"Lenny!" Avery exclaimed when Leonard opened the door to his apartment.
"Kid, what'd we say about your little escapades?" he said.
"Relax," Sara said, coming up behind her, "I'm here too."
"Well my day just keeps getting better and better."
"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?"
"Actually, today, you don't," Leonard shot back. Sara tried to ignore the hidden meanings in his statement.
Lisa appeared in the doorway.
"Did I hear the sound of my favorite four-year-old?" she said, bending down to lift up Avery. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm just on my way off to bring Ave to preschool and we wanted to stop by and invite you guys over for dinner tonight. My sister and her husband are coming over and I thought you might want to join us. From what you were saying, Lisa, you both probably would appreciate a meal that isn't takeout."
"Yeah, we'd love to," Lisa said, "Wouldn't we, Len?"
She elbowed her brother in the side.
"As much as I'd like to spend an evening with your family," Leonard said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I have to work tonight."
"Please Lenny?" Avery said, tugging on his shirt, "It's not gonna go very late because I gotta go to bed and Auntie Laurel wants to go see Grandma too."
"Avery," Sara said warningly, detaching her from Leonard's shirt, "Remember what I said? Don't push."
Avery said nothing, just pouted up at her mother.
"I gotta get Avery to school," she said, turning back to Leonard and Lisa, "Lisa, I'll see you later, say, around four? Stop by if you can Leonard, but don't worry about it too much."
Leonard nodded.
"Ready Avery?" Sara asked, but Avery dug her heels into the floor.
"No!" she crossed her arms and shook her head, her curls becoming even more disheveled, "I'm not moving until Lenny says he'll come tonight."
Sara raised her eyebrows.
"Okay," she said, "Don't move. That's fine," she went behind Avery and lifted her up under her arms, "but either way you're going to school."
As Sara began walking down the hallway, Avery's backpack over one shoulder and Avery herself over the other, Avery turned to wave.
"Bye Lenny! Bye Lisa," she called, "See you later!"
"Mommy," Avery called later that evening, "Auntie Laurel and Uncle Tommy are gonna be here in twenty minutes."
"And how do you know that?" Sara asked skeptically, emerging from the kitchen with a salad bowl in tow.
"Cause Auntie Laurel just called."
"Since when were you answering the phone?"
"Since it was ringing," Avery replied. Sara shook her head in defeat and returned to the kitchen.
Just as she was reaching into the oven, there was a knocking on the door. Before Sara had time to react, she heard the sound of the door being thrown open and Avery exclaiming,
"Mommy, it's Lisa and Lenny!"
By the time she returned to the living room, the siblings were already inside the apartment.
"Did you ask who it was?" Sara asked her daughter, who nodded emphatically. Sara glanced up at Lisa who silently shook her head.
"You know, I'm really gonna miss you when you get kidnapped one day," she said.
"I like your outfit Avie," Lisa said.
"Thanks!" Avery replied, twirling around several times for emphasis.
Avery was wearing what appeared to be a purple and blue leotard with an attached tutu skirt — the kind you'd see in a toddler's ballet class. Underneath was a pair of striped tights. On her feet was a pair of pink ballet slippers.
"She had her first ballet class a few days ago," Sara explained, "I can't get her to take it off."
"Wanna come see my room Lisa?" Avery asked taking Lisa's hand.
"I've already seen your room, Avie," Lisa replied as Avery started pulling her down the hallway.
"I moved the dollhouse yesterday," Avery said, "It's a game changer."
"Oh, well then, I guess I have to see it."
Lisa allowed Avery to pull her into her bedroom.
A few seconds of quiet passed by.
"I see you decided to stop by," Sara said in an attempt to fill the silence.
"Yeah, well I have a few hours to kill before I have to go to work and I figured, where else would I spend it besides with my neighbors and their relatives?" Leonard shrugged.
"My sister and her husband will be here in a few minutes," she said.
"Not a fan of the brother-in-law?" Leonard asked, reading her facial expression.
"I'm a fan of good company," Sara corrected, unconsciously stepping closer to him, "Why do you think I invited you?"
"Oh?"
It was at this point that Sara became very aware of how close she and Leonard were standing. She could see the rise and fall of his chest, or at least, she would have if her eyes weren't locked on his. He seemed to have come to the same realization as her.
"Anyway," Sara said, stepping away from him, "It shouldn't be too long until they show up."
Lisa and Avery returned to the living room moments later.
"She was right," Lisa said, "Moving the dollhouse was a game changer."
"Lenny!" Avery gasped, "You've never seen my room ever!" She reached out towards him, "Come see my room!"
"You can say no but she'll never leave you alone," Sara advised him.
"Alright," he sighed, allowing Avery to take his hand in her tiny one.
Avery's bedroom was exactly like and unlike Leonard had expected Sara's influence on the room was obvious, but there were still hints of Avery too.
"That's my bed," Avery said importantly, pointing to a tiny bed — the type meant for toddlers. The frame was shaped like the outline of a house. Draped over the "roof" was a string of fairy lights that twinkled like stars against a gauzy canopy, "The lights are there 'cause I'm afraid of the dark."
Next to the bed was a pile of picture books and a chair.
"That's where Mommy sits when she reads me bedtime stories," Avery said. She then pointed to a pile of toys in one corner of the room, "Those are my stuffed animals. Mommy put those letters on the wall, but I don't remember what it says."
"Don't feed the animals," he read off the wall, "They're stuffed."
"Mommy put them there," Avery said again, although Leonard could have figured that out on his own; it was a perfect example of her kind of humor.
In another corner was a tall wooden dollhouse, the one that had apparently been somewhere else in the room and was a main contributor to the overall Feng Shui.
On the other side of the room was what appeared to be an actual fabric teepee, and inside was a fuzzy cream-colored beanbag chair and some more books.
"And that," Avery said, "is where I practice ballet."
Leonard tuned back in to see Avery point to a gold framed mirror leaning up against a wall. It was tall — not quite as tall as Leonard but perfect for the tiny four-year-old. In front of it, al manner of dance-related items — shoes, leotard, tutus — were strewn across the dark wood floors.
"The dollhouse makes a big difference," he told Avery, who apparently didn't remember he'd never seen the room before.
"So what'd you think," Sara said when they returned to the living room.
"I can see why she shows it to everyone she meets," Leonard replied, "I like the teepee."
"It was a fourth birthday present from my dad. Anyway, you can sit," Sara gestured to the couch, "Make yourself comfortable."
Leonard sat and then a moment later said, "How could I comfortable with a four-year-old on my lap."
Sara turned to see that Avery had indeed climbed into Leonard's lap.
"Avery," Sara said, "Lay off of Len for a little bit, honey."
"C'mere Avie," Lisa said, pulling Avery into her own lap. She picked up a plastic doll, "Tell me about her."
Avery launched into the backstory of the doll, who was a ballerina by day and an FBI spy at night. Only halfway through the tale, the intercom buzzed.
"C'mon up, Laurel," Sara said, letting them into the building.
A few minutes later, Laurel knocked on the door. For once, Avery didn't jump to open it. She was too occupied in telling Lisa about her doll to notice anything else.
Sara crossed the living room and pulled open the door.
"Sara!" Laurel exclaimed, pulling her sister into a hug, "It's so good to see you!"
"It's good to see you too," Sara said, reciprocating the hug. Over Laurel's shoulder, she saw her brother-in-law Tommy Merlyn standing a few steps behind his wife, "Hey Tommy."
"Sara," he nodded in her direction, "I like the new place."
"Thanks," she replied, "C'mon in."
She led them into the apartment.
"Mom's not here yet?" Laurel asked.
"Can't make it," Sara shook her head, "Apparently she's grading finals, but she'll be done in time for when you stop by later."
"Auntie Laurel!" Avery shouted, launching herself into her aunt's arms.
"Avie!" Laurel said, lifting her niece up, "You've gotten so big since the last time I saw you!"
Avery giggled as Laurel placed her gently on the ground.
"That's quite an outfit," Tommy said, ruffling Avery's hair, "What'd you do, get dressed in the dark this morning or something?"
He was joking, but even all the way from the couch, Leonard saw Avery's smile fade slightly.
"What're you talking about?" he said defensively, "Tutus are the next big thing You're looking at high fashion right now."
"Yeah," Avery said, leaning towards Tommy with her hands on her hips and her nose scrunched up, "High fashion."
"You wanna introduce us to your guests, Sara?" Laurel asked, gesturing to Leonard and Lisa, who she'd only just noticed.
Before Sara could answer, Avery piped up.
"This is Lenny and Lisa," she said, pointing to each of the respectively, "They live across the hall. Lisa sometimes watches me while Mommy's at work, and Lenny helped me build a bridge for school last week and I won a prize."
"Hi," Laurel said to the siblings, who nodded in response.
"Mommy," Avery said, pulling on the hem of Sara's shirt, "Daily bubble?"
"Yeah, you can do the daily bubble," Sara nodded. She turned to the guests, "She's been waiting all day so she can do the daily bubble with you guys." She looked back at Avery, "But you have to do it now because it's getting dark."
"C'mon!" Avery said, gesturing for everyone to follow her onto the balcony.
"It's been so long since I saw a daily bubble," Laurel said, "What's your record?"
"Eleven seconds," Sara replied.
While everyone was getting situated on the balcony and Avery was helping her mother prepare the bubble wand, Leonard took in Sara's sister and brother-in-law.
Laurel was just as attractive as her sister, but in different ways. It was obvious in both sisters' stances and the way the acted around each other that Laurel was the older sister. She emanated a certain regality, maturity. He remembered Sara — or was it Avery? — saying that Laurel was a lawyer in Star City, and now that he was seeing her in person, that didn't surprise him very much. She seemed like the "words first, violence later" type, whereas Sara was much more in favor of "punch now, talk after".
As similar as the siblings were in appearance, Leonard decided that he still found Sara more appealing.
It was her eyes.
Leonard was aware that Sara was an attractive woman. He knew it, Mick had pointed it out during their run-in at the grocery store, even Lisa had commented on it once or twice.
The sexiest part about her though?
Her eyes.
They radiated this powerful enigma of confidence that Leonard had never felt with anyone before.
Laurel was beautiful, sure, but in Leonard's opinion, no one compared to Sara.
Leonard, quickly realizing where his thoughts were going, moved on to Laurel's husband. Tommy was attractive enough, at least in a conventional sense, with his sharp jawline, light blue eyes, and dark brown hair that was combed neatly to one side. In fact, he and Laurel were possibly the most generic looking couple he'd ever seen. They looked like they could be in a commercial on TV or on a billboard you'd glance at as you drove down the freeway.
Tommy looked so familiar in fact, that Leonard could swear he'd seen him before.
Before he could try to figure out why he recognized him, the daily bubble began.
It was a good one today, they got all the way to seven seconds before it popped and they all went back inside.
While Avery was showing her Aunt Laurel her bedroom (big surprise), and Lisa was helping Sara prepare dinner in the kitchen, Leonard got time to probe Tommy, to figure out where he knew him from.
It didn't take long.
"So," he began, regard Tommy from across the glass coffee table in Sara's living room, "How did you meet Laurel?"
"I had hired her to take of some law-related issues at my company," he answered.
"Where do you work?"
"I actually run my dad's company, Merlyn Global Group."
Leonard suddenly recalled a framed photo on a desk in a dimly lit office.
This was Malcolm Merlyn's son.
Leonard knew Malcolm Merlyn. He'd worked with him for a few years as a part of a group called the Legion of Doom.
The Legion of Doom was pretty much exactly what it sounded like. It was a group of several people who were working to better their own lives, admittedly at the expense of most of the people around them.
While he didn't work with the Legion anymore, he had enjoyed his time with them. He had been able to use the skills he had as a criminal, but he also felt like he had a purpose, he was doing something.
There were four members of the Legion of Doom, but Leonard was closest with the third to join, Malcolm Merlyn.
Closest is a relative term. People like Leonard and Malcolm, people who find themselves in Legions of Doom, don't get close to other people.
But, Leonard found himself working with Malcolm more often than the others. Damian Dahrk and Eobard Thawne, an immortal wizard and a time traveling speedster respectively, tended to see things on a more holistic level, which made sense considering all that they'd been through and all they'd seen. Their plans were complicated and vague, and whenever Leonard asked about his cut, he was always met with the words "you will see countless benefits in the long run".
Malcolm, on the other hand, thought more on Leonard's level, and always made sure he was generously compensated for his work.
Leonard wasn't working with the Legion of Doom anymore, not after Malcolm had started working on a little side project — one Eobard and Damian weren't really involved in, but also not one they'd ever tried to prevent. It was a plan that Leonard didn't agree with, so he left.
Tommy Merlyn seemed to be unaware of the work his father did outside of running a major company, which made sense. You wouldn't want to tell your son about your plans to blow up an entire city if you didn't think he'd approve, and while Leonard had not known Tommy for more than an hour, he was fairly certain he wouldn't approve.
The dinner went well enough. Avery carried most of the conversation, which didn't surprise anyone. She had vehemently insisted on sitting between Leonard and Laurel, which Leonard was perhaps a bit happier about than he should have been. She was, after all, a four-year-old girl; her approval shouldn't matter, but for whatever reason, it did.
Aside from Avery, Leonard didn't really interact with anyone during the meal. He mostly just watched, observed.
He watched how Sara acted around her sister. He could see the sibling bond, and he could see the love they had for each other, but he also saw something else. He saw a sort of animosity, as if there had been some conflict between the Lance sisters that had never been fully addressed.
Leonard also observed Tommy Merlyn.
The phrase ignorance is bliss had never rung so true in just one person.
He seemed completely oblivious to almost everything, oblivious to any tension between his wife and sister-in-law, oblivious to his niece's dislike of him, oblivious to who his father was.
When the clock showed the time as 6:45, Leonard knew it was time to go. He had a job down at the docks, a job where arriving even a couple minutes too late could be fatal.
"I think it's time for me to head out," he said, standing from the couch where they had been sitting and drinking coffee.
"No!" Avery exclaimed. She crawled out of Laurel's lap to Leonard, where she dramatically draped herself across his chest, holding her hands behind his neck to keep herself from slipping off of him.
"Sorry kid," he said, "but I have to go to work."
"But it's nighttime," Avery said in confusion.
"I don't argue with the boss," he replied, hoping that his answer would be enough to satisfy Avery.
She pouted for a moment but eventually climbed off of him.
He stood up and Lisa followed suit,
"I should go too," she said, "Thanks for having us, Sara."
"I — surprisingly — had a good time," Leonard added, "See you around, Lance."
"You too, Snart," Sara replied.
Neither of them knew how soon that would be.
Laurel and Tommy left not long after the Snart siblings; they were staying at Dinah Lance's house and wanted to get there before it got too late.
That left Sara to clean up after dinner while Avery sat in the living room, coloring in a coloring book while she watched a Disney movie.
The phone rang a few minutes before eight. Before Sara had time to react, Avery had already picked it up.
"Hello," she heard her ask, before she was silent for a second, "Hi Joe!"
"Avery, give me the phone," Sara said, hurrying around the couch. She tried to grab the phone but Avery twisted away.
"Yeah, my mom's here," Avery continued, "Yeah, you can talk to her."
Avery handed the phone to her mother.
"Hey Joe," Sara said, "Sorry about her."
"No, don't worry about it," Joe replied, "Look, I know you're off duty, but we need everyone down at the docks. We've got Captain Cold, and he's putting up a pretty big fight."
Sara glanced to her side where Avery had resumed coloring. Normally, Joe never called her when she was off duty: he knew that her situation with Avery was complicated at best, and he didn't want to complicate it any further. If he was calling her, it was important.
"Sure," she said, "I'm on my way."
Sara hung up the phone and began to think logistically. She obviously couldn't leave Avery home alone, but her usual overnight babysitter — her mom — wouldn't be able get to the apartment in time, and not only that, she was visiting with Laurel and Tommy. There was no way she could call another babysitter this last-minute.
"Avery," Sara finally said, "Do you want to go visit Lisa?"
"Yeah!" Avery's eyes brightened.
"Then let's go."
They walked across the hall and knocked on Lisa's door. It was opened in a matter of seconds.
"Len- oh it's you guys," Lisa said, her face falling, "Long time no see."
"Sorry," Sara said, "Is it a bad time?"
"No," Lisa assured her, "I just thought you were my brother."
"Is something wrong."
"No," Lisa said a little to quickly, "He just had to stay late at work today. You know how it is."
"That's actually why I came over. I just got called on duty. Apparently they've got Captain Cold and they need the whole squad down there to get him."
"Aren't you a detective, not a cop?
"Yeah, but he's the number one suspect in sixteen of my cases right now which makes it part of my job to catch him."
"Oh," Lisa said, the look on her face giving Sara a funny feeling.
"Anyway, I was wondering if you'd mind watching Avery until I get back."
"Sure." Lisa said, smiling at Avery, "I'd love to hang out with her for a little bit."
"Thank you so much!" Sara exclaimed, "I'll be back in a few hours. You know the drill: she needs to be in bed around 8:30, she needs her bunny blanket to sleep. If anything does happen, just call me."
"I'm sure we'll have a ton of fun."
"Do you know how to play go-fish?" Avery piped up, pulling on the hem of Lisa's sleeve.
"I do," Lisa nodded.
"Let's go play," Avery said, grabbing Lisa's hand and pulling her back into her own apartment.
"Thanks Lis," Sara called after them as the door closed.
When she got down to the harbor, she saw Captain Cold standing at the edge of the largest dock. Blocking his way back to solid ground was an entire squadron of cops, all with their guns pointed directly at him. He looked relatively calm about the situation; his cold gun was even still in its holster, but Sara couldn't help but feel as if something was different. There was something almost familiar about him, especially in the way he was standing, with his arms hanging loosely by his sides and most of his weight on one leg. She felt as if she'd just seen someone standing exactly like that, but she couldn't figure out who.
She pulled her gun out and switched off the safety as she crept down the dock towards the group of cops.
"You've got nowhere to go, Cold," Joe West was saying, "Come quietly and no one gets hurt."
Captain Cold's eyes flicked over to her as she joined the ranks. His head tipped slightly to the side in response to the cop's statement.
Then, before anybody knew what had happened, he'd pulled out his cold gun and shot the cop standing closest to the edge of the dock, sending her flying into the water. As all the other police officers turned their attention to her, Captain Cold jumped off of the wooden dock onto the sailboat that was attached to it. Sara rolled her eyes and tore after him, rolling onto the deck of the boat and quickly jumping to her feet.
She chased Captain Cold onto the adjacent dock and back towards the shore, their feet pounding against the wood almost in sync. He ducked into an abandoned mill, disappearing behind crates and tarps hanging from beams in the ceiling before Sara could follow him. She slowed to a creeping walk, holding her gun up higher in front of her. Her head swiveled from side to side as she watched for any movements and listen for any noises.
She whipped around as a shuffling sound resonated across the otherwise silent building. She ran towards the noise and saw Captain Cold moving towards the back exit. In a rush of adrenaline, Sara aimed her gun at his retreating form, put her finger on the trigger, and pulled. The gunshot rang through the air, far louder than the sound of whatever Captain Cold had done before. He tensed, and Sara knew that she'd hit her target. She thought he might fall but he didn't. He stumbled down another aisle of metal shelves covered in sealed boxes. Just as she was about to chase after him, she heard a clattering crash and a loud thump. She rounded the corner and saw Cold crouched on the ground, his hand covering a bleeding gash in his leg. Gun at the ready, Sara approached the criminal. He turned back to look at her, and through the blue-tinted goggles, she saw something that looked inexplicably like fear. Captain Cold, afraid?
Sara reached forwards and pulled the goggles off of his face. Suddenly, she realized why she had felt as if she recognized him.
She was looking into the face of Leonard Snart
"Leonard?" she asked, taking a few stumbling steps backwards.
"If you want your daughter alive, you won't turn me in," was all Leonard Snart got to say before the butt of Sara's gun collided with the side of his head.
I took an accidental week off because I'm unbelievably good at procrastinating, but I'm back :)