Of Carnivals and Rigged Games
xXx
A/N: This is part one in an on going series on Ao3 called The Tracks Don't Have to Separate Us
Leonard Snart hated Carnivals, but he loved his sister and giving her something to look forward to with their father always on the warpath; a sense of normalcy, was well worth any discomfort he may feel at being surrounded by crying babies and grumpy, absent minded parents. At least it wasn't quite as hot as one would expect for early June and his sister seemed to be enjoying herself which was always a plus no matter how uncomfortable he was.
Currently he was watching Lisa bounce around with a couple of school friends they had run into in the large bounce castle sporting an obnoxiously purple dog from some cartoon Lisa only got to watch when their father wasn't around. A few minutes passed and Lisa bounced down the small ramp, landing on her barefeet in front of him. "Lenny! Can I go down to the beach with my friends?" Lisa asked. Leonard looked down at the little girl and sighed.
"You didn't bring your swimsuit." he told her.
"It's okay, we're not going swimming, just to play in the sand." she replied grinning at him pleadingly.
"Alright, but you stay there. I will come find you in one hour. Got it." he instructed and she nodded before slipping her sandals back on and dashing down the pier with her friends all around her.
Leonard watched until she disappeared down the steps to the beach before turning the opposite way, and started walking. He soon found himself surrounded by game booths. He wouldn't be caught dead spending money on the rigged games, but there was always someone willing to waste the time and money, almost exclusively to impress someone. A prime example of such stood not fifty feet from him.
A tall lanky young man, about his age, with brown hair and expensive clothing stood at one of the booths. The dart game to be specific. Beside him, hip leaning against the counter, stood a beautiful blonde woman. Long blonde hair waved in the slight breeze, bangs covering her forehead and bright blue eyes conveying her less than amused status. From the looks of it they had been there for awhile, the booth attendant collecting quite the purse from the man as he failed in attempt after attempt to pop one of the balloons with the darts that were undoubtedly weighted. The pretty little rich boy trying to impress the woman who was clearly regretting saying yes to this date.
"Tommy, come on, it's not a big deal. I don't need a stuffed animal. Let's just go ride the ferris wheel." the woman pleaded to no avail.
"In a minute Sara." Tommy replied not even looking at her as he handed over a few more bills and received a few darts in return. Sara rolled her eyes and turned away from the board, crossing her arms with a huff. Leonard smirked. The asshole clearly didn't realize he was treading water with the young woman, his ego far too large to allow him to see passed his failure.
Leonard didn't know what came over him as he strolled over to the booth. He waited patiently for Tommy to finish his darts, once again finishing in failure and before he could pull out some more money, Leonard passed a few dollars to the booth attendant, smirking at Sara as he picked up the three darts set in front of him. She smiled shyly at him, Tommy fuming on her other side. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Tommy crossing his arms, a smug look on his face as if he actually expected Leonard to fail as well. Unfortunately for Tommy, Leonard new the secret to beating most, if not all of the rigged games.
He quickly and efficiently popped three of the little red balloons. A look of outrage took over Tommy's face as Leonard picked out a hush puppy hound and turned to Sara, presenting it to her with the same smirk. She flushed a bit, accepting the toy with a small thank you. He inclined his head to her before shooting a smug look of his own toward Tommy and walking off.
As he walked away he could hear them talking.
"You're not going to keep that, are you?" Tommy questioned barely containing his anger.
Sara didn't even attempt to contain her anger. "Go suck an egg Tommy."