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“You know more than one thing can make you happy. Have you ever thought about that?”
“No.”
“Well, maybe you should.”
Tammy's words were still ringing in Debbie's ears as she watched her leave, suitcase in tow. Sure, there was more than one thing that made her happy. Small cons, big cons, robbing the Met Gala, robbing a gas station, a liquor store.. She was pretty sure that wasn't what Tammy had meant though. But she couldn't quite figure out what Tammy did mean. Did Tammy suddenly not live for the thrill of the game anymore? How did she not want to pull a small con right now?
Debbie's eyes flicked to where one of Lou's bikes was parked in the warehouse. She shook her head every time she saw it. It was such a Lou thing to park her bike in what was the living room. They had had that argument many times over the years, how a bike did not belong in a living room but Lou had refused to park it elsewhere every single time.
She walked over to the liquor cabinet that was always fully stocked, also a very Lou thing. She poured two glasses, then yelled out her partner's name.
The warehouse stayed silent and Debbie's heart dropped when the realization that Lou had left for her roadtrip washed over her again. She had encouraged Lou to do something for herself, she just hadn't expected Lou to just get up and leave for California the second the job was done. The warehouse was eerily quiet without a constant presence around. And as much as she had despised being around people 24/7 in jail, she had grown accustomed to having at least Lou around since she had come back. Her presence had always been a comfort. They just fit so seamlessly into each others' spaces and lives. It was a source of happiness Debbie had missed tremendously during the five years, eight months and twelve days they had been separated.
And oh. Oh.
That was what Tammy had meant.
And damn it, she knew, she knew and had never realized she knew. She had said it herself, that day in the diner with Lou after she had been paroled.
And you were there with me. Every step of the way.
Debbie took a large gulp of the drink she had poured for herself, the liquid burning her throat as it went down. And she blamed that burning for the sting in her eyes. Because Debbie Ocean did many things, but she did not cry. Ever. Especially not over being absolutely stupid for not realizing what mattered sooner.
Lou had been there with her. Every step of the way. In every scenario. And she wouldn't have had it any other way.
---
The realization after the talk with Tammy had been a constant on Debbie's mind since that day. And so by the time Lou returned from California, she had, in true Debbie Ocean fashion, come up with a plan to finally, finally tell Lou the one thing that really mattered. Not a plan for another job, but the fact that no job in the world was more important or gave her so much happiness and comfort and just everything she would ever need than Lou.
Lou had texted her from a few hours out and Debbie had been seated on the couch, trying to calm her nerves ever since. She had run a million different scenarios through her head while Lou had been gone. But nothing could have possibly prepared her for the moment Lou did walk through the door.
Dressed in tight leather pants and a matching leather jacket, helmet tucked under her arm and platinum blonde hair a mess from wearing the helmet, Lou was a sight for sore eyes and it knocked the wind right out of Debbie.
The second Lou saw her on the couch, a smirk tugged at her lips and Debbie's heart skipped a beat upon seeing that familiar smirk again. God, she was so gone on her.
“What? You're here?” Lou put her helmet down on one of the many tables in the living room space of the warehouse. “I thought you would be out there robbing a gas station or something.”
Lou's low, almost husky voice melted Debbie right on the spot, but she tried not to let it show too much.
Debbie shrugged, “You know more than one thing can make me happy.”
Lou regarded her with a curious expression on her face. “Really?”
“Yes.”
She gave Lou her best innocent face, but Lou, as always, could see right through her. Debbie liked to forget how well Lou knew her, how Lou was the one person in the world who could always see the truth no matter how hard she tried to conceal it. It was scary in a way, to have someone know you as well as Lou knew Debbie.
Lou shook her head, laughing under her breath. Then she flopped down on the couch next to Debbie. “Okay, I'll bite. What are things that make you happy?”
Debbie pretended to think about it for a second, when really, her heart was racing a million miles an hour. Here goes nothing.
“Well, robbing a gas station, a liquor store, a jewelry store, a casino, a museum,” she paused for a second, her eyes locking on Lou's, “Rigging bingo.”
Lou scoffed at that and looked away for a second before fixing Debbie with a look that clearly said, “oh please.”
“Having breakfast, lunch, dinner, a drink, driving a car, talking,” Debbie went on, choosing to ignore Lou's scoff and look for now.
Lou leaned forward, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes that clearly told Debbie that whatever would come next would be Lou teasing her. “Oh honey, is this a proposal?”
The callback of what Lou had said to her in the diner all those weeks ago hit Debbie square in the chest. She could feel her heart tighten and tried to breathe through her absolute fear of rejection. She knew, deep down, that Lou cared about her deeply. She just wasn't sure whether she had missed her chance already. After everything that had happened, after everything Debbie had put Lou through, had put them both through, she would not be surprised if Lou were to reject her, tell her it was too little too late.
For what was one of the few times in her life, words failed her. And so she just looked at Lou, biting her lip, letting it go again. Her nervous habit. Her nervous habit that of course Lou knew.
She could see the exact moment it dawned on Lou because there was a flicker of something in Lou's eyes before her features hardened and she pressed her lips into a tight line. Her voice was barely above a whisper now, “Don't fuck with me right now.”
Debbie averted her gaze briefly, before looking back up at Lou. “I'm not.”
Their eyes met and Debbie could see the conflict raging in Lou's eyes. Eventually, it settled on a look Debbie recognized as Lou shutting down and deflecting with humor.
Lou sighed mock-dramatically, “You're a real fucking pain in the ass, Ocean.”
“Eh, you love me.”
The words were out of Debbie's mouth before she could stop herself. Fuck. She did not mean to throw that stupid phrase around like it meant nothing. She had used it too many times in the past and now was not the time for jokes. She was trying to tell Lou something important after all.
Lou scoffed, like she always did, “Don't be so full of yourself.”
In a frantic attempt to get the conversation back on track, Debbie reached out to take Lou's hand in hers. “Lou.”
The gesture, accompanied with the whisper of her name on Debbie's lips seemed to do the trick and Lou dropped her deflection facade and turned serious again.
A sad sigh escaped her lips as she dropped her gaze. “What do you want, Debbie?”
Debbie squeezed Lou's hand gently, “I want you to be there with me. Every step of the way.”
At that, Lou looked up at her again. There was that teasing twinkle in her eyes again, but it was overshadowed by something else, sadness, disappointment, hurt even. “Don't you think we have enough money in the bank to last us a while?”
Debbie took a slow, calculated breath.
Then, “I'm not talking about a job.”
“Debbie.”
“Lou.”
Lou rolled her eyes and looked away, pulling her hand from Debbie's in the process. Was Debbie even capable of being serious for one fucking second?
Debbie watched Lou closely. She knew that it was now or never, all or nothing, win or lose. The stakes were higher than ever and she was not going to lose. Not this time. Not when it was the most important thing she would ever do.
She took a deep breath before finally taking the plunge. No going back.
“I know I've been indifferent in the past and we've wasted so much time just being casual,” Debbie said, taking Lou's hand again, “I took you for granted, but I'm done with that. You know jobs make me happy, but what I didn't see until a few weeks ago is that every time I've been truly happy it was because you were there with me. And I want that.”
Lou didn't say anything and Debbie leaned forward to get a better look at her face. What she saw there made her heart constrict painfully. Tears were pooling in her eyes. And damn it, Debbie could count the rare times she had seen Lou tear up on one hand.
Panic bubbled up in her, “Baby?”
Lou waved her off, wiping a stray tear from her cheek in one quick motion.
“What are you saying, Debbie?”
Her voice was low, laced with something Debbie could only describe as downright pain. She was so sick and tired of being the cause of Lou's tears. And so she pressed on, against her own panic and fear.
“When Tammy said,” Debbie started, but Lou cut her off with a sharp glance. “Tammy?”
Yeah, fair enough, she could see how that would've come out. It wasn't like Tammy put her up to this. In a way, maybe. Tammy's words had been the push Debbie had needed. But she knew now that she would've figured it out by herself sooner or later. This was not the kind of thing that could go ignored forever.
“That's not important,” Debbie said firmly, “What's important is that she said more than one thing can make me happy. But she was wrong. She was wrong because there's only one thing that can make me happy.”
She took a deep breath, her voice just barely above a whisper now, “And that's you.”
When Lou finally looked at her, there was something new there. Gone was the pain and hurt, replaced by something akin to hope and, above all, love.
“Oh for fuck's sake, Ocean, stop making me cry,” Lou said, the exasperation clearly fake as she wiped another tear from her cheek.
Debbie reached out, replacing Lou's hand with her own, her thumb gently wiping at her cheek.
“Lou,” she whispered, trying to get her to look at her.
Their eyes locked.
And there it was.
That feeling of warmth and sheer happiness spreading through Debbie's body. Tammy had been right to call her on her bullshit. The jobs weren't the thing Debbie needed most in her life.
It was Lou.
It had always been Lou.
“I love you.”
It felt like a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she couldn't believe how easily the words had come out after all.
Her heart was beating wildly in her chest as she waited for Lou's reaction with bated breath.
Lou's gaze traveled over her face, searching, inquiring. “You better not be fucking with me right now, Deborah Ocean.”
“I would never.”
Lou laughed, “We both know that's a lie.”
For the first time since Lou had walked through the door, a real relaxed smile spread across Debbie's face, “Fair enough.”
She took both of Lou's hands in hers, squeezing tightly. “But not about this. Never about this.”
Lou's eyes glistened dangerously, but Debbie knew better than to comment. And so she waited, not patiently, but she waited.
Lou's gaze dropped down to her lips and before Debbie had the time to fully process anything, Lou's lips were on hers.
And God, if Debbie Ocean wasn't head over heels for this woman.
The kiss was different than any kiss they had shared over the years. And there had been plenty. Hot, hurried kisses in shitty motel rooms or fancier hotel rooms, in cars, in apartments they could barely afford.
But this, this was the real thing.
Slow and unhurried and full of love.
The thing Debbie had craved for years and years and had never really realized.
This was it.
She was happy.
Lou pulled away from their kiss for only a second, the words a mumble against Debbie's lips, “I love you, too, idiot.”