. I missed her. She was good with helping me with girl stuff. Like shoes and how to flirt with the mark without running away. And she was like a sister. I've never had a sister.
And then there's Hardison. He's pretty great. Even if he does say a lot of things I don't completely understand sometimes. But it's okay. Because I know I say a lot of things that he doesn't understand sometimes. But we still understand each other.
I would never get rid of my team. Yes, it does give me more people to worry about. And yes, sometimes it has slowed me down during jobs. But in the end it's worth it. Because I would rather go back to our headquarters (a.k.a. Nate's apartment) and celebrate a job well done with the four of them, than steal away with all the jewels in the world alone.
These guys have become the only family I've ever had. And I don't know what I would do without them....
Hardison puts down the notepad he had found lying open where Parker had left it next to her empty cereal bowl. He knows he shouldn't have read it, but when he saw the page titled "My Family" well...he got a little too curious. He knew that Parker appreciated being on the team, and that she loved what they did. But he had no idea that it meant as much to her as it clearly did. He sets the notebook back down, a small grin on his face. He couldn't wait to get the team together and for them all to show Parker that she meant just as much to her as she did to them. Their "twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag" thief.
