Parker's room was covered in mirrors so that she could always see behind her, which was how she knew when she woke up that she had wings. She lay very still for a few minutes, making sure that she wasn't going to do something stupid like cry. When she thought about it, she could flap them. That was bad. It meant they were attached to her nerves.

Going to a hospital would have been a bad idea. So she did the only other thing she could think of and called Nate. "Nate. I'm being conned."

"It's five in the goddamn morning, Parker."

"Is Sophie there?"

"No."

"Yes," said Sophie's voice from another line. "Honestly, Nate, I have your phone tapped. Do be intelligent about these things. What's the con, Parker?"

"I have wings."

Both of them were quiet. She thought it was unfair that she'd have to talk more. She wasn't even naked or stabbing anyone this time. "I woke up, and there are wings on my back. I can move them with my mind."

"So are they real wings, or what?"

Nate still sounded cranky. Parker frowned. "I can't tell. Do they make fake ones you can move with your mind?"

"You should come over," Sophie said quickly.

"With wings?"

"Just cover the joints. People will think it's a costume for something."

Sophie was smart. "Roger," Parker said, because she liked the word. She hung up and went to find something she could put over her wings.

||

Everyone stared when she walked in. She was used to people staring, but not when she was walking normally. She'd even taken the front door.

Eliot was the first person to talk. He understood how she didn't understand things. "You look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame."

"Did he have wings?"

Eliot shook his head. "Have you ever even seen a Disney movie?"

"The Lion King," Parker said. The child heir of the Lansfield fortune had been watching it when she'd robbed her blind.

"Disney movies aren't going to help us," Nate said. "We need to figure out why this happened."

"Man, I've been scouring the internet since she called. Ain't nothing on there about girl growing wings that isn't fanfiction or bad porn." Hardison paused, glancing over at Parker. "Or both."

"I know what porn is," Parker said, since he seemed to be uncertain.

"This could be a con," Sophie said. "It's rather elaborate, but then we're one of the best teams in this hemisphere."

"Excuse me," Nate said. "The best."

"Yes, yes." She waved her hand. "But what would they hope to get out of us by giving Parker wings?"

"How did they give me wings," Parker said. She didn't care what they wanted. Well, unless they wanted her money, but if they wanted that they should have killed her or tortured her, not given her wings. So she just wanted them off. "And how can we get them off."

"Is it just me," Eliot said to Hardison, "or is she even creepier than usual just now?"

"Not just you," Hardison said.

He looked like he might be ready to start talking about how she'd kissed him again, though, so Parker didn't worry.

"Have you checked to see how they're attached to your back?" Eliot said.

"No," Parker said, and took the coat off and turned around.

Everyone's faces twitched in the way she usually associated with cops or Nate's nemesis.

"This is bad, isn't it," she said.

"You could say that," Nate said. "They look like they've grown straight out of your back."

"I need to lie down," Hardison said faintly.

Parker heard a thump. She felt a weird whooshing sensation when she turned around, but she barely noticed it, because Hardison was face-down on the floor. "Someone pick him up."

Eliot hauled him upright, propping him up against the couch and tapping his cheeks until he said, "Man, this is too close for comfort."

"You fainted," Parker said.

"I did not! I..." Hardison looked around. Everyone was watching him with faces that were still twitchy. "Yeah, okay, maybe I did."

"Try to flap them," Nate said abruptly.

Parker did. The wind sent papers on the coffee table flying.

"Someone touch them," Nate said.

"Fuckin' weird," Eliot said, and didn't move.

Sophie was the one who walked over and very gently stroked Parker's wings.

"Your hands are cold," Parker said to explain how she shivered.

"Her nerves are connected," Nate said. "Completely. It's like someone's given her extra limbs."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Hardison said. "What are they looking to gain?"

"Isn't it more important how they did it?" Eliot said. "How can you give someone wings that they can move and feel?"

"Hardison?" Nate said. "If anyone could do it, it'd be a computer guy."

Hardison shook his head. "I don't know, man. Prosthetics are one thing, but this level of mobility, without being able to see how they implanted them?"

"I don't sleep soundly," Parker said.

"They could've given you something. Slipped it into your food, or...okay, not likely," Hardison said when Parker stared at him.

"People can't drug me," she said. It wasn't totally true, but it was true enough.

"And so we're back to square one," Nate said.

Since none of them seemed to understand, Parker finally just said it. "I can't steal like this. I can't steal like this."

Nate snapped his fingers. "That's it! They want to take our thief from us!"

"I can't steal like this," Parker said. She had to keep herself from punching Nate. Why didn't he understand?

"Hey," Hardison said, moving to stand beside her and touch her arm. "It'll be okay. We'll fix it."

"How?" Eliot jammed his hands in his pockets when everyone looked at him. "Look, I'm not trying to be the troublemaker here, but we have no goddamn idea how Parker got those wings. And it's looking like she somehow grew them overnight. We're dealing with something we don't understand in the slightest."

"Is it possible they just grew?" Sophie said.

Everyone just looked at her. Parker imitated their expressions. She didn't want anyone to see how upset she was. Copying people always worked.

"Yes, yes, I know," Sophie said. "But you must admit, odd things do occasionally happen in the world. I'm not saying it was magic, or some such. But it is, quite possibly, something we've never heard of and don't understand."

"Isn't that, like, longhand for saying it's probably freaky magic?" Hardison said.

"Magic doesn't exist," Parker said. Just for good measure, she added, "Neither does Santa."

"I know that, wing girl," Hardison said. He took a step forward and flicked her wings. "But we – ooh, soft."

She tried to stay still. Her whole body was still, actually – except her wings, which kept twitching. She turned her head to frown at them.

"Stop touching Parker," Nate said.

He made it sound dirty. Hardison yanked his hand away like she'd burned him.

"What am I supposed to do?" Parker said.

"Hang around here for now," Nate said. "We'll work on figuring out who did it, and why."

"We'll work out what's happened," Sophie said. "I promise."

"And I'll stay with you," Hardison said. "I've gotta comb the Internet for anything that might lead us to our perp, anyway."

Parker considered it. She couldn't steal anything, and sleeping would be uncomfortable. "I'll learn how to play video games. Do we have anything where you get to kill tons of people?"

It was Eliot who answered her. "We've got tons."

"Give them to me before you go," Parker said. "All of them."

||

Parker didn't say much as she learned how to shoot people, and Hardison was busy with his computers. The silence was comfortable. A lot more comfortable than sitting, actually, because her wings were in the way and no matter what she did, she couldn't sit back comfortably.

She'd gotten through four levels when Hardison said, "Do you think you can fly?"

"My bones aren't hollow. No," she said.

"Damn. Hard to find a silver lining, huh?"

She could tell by the way he was talking that he was worried about her, but she didn't know how to respond at all. Finally she said, "I'll be okay."

He didn't answer, and she thought maybe he was ready to let the conversation go. But he got up without her noticing, walking over to the couch and putting his hand over hers.

She tried not to jump. It was a sign of how freaked out she was that she hadn't heard him.

"You can't steal," he said. His voice was gentle. "I know how much that's messing with you."

Her wings were moving again. She concentrated on killing more video game men. "You really don't. Really."

"If someone told me I could never get online again, I'd pitch a fit so bad my Nana would come back to smack me for it."

She felt like something had snapped in her. She threw the controller down and stood up. "I'm not never going to be able to steal again. Nate and Sophie are going to figure out how to fix it, and then I'll be fine."

She hadn't noticed that her wings were flapping until she said 'fine'. They flapped hard, sending Hardison flying backwards against the couch – and then tipping the couch over.

Hardison was up before she had a chance to apologize. "I wasn't trying to - "

"I know," she said before she could get mad again. "But I think...I think I need to be alone."

None of her corners would work right now, so instead she chose Nate's huge walk-in closet. It was, conveniently, mostly empty – so she could curl up on the floor and not think of her wings as best as she could.

She wondered if she would ever be able to steal again, and how long it would take her to jump off a roof with no rig if that happened. She already wanted to go out and pick pockets until he had enough money to clutch in her hands and make her feel better. How bad would it be in two days, or three?

But even being ready to burst from frustration wasn't enough to keep her from noticing when Hardison knocked on the door. "What."

"Just wanted to check on you. You need more alone time?"

She always needed more alone time. But it was easier to be with Hardison than anyone else. "You can share the closet if you want," she finally said.

"Flattering." Hardison opened the door and came inside. He was moving slowly, like she thought she might try to kill him if he did anything sudden.

To be fair, she might.

"Nate will figure out what's up, you know," he said when he was sitting across from her. He had his legs out so they almost touched the tips of her toes. She kept her legs curled up, hunched over them. "That's why he's on the team."

"We've never had to fight wings before."

"Sure, but last week we'd never had to con the Queen of Jordan before, and look how well that turned out."

"She was a nice person," Parker said. "I didn't like it."

Hardison grinned. "Her, or the con? Come on, Parker. You can hang in there. I know you can."

She wanted to say that he didn't know her at all, because no one knew her at all, but that wasn't really true anymore. And she felt a little calmer, in a weird way. Her wings were flapping just enough to create a breeze.

"I don't really want to," she said finally. "I want to go out and rob someone."

"Not an option."

"Tell me about your Nana."

He drew away from her. "Uh, what do you want to know?"

"I made you uncomfortable. Never mind."

Hardison gave her the kind of look people used when they weren't sure if they were annoyed with her or not. "It's fine. Just, you know. I could talk about my Nana all day if we don't narrow it down a little."

"All day would be okay."

"You're gonna regret it."

Parker just kept looking at him.

Hardison shrugged and said, "Alright. So she says she hates to cook, right? But she can bake like a champ. I had more kinds of cookies by the age of ten than a professional taste tester for Mrs. Field's."

He kept talking. Parker tried to show she was listening by watching him closely, but she could tell when watching closely turned into analyzing him intently because he started to twitch more. After that, she stared at the floor.

His voice was more expressive than Parker's. No one had ever really told her stories as a child, but she imagined that if they had, then they would be like this.

Only she'd be shorter. And not have wings.

"Hey."

He had been talking for a long time. Parker was very carefully constructing an image of Hardison's Nana making cookies while Hardison swung his legs and sucked a lollipop. She had every part of the scene in her mind except Hardison's head. She couldn't make it shrink to baby Hardison. He looked like a bobblehead in her mind.

"What," she said.

"You were really deep in there," he said. "What's up?"

"I was trying to think about you," she said. "As a baby. But I was having trouble with your head."

Hardison blinked. "You what now?"

"When you were a baby," she said again. "I can't imagine you."

His face moved. She couldn't quite tell what it was supposed to mean. "Right. Parker..."

"Is this going to be a feelings talk?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Perceptive of you."

"Just a guess. I'm fine."

"Come on, you know that's a lie."

"I can't do anything about my wings. So that's the end of it."

She wasn't expecting Hardison to get up and sit next to her. "Don't do this."

"Why not?"

"You're better than this." Hardison reached out and touched her shoulder. "I've seen all kinds of crazy shit not even touch you. And now a pair of wings got you brooding?"

"They're coming out of my back," Parker said. "I can feel them."

She didn't know what to do when his hand moved from her shoulder to her wings. She felt like her stomach was falling out through her knees.

"Hey." His hand stilled. "Does that hurt?"

She shook her head. She wanted – she wanted –

Kissing Hardison the first time had made her think about it for weeks. Kissing him this time made her wings tremble. She wanted to jump on top of him. She was pretty sure he wouldn't object if she did, but she didn't want to embarrass herself.

When his hands tightened on her wings, though, she found herself moaning and moving forward. She wanted to crawl inside him.

"Whoa, whoa, wait." Hardison moved back a little.

She couldn't move. "What."

"This is – you're – we can't do this right now."

Parker knew she wasn't very good at reading people. But guys were convenient because she didn't have to be good at it. She reached down and pressed a hand against his erection. "Why not?"

"You're unbalanced. Emotionally. A second ago you were ready to cry."

That made her dig a knee into his spleen. "I don't cry."

"Okay, but come on. You're not –"

"I'm fine." She was lying, but that was okay. "We can keep going now."

But Hardison didn't look convinced. "Parker..."

Her wings were shaking again. She wanted – she wasn't sure. She wanted him to understand. And she didn't know how to make him.

"I don't know how to figure out what I want," she said finally. She could feel her wings moving slowly back and forth. "I want...you. Okay?"

He looked like he wanted to be happy, but wasn't sure. "Yeah, but..."

"I could have wings for forever." She looked at him as seriously as she could. "Do you want to never kiss for forever?"

That made him laugh. She hadn't really been joking. "Okay, fine. But let's give you time to get used to it first, all right? A couple days."

He was going to make her say it. "Fine," she said. "I want to – I want to date you. Kiss you. Whatever. And I have wanted to for longer than I've had wings."

His eyes were wide. "You –"

She crossed her arms. "It's not a surprise," she said, because it wouldn't be, if he paid attention at all.

"Not that," Hardison said. "Your wings."

She reached back, half expecting them to turn bright red like it was Valentine's Day or something.

But instead they were gone.

"They just disappeared," he said. He sounded like someone had hit him on the head with a plank.

But Parker wasn't ready to give up what she wanted. "So we can kiss now. I talked about my feelings, my wings disappeared. So now we can kiss."

"Was someone seriously trying to con you into talking about your feelings? That's insane." Hardison looked around, like maybe Nate's closet held the secret to the con.

"I can steal again. I'm not emotionally distressed." Parker moved on top of Hardison. His breathing got more shallow. "Come on," she said, and leaned down to kiss him again.

This time, he didn't push her away.

||

They had gotten mostly naked when Eliot opened the closet door.

"Augh!" he said, slamming it shut again.

Parker stopped kissing her way down Hardison's chest. "Should I put my pants back on?"

"At least your underwear," Hardison said. "And your shirt."

So she did. "I'm dressed!"

"Is Hardison?" Eliot said.

"He has a very nice chest. You shouldn't be afraid of it," Parker said.

Eliot thumped a hand on the door. Parker rolled her eyes at Hardison, who put his shirt back on.

"Okay," she said.

When Eliot opened the door again, she saw that Nate and Sophie were standing just behind him.

"Care to explain?" Nate said.

"I kissed Hardison and talked about my feelings, and the wings went away."

Nate gave Hardison the look that meant he thought she was leaving things out because she was bad at people. But Hardison just shrugged. "Don't look at me, man. That's what happened."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Sophie said. "Why would someone go through the trouble of running such a complicated con if they were only matchmaking?"

"Maybe it wasn't a con," Eliot said, his eyes still on Parker and Hardison.

"Don't be stupid. Of course it was a con," Nate said.

"I wouldn't be so sure. I've seen things, man."

"Hallucinating from dehydration in the jungle doesn't count," Nate said.

Parker was going to steal all of their money if they didn't leave soon. She looked at Sophie, hoping she would get it.

Sophie was good at this kind of thing. "All right, that's enough," she said. "The wings are gone, and it's obvious we interrupted something. Let's go."

"It's my closet!"

"And you don't keep clothes in it, do you?" Sophie pushed Nate away from the door. "Downstairs!"

She winked at Parker. Parker winked back.

"Okay," she said, turning back to Hardison as soon as the door closed. "We're not going to talk anymore."

And so they didn't.