Working with a team was nothing new to Len. He had recruited help when needed for a job. He had played nice with the Legends, even though not being in charge and having to follow orders was not his style. Working with The Flash as a freelance ally from time to time had been fun, though he had usually had his own agenda, had had an angle, and he always got something out of it.

Now there was a team of three other people who were aware of Leonard Snart's importance to one Barry Allen. He had looked at the set-up from all angles, had calculated the risks, had drawn up several worst-case scenarios – and he had become part of Team Flash.

Mick would have laughed his ass off.

But it worked. It was strange sometimes, seeing how they gave support to not just their red-clad hero but the guy who was connected to The Flash and very much linked to Barry Allