An early one for you!
I, per usual, don't own anything.
Thanks for reading.
Happy Thanksgiving! :)
"We can do it."
Leonard looked up from where he was lounging on Lisa's temporary bed. Sara was playing solitaire on the table, but stood when Leonard did.
Martin grinned, tired from the hours of x-rays, conversations with Ray, and pouring over books and charts, but he was pleased. "We can remove it safely."
"When?" Lisa asked, sitting up on the chair.
"We'll need some time to gather supplies, but maybe two days?" Ray said. He saw Lisa's expression fall, and hastened to add, "But we'll keep you safe here."
She argued, "But Lenny will-"
"I'll take care of it," Leonard cut in. Two days meant that he would still have to work with his father, to keep up appearances. He forced a faint smile for his sister. "You'll be safer here."
"You should at least call Mick."
He had, but without any luck. The big man had dropped off the grid. "It'll be fine."
Lisa looked ready to argue, but it was late and they were all exhausted. Leonard leaned over her chair and kissed the top of her head. "I'll check in. Stay here. Behave."
Sara caught his eye and went to grab her coat, giving Leonard a few moments with his temporary allies.
He glanced at Martin and Ray, sparing a nod for them, then turned to Rip. The leader had come in with food, and nothing more had been said about his altercation with Sara, but it was clear he wasn't thrilled with the arrangement.
"If anything happens to her," Leonard said quietly, "it won't just be a bloody nose."
Rip met his eyes. "Despite what you may think of me, Mr...Leonard, I will do everything I can to protect her."
Leonard wanted to believe that.
"And I trust you will do the same?" Rip murmured, glancing behind Leonard.
He looked back, seeing Sara approaching with her things.
"Yes." The word was drawn out before he'd had a chance to consider the alternative.
"Ready?" Sara asked, smiling at Ray, Martin, and Lisa, and nodding at Rip.
Leonard agreed and they stepped out of the warehouse. Despite hearing the door close behind him, Leonard could still feel the weight of their gazes on his back. He was supposed to look out for Sara? He thought it was the other way around.
They walked back through the business center in silence, finding the building he and Lisa had descended and going back up. Sara expressed no surprise about the boards, but did say she thought it was clever.
It was past three in the morning by the time they finally got back into Leonard's apartment. He couldn't believe that just this afternoon, he had been laughing. It seemed so distant from the dreary reality now. Exhausted, he should have immediately gone to bed, but he stayed just outside his door, watching Sara move the pillows around and grab a blanket.
She looked up at him. "Lisa'll be okay."
He didn't nod or agree. He appreciated the thought, but it meant next to nothing. He glanced at her as she took off her boots and jacket, settling down onto the couch. "Don't you have something to change into?"
"Not really. Wasn't planning on a sleepover. Should've thought to have Rip get some of my things, but..." She shrugged.
Fair enough. He went into his room and pulled out an old t-shirt. He rarely wore short sleeves, so it'd be no skin off his nose if she used it. "Here." He came out and tossed it across the distance between them. She caught it easily, blue eyes startled.
"Thanks."
He didn't respond. Seeing he was disinclined to conversation, she tried to say, "Get some rest. Good-"
"This guy," Leonard interrupted, leaning on the wall. "Savage."
She stiffened, but he pretended not to notice.
"What'd he take from you?"
"Something important," she answered shortly. Back to the shuttered expression and the dangerous set to her mouth. Back to the woman he'd met that first night. Part of him regretted having to back to this, but he had to figure it out.
"I didn't figure you as the sentimental type."
"I'm not."
That's what he thought. "But you're willing to risk breaking and entering?"
Sara stared straight ahead, but as Leonard looked at her, he saw a steely resolution. Some might have called it reckless abandon. "I'm willing to risk everything," she said fiercely.
He nodded once. "Goodnight, birdy."
She looked up at him, that resolve gone. He saw behind that mask, to something that looked a bit like fear. For the first time, she looked quite small and vulnerable in the dimmed light, covered in one of his blankets. "Night, Len."
He went into his room and closed the door, exhausted, but his mind moving a mile a minute. She was clever, but he was used to clever people, used to reading between the lines and lies, and things that people didn't mean to say.
Savage hadn't taken something from her, he'd taken someone. He'd killed a man that Sara had...cared for. Deeply. Now, she was planned a suicidal mission to take Savage's life in return. Her team knew about it - otherwise Rip wouldn't have tried to talk her out of it. Martin - that would explain his sad looks. He didn't want Sara to die. Clearly they knew of her plan, but they were unwilling to help, perhaps to try and protect her.
Was that what Rip wanted him to do? Refuse to help, and in so doing, keep her safe?
Doubtful. From what little he knew of Sara Lance, his refusal to help would only result in Sara trying to take care of it on her own. That would be even more dangerous. She wouldn't let something as inconsequential as her life keep her from trying.
Leonard shook his head at her foolishness, stripping out of his coat and jeans, falling onto his bed. This is why he didn't get involved with anyone. Too much drama, too many ways to get hurt.
He wondered what the man had been like, to get a girl like Sara to fall for him. Had to be someone interesting, at the very least. A fighter, maybe, to keep up with her. And handsome. Not because she was shallow, but because that's the type of man she deserved. Someone who could look her in the eye and be an equal, in every way that mattered.
That would have been something to see - Sara, in her prime, with a man by her side that was just as good as her.
But then he died. And took a big piece of Sara with him, leaving her broken, but still pushing forward. Sad, but still trying to laugh. Alone, but trying to keep others from being lonely.
That was why he didn't get involved with people. Even if they cared, even if they were actually there for you, one day could take them away forever. Then what were you left with? A broken heart and a lifetime of emptiness. Just look at Sara.
She deserved better than that. She deserved to be happy with someone who completed her. Maybe someone like-
The thought was unbidden into his head and Leonard rolled over, squashing that thinking and closing his eyes. No way was he going to get caught up with a girl who was still mourning someone else. He couldn't compete with a dead man and he wasn't going to try.
He didn't want to try.
Despite his attempt at convincing himself, Leonard found sleep elusive and his thoughts focused on the dangerous woman with the sad smiles, curled up in his shirt.
Leonard was woken by a knock on the front door. Pressing his face into his pillow, he stifled a groan. His internal clock told him he'd only been sleeping for a couple of hours, and he felt it. He moved slowly, knowing it was one of Lewis's men and not inclined to help him out.
Then the door opened and Leonard could hear murmured voices. Concern pushing his exhaustion aside, he pulled on his jeans, grabbed his knife from beneath his pillow, and crept down the hallway, hugging the wall.
Sara had opened the door, one bare foot braced behind it to keep anyone outside from entering, and a knife behind her back, hidden from whoever was outside. His t-shirt brushed the top of her thighs, the dark fabric making her hair glow all the brighter and for a moment, his chest hitched. Then, he noticed her stance was rigid and Leonard could make out the words now.
"...here to check up on little Lisa." The voice was unfamiliar, but the tone denoted him as one of Lewis's cronies. Brawn over brain, with a healthy dose of cruelty. Leonard moved forward a bit more, tightening his grip on the blade.
Sara didn't flinch. "I told you, you're not stepping foot in this apartment."
"Move aside, bitch."
Her feet shifted slightly, not moving, but standing firm. "No. Give me the plans and I'll pass it along to Leonard."
"What are you, his bodyguard?"
Leonard could almost feel Sara's cold smile in her answer. "Yup."
"Open the door!" It rattled slightly as the man outside tried to push his way in.
Sara didn't budge. From behind, Leonard could see her hand tightening on the hilt of her blade. "No."
"What kind of coward hides behind a girl?" the man shouted.
"What kind of trash uses his own daughter as leverage?" Sara spat.
"She's nothing but a future whore."
Leonard made to step forward, but Sara spoke up.
"Say that again." Sara's voice was colder and harder than Leonard had ever heard from her. He got chills, so he had no idea how the man at the door would be feeling, facing that anger head on.
Silence. Then a muttered insult and a shuffle of papers. "Fine. We'll see you at the warehouse at three. You better hope your boyfriend pulls this off, 'cause if he can't, I'll make sure it's not just the brat who pays for it."
Sara didn't correct his misconception. Nothing she could say would be more convincing than his shirt and her bare feet. "He will. But you'd better hope you aren't considered expendable. Because I'll be all too happy to follow up with that."
"Bitch."
Sara shut the door without comment and locked it. Facing the wood, she took a deep breath before turning to Leonard, papers in hand, unsurprised to see him. Her eyes danced over his torso; he'd neglected to put on a shirt before coming out. She didn't seem surprised or put off by the scars, which was a welcome reaction.
"Here." She shoved the papers toward him and went towards the living room, cracking her knuckles. Despite being dressed in only a shirt, her stance and tone screamed danger.
Papers held loosely, Leonard didn't look at them yet. Sara was pissed and although he didn't blame her, he needed her levelheaded. She was the only one he could trust on this job, and though his wayward thoughts from the night before still irked him, it was Lisa at stake. "What's got you so unhappy this morning?"
Her eyes sparked as she glanced back. "What do you think, Snart?"
Heading towards the kitchen table, he allowed his face to fall into his neutral expression. She rarely called him by his last name, and it sounded strange coming out of her mouth. "I think this is exactly what you signed on for. Pulling heists. Getting cold feet now?"
"I signed up to work with you. Not assholes like that."
"Well, part and parcel of working with me."
Sara's comment was muttered and probably not intended for him. "You're nothing like them."
"You can't know that."
She turned on him, ready to retort, but she choked down on the words. Grabbing her phone instead, she reported, "They're still trying to gather the supplies, but no one came near the warehouse last night. Safe to say that Lewis doesn't know where she is."
He'd been prepared for an argument, this misdirection caught him by surprise, but he recovered. "Unlike us."
She exhaled a quiet laugh and just like that, the tension was broken. "Right. What do you need me to do?"
He went back to his bedroom, planning on getting dressed, and said, "Clear off the table. Got a lot of work before three."
It was diamonds again. Of course. That was one thing he and his father did have in common - an eye for jewels. After the Center, it was almost too easy. Leonard and one other could enter as janitors, using lifted ID cards. They could let the others in afterwards. The lasers were a minor hindrance, but with his gun, they'd have at least a minute before the alarms were triggered. He could pick a lock in that time. They'd have cops on their tail, but no one knew the city like Leonard did. The only problem was security. There were at least three on each floor, and the 27th, where the diamonds were, always had two. But they changed shifts at the same time each night, so if he could time it properly…
By 1:30 PM, Leonard had most of a working plan. He had to view the security logs, and it wouldn't hurt to have a backup plan or three, but he had something that could be workable. Now it was just a matter of convincing his father and his men.
They took Sara's bike back to the warehouse. Partially because he wanted to be able to get out of there quickly, and partially because he didn't want Sara there without him. His father might be able to contain his temper on occasion, but he wasn't going to test it by throwing the combative fighter in there alone. He didn't need to direct her this time, she knew the way.
When they arrived at the warehouse, it was empty. Before he'd finished laying out his plans, however, he heard the sounds of cars pulling up outside.
"Just stay out of their way," Leonard muttered to Sara. Not because she couldn't take them, but because he didn't want to risk Lisa.
She nodded, but he noticed her staff was always within reach, not to mention what she quite literally had hidden beneath her sleeve.
Lewis strode in, his eyes casting over Leonard before resting briefly on Sara. "Have a good evening?"
Leonard ignored that. "Let's get started." The men grouped up around the plans, Sara took a spot at Leonard's shoulder, not watching him or the plans, but the others.
Despite the circumstances, Lewis knew better than to interrupt Leonard. Since he was a teenager, Leonard had always had an eye for plans. Even though his father hated him, and the feeling was mutual, they both knew that listening to him would pay off.
"I need to look at the security logs, but I think we can get in and out without being seen, if everyone follows my plan," Leonard summed up. He raised his eyes to the men standing around the table, looking for dissenters.
One man, who had earned a glare from Sara when he'd tried to interrupt, spoke up. "Don't understand why we're pussyfooting around. We've got the guns. Why not just blow our way in?"
Recognizing his voice from this morning, Leonard fixed his face in his memory. His name was David, one of Lewis's older cronies. "Because if we 'blow our way in,'" Leonard drawled, "the cops will be on us two minutes earlier, which means we'll be without diamonds or a way out."
"You can't know exactly how fast those pigs can move," David argued. Sara shifted behind him and Leonard glared.
"He knows," Lewis said. "Shut your mouth."
Leonard refused to look at his father. They both knew how Leonard could calculate the response time so well. Lewis had been a cop - a corrupt one. They both knew response times, Lewis just knew them from both sides.
Lewis spoke up, "David, you'll get the security logs. You'll meet us here tomorrow morning."
"Exact to the minute," Leonard cut in. "Estimates won't work."
David rolled his eyes. "Sure."
"Sully. You and Mark get the uniforms. One for Leonard and one for me." Lewis stared at Leonard, daring him to argue. For a brief moment, he considered it. He didn't want to leave Sara alone with Lewis's men. But she wasn't speaking up and he couldn't appear weak.
Leonard yawned, motioning for Lewis to continue.
"Chip'll get the security cards. We'll be ready to go tomorrow night."
"If David gets the logs," Sara cut in.
Lewis shrugged and Leonard knew better than to press the issue. Either way, it'd be tomorrow night.
"In the meantime, we'll keep each other company until dark. I've got a few more questions for you," Lewis grinned. "The rest'll work on organizing the supplies I've brought."
Leonard had seen the guns and weapons. His unconcerned shrug served as his answer.
Lewis took charge, ordering his men around, having them dispense weapons and ammo to each go-bag. He grinned at Sara, and handed her a large coil of rope. He grunted as he passed the weight along. "Why don't you knot this up for us?"
Sara took it without flinching, in one hand. She met Lewis's eyes. "Fine." Carrying it as if it was a bag of feathers, she walked behind Leonard to lean on the wall.
"How'd you find that one?" Lewis asked.
"The classifieds," Leonard retorted. He kept his voice short, making it clear he didn't want to discuss Sara any longer. Any time Lewis took an interest in something, it rarely turned out well.
"Blonde hair, blue eyes," one of the men said, still at Lewis's side, watching Sara. "I love that."
"So did Hitler," Leonard said sharply, glaring at him. He met Leonard's eyes, blanched, then scurried off to his assigned work. He turned to his father, "What questions did you have?"
Lewis was still staring after Sara, but shook his head. "How long will that gun of yours keep the lasers frozen?"
Leonard fell into the pattern of the job, his eyes on every person, while trying to keep his father occupied and away from the others.
Chip drifted over to Sara, who was knotting up the rope with unexpected efficiency. Leonard kept him in the corner of his eye, unsure if he'd need to step in.
"You're good at that, cutie," he said, grinning at Sara. "What else can you do with those hands of yours?"
Sara looked up at him, the sweetest, most insincere smile on her face. She batted her eyelashes and cocked her head to the side. "Snap your neck."
Chip laughed weakly, but Sara's smile faded and she continued to stare at him, nothing but promise in her eyes.
When he realized that Sara probably wasn't joking, he returned to his assigned job, nervous as he glanced back at her.
Sara looked at Leonard. She winked at him and Leonard had to hide his smirk.
"Focus, boy." Lewis hit his shoulder, knocking him back a few steps. He recovered quickly, finding his balance with an ease that only experience could provide. Leonard glared at his father, who seemed completely oblivious.
A scuff from behind had him glancing back. Sara had straightened up, reaching for her staff. Leonard waved her down. It was fine. Nothing new. She stared at him for a long moment, then leaned back against the wall with a frown. It was clear she hated not doing something, but he appreciated the sentiment.
This job was awful, but at least he had one person to watch his back.
"This is a surprise," Sara remarked, straightening from where she was leaning on the wall. She went to the kitchen table and took a seat.
Leonard scoffed quietly as he put the plate down in front of her. "It's pasta and sauce. Hardly five star."
"Homemade sauce." She sat at the kitchen table and passed him a napkin. "Just never figured you for the cooking kind."
After the long, tense afternoon, Leonard and Sara had been set free by Lewis at nine. His men had gone out to get what they needed and though Leonard doubted it would turn out as it should, there was nothing more he could do at the moment. Lewis was running the show. At this rate, he just wanted to make sure that he and Lisa survived.
And Sara.
She'd let him drive the motorcycle back to the apartment and it had been as thrilling as he'd anticipated. He definitely had to get one. The feeling of Sara wrapped tightly around his back hadn't been entirely unwelcome either.
Dammit. Now that he knew the truth of her backstory, he was finding it harder and harder to keep from being attracted to her. And he was trying, desperately. But every time he looked for something to dissolve his feelings, he saw her watching him, or standing beside him, or wanting to stand up for him.
Even worse, he was finding that he was doing the same for her.
She tucked into the food, glancing up at him after a few bites. "This is really good."
"I do know my way around boiling water."
Sara laughed and they ate quietly. When they finished, he moved to take her plate, but Sara grabbed it. "You cooked, I'll clean."
Seeing Sara at the sink washing dishes was far too domestic for him. Not because it was uncomfortable, but because she seemed to fit into his life so well. Standing up, he made his way into the living room and took a seat on the chair. He had to distance himself from her. This was getting unbearable.
Leonard Snart was not the type of man to be hung up on another person. People got hung up on him, but he was always in control of the situation. With Sara, he wasn't in control, he was free-falling and he knew that the bottom would be painful. He'd spent his whole life avoiding pain. He wasn't about to give in now.
So when Sara came into the dark living room, he steeled himself and spoke. "What was he like, this man of yours?"
Sara's smile, which had been so bright as she entered, slid off her face. "What?"
"The man that Savage killed. What was he like?" He needed to know. He needed to hear the reasons why he wouldn't never even be a contender. He needed her to think about this other man and stop smiling at him the way she did.
He needed distance, because he already knew it was going to hurt.
She fell onto the couch, staring at him. The only light came from the kitchen and she probably wouldn't see much more of him than a shadow. "How did you find out?"
"I'm not stupid, birdy."
"I know that."
"Overheard you and Rip. Useful information, eavesdropping." He kept his eyes on her, his tone cool and collected. "So, how'd he die?"
Sara stared right back at him, her eyes starting to fill, but never spilling over. Her voice was almost as calm. "Saving my team."
"A hero." The one thing he'd never be. Perfect.
"Not usually," she retorted. "He prided himself on not being one."
"Young guy?"
"Older than me."
"Half the world's older than you."
She shrugged, but still those eyes were locked on him. He'd expected her to drop her gaze once they started discussing her loss, but she kept on surprising him.
"He was an asshole," she said quietly. "A real jerk sometimes. But there were these moments, when he would let me in. Past the sarcasm and cynicism. Turns out we were alike. Both broken. Both alone. Both thinking we weren't worth saving."
"You-" Leonard choked down the words he wanted to say and instead said, "...sound like a Hallmark movie."
"Hardly." She shook her head and finally looked away from him. "We were so angry. At everything. Us, life, the new job. We fought, constantly. Most times we ended up on the same side. He cared, beneath it all." She shrugged and added, "He made me happy."
There it was. There was his answer. He couldn't be what Sara was looking for. Leonard stood, "I'm going to bed. Suggest you do the same."
Sara nodded, still staring off into space.
"Did you love him?" He hadn't meant to ask that. He hadn't meant to sound so…
Sara looked up at him and he saw the woman behind the fighter again. "Yes," she answered, her voice finally cracking. "But I never told him. I don't think he knew."
Nothing he could say could follow that, so he didn't say anything. He closed the door behind him and hoped their conversation would be enough.
But he dreamed of sapphires and knew it was too late.
