Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

5 years ago

"I got this rose for you," Lou chirped, handing Debbie a red rose——thornless and plump.

"What's the occasion?" Debbie asked, amused.

"You've finally rid yourself of that bag of dicks who can't treat you right," the Aussie nonchalantly responded, "The rose is to commemorate our partnership."

"Lou," The brunette cringed, "I'm not—"

"Don't bullshit me, Ocean," the blonde raised her voice infuriated, "I stuck by you through thick and thin for what? Ten years? Fifteen? Hell, I don't even know and you're still choosing this no-go over me?"

"He's not a "no-go"," The elder woman air quoted, "He has this thing planned where we—"

"You know what?" Lou cut off, "I'm done playing games, Ocean. We're done."

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"I didn't know that Debbie would be this reckless? Is she an Ocean?" A bystander mocked.

"I was expecting her to be at least half as good as Danny. Oh well, women!" Another scoffed.

What is happening? Lou thought to herself as she scoured through her club. Every now and then, she would host a small gathering for America's finest criminals and this year was no different. Everyone was in attendance. Everyone but her.

"Hey," she interrupted, "What happened to Debbie?"

"You didn't hear?" The man questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Lou dismally replied.

"Danny's sister, Debbie just got arrested," he laughed, "Like seriously how dumb can this woman be?"

Why you misogynistic piece of shit with the emotional maturity of an aborted foetus—

"I have to go," Lou excused herself.

This has got to be a rumour. It's Debbie——Debbie fucking Ocean. She wouldn't get arrested. Would she?

Chapter Text

Lou Miller lounged at the back of her bar on a buzzy night in the Big Apple. Just as she settled comfortably, her phone lit up with a distinct vibration.

Jailbird.

JLBRD: Where is the fking cemetery? 12 pm?

"Oh, missed you too," Lou sarcastically mumbled to herself.

———————————————————————

Debbie sauntered from the cemetery to Lou's car, donning an obsidian trench coat that blanketed a blouse and equally dark pants. Under the rain, she proceeded towards Lou's Toyota with her luggage and an umbrella.

Wow. Lou sighed. After all these years, she's still as beautiful as ever. Stop it, Lou. Don't be a clown. If she wanted to be with you she would've been your wife already.

The Ocean opened the door of the backseat and threw her luggage in; she advanced to the passenger seat and sunk into the car with the slam of a door. Instantly, her best friend's protective arms flew around her, golden hair merged into chocolate as they embraced gingerly. The Aussie's lips gently pecked the top of Debbie's head, only leaving when Debbie whined.

"Hey! Hey! Take it easy," Debbie groaned, "Been in the slammer."

"Oh, I just thought you changed your number," Lou joked.

"Did you get the credit line?" The brunette inquired.

"Not yet," The blonde nonchalantly responded.

"Why not?" The brown-eyed criminal asked.

"Because I don't know what it's for," Lou admitted.

I will not simply be a pawn in your games anymore, Ocean. I'm through with you using me as a stepping stone.

"Oh my god," Debbie sighed exasperatedly.

"Don't do that!" The taller of the two breathed.

"Do what?" The Ocean questioned, taunting her.

Lou simply just groaned, rolling her eyes heavenward.

"That would be my: "I've just been in jail for five years and my partner lets me down" face," Debbie feigned and explanation. 

"Hey, I'm not your partner," Lou reminded.

Don't do this. Don't give me hope.

"Yet," the Aussie softly muttered.

"This is nice," Debbie complimented, attempting to be civil, "Chain-link, barb wire. Brought you something."

The Ocean took out a sweater for Lou.

"Oh," The Aussie's eyes fixed on the material.

Is this a peace offering?

"Um," she uttered, "Can I exchange this for something you stole?"

"If you have a problem with stealing, you're not going to like the rest of the conversation," the brunette warned.

Of course. It's always business with Debbie. Why. Just why did I think that she could ever love me like she loved Claude?

"What? We're gonna shoplift?" Lou jokingly suggested.

"Maybe," the shorter woman retorted.

"No. See, this is what you do," the Aussie called our, "You make me guess and then, I'm interested. And then you think because I'm interested that I wanna do it."

"Don't you want to do the things you're interested in?" Debbie questioned.

Well, I'm interested in you but I can't do you. Can I? Dammit.

"I'm interested in brain surgery," the blonde drew out.

"Well, we know that's not going to happen," the brown-eyed woman interrupted.

"Whatever," Lou exhaled, "You don't wanna tell me—"

"It's jewels," the Ocean completed, "Spectacular, great, big, bling, big old Liz Taylor jewels that are locked in a vault fifty feet underground."

Is she serious? We're robbing jewels? That's not my usual job but let's see where this goes.

"How do we get them out of the vault?" Lou inquired.

"They're gonna bring 'em to us," Debbie explained.

They exited the Toyota and entered Lou's penthouse in New York. The convict was surprised to see that the place was vast and cozy with just the right amount of furniture.

"Oh, bugger!" The blonde noted.

The shorter woman walked in , observing and smiled, "Nice place."

"Try heating it," Lou informed, "There's a room for you upstairs. Your stuff is upstairs too," 

The brunette was surprised by this. She had expected her belongings to be coated by cobwebs and an Australian forest back in her apartment but Lou——Lou had kept her things safe. After all those years.

Oh, the things I do for a "friend". 

"You know, I borrowed some shit," Lou quipped, "Figured you weren't using it."

Debbie shook her heads and entered her given room. It was sufficient; definitely more than adequate compared to that cell she was in just days ago.

She scoured through her closet to find the coat that resembled the one she donned when she was arrested in and left for the one and only "Claude Becker's Gallery".

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"He saw you?" Lou scolded, "Why would you do something like that?" 

"Closure?" Debbie rhetorically replied, placing a piece of pork onto her palate.

"Bullshit!" The Aussie remarked.

The brunette smiled and slid a toothbrush to the blonde. 

"Jesus," the taller woman mumbled, examining the toothbrush, mimicking a stabbing motion, "So did you?"

"No," the chocolate-eyed woman laughed, "Just a little button."

Both women scoffed in harmony and enjoyed the rest of their meal together.

Chapter Text

"Get up, Lou," Debbie greeted, knocking on her door, "I made you breakfast. Figured that's the least I could do with you know, living here and all."

"Thanks," the Aussie mumbled, unveiling her blanket.

On the dining table was a plate of eggs and bacon. The bacon was crispy, coated in salty-sweet honey and the food was arranged to resemble a smiling face.

Must you always confuse me this way, Debbie? You don't do this for your "friend". You never did this for Tammy.

They ate their meal in comfortable silence, occasionally making eye contact and smiling. Following their breakfast, they advanced to their "work".

"So at first, I thought banks," the Ocean explained on a stroll with Lou, "Because you know."

"Because that's where they have money?" Lou guessed.

Classic, Debbie. Eyes always on the big, grand prize.

"Exactly but that's kind of boring," Debbie admitted.

Of course! Nothing is always simple with her.

"So then I thought——ten banks?" The brunette added, "Then I realized that would be——maybe coming from an angry place so—"

"Good you realized that," the Aussie praised.

"Then, I had to hear myself think," Debbie responded, "You know, five women in one cell. So I got myself thrown in solitary for a little peace and quiet and that's where I finally came up with it."

The duo visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art to get a quick preview of the place. There were cameras everywhere; from the left wing to the right, the museum had top-notch security.

"It's still a museum," Lou noted during her meal at Veselka, "So, it's not like robbing a liquor store."

Debbie rambled on and on about her plan with a mouth full of food and it seemed almost cute. 

She has always been adorable when talking about her passions. The twinkle in her eyes, the curving of her lips——no, Lou. Stop it. Don't be a clown.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't speak Ukrainian," the blonde blurted out.

Real smooth, Miller. Real smooth.

"I said," the brunette clarified, "We're not robbing a museum; we're robbing someone in a museum."

"Yeah, you mentioned," Lou contemplated, "Look, even if this was possible, we'd have like twenty people and half a million dollars."

"Seven," Debbie corrected.

"Seven million?" Lou asked.

"Seven people and twenty grand," the Ocean replied.

Twenty grand? That's a lot.

"Why do you need to do this?" The Aussie questioned.

"Because that's what I'm good at," Debbie responded.

"Uh, yeah," Lou stressed, squinting her eyes.

"You know what?" Debbie reassured, "I've run this thing a thousand times. Every time I got caught, I fixed it. And in three years, I wasn't getting caught anymore. By the time I was paroled, it was running like a clockwork. Perfectly."

"And you were there with me. Every step of the way," the German added.

Is she flirting with me?

"Oh, honey. Is that a proposal?" Lou jokingly asked.

"Baby, I don't have a diamond yet," Debbie played along, "Come on. Do you want to spend the rest of your life watering down well vodka? Because really, it's kind of a waste."

The blonde felt her heart skip a beat whilst she could feel thumps in her ears. The brunette impaled a piece of food with the fork and offered it before Lou's mouth.

"Come on," the Ocean encouraged, "Take a bite. Just take a bite."

Lou smirked, shook her head, and took the gun out of her mouth before mumbling, "You're really irritating."

"Open," the German ordered.

The Aussie gratefully accepted the food and slowly slid her mouth down the fork. Surprisingly, the food was delectable, causing the blonde to take her fork and joined in.

They caught up on what they had been doing during the meal; Lou was shocked to hear Debbie ask about her "love life". Lou being Lou wanted to build an impressive resumé instead of confessing that she had been waiting for Debbie all this time and lied that she had chicks almost every night or so.

Debbie's eyebrows shot up at this confession and Lou could swear there was almost a tint of jealously behind her right-lipped smile.

You have no right to be jealous, Ocean. You're the one that left.

After their meal, they advanced onto the more vital aspects of their heist such as the casting. They had concluded that they were going to somehow get Rose Weil, a designer liked by Anna, to participate in their scheme.

They attended one of her fashion shows. Lou donned a blue pantsuit and Debbie donned a black dress with holes near her shoulders. 

She's so hot. No, Lou. Stop.

The duo ended up making a deal with Rose; Rose would dress Daphne Kluger, a famous actress. They brought her back to the loft and convinced her to add the Toussaint to the design. Soon, they acquired a hacker named Nine Ball, a jeweler named Amita, and a skilled thief named Constance.

Last but not least, Debbie persuaded Tammy to join, utilizing her all-rounder friend's skills to be hired at Vogue. Finally, the dream team had been assembled.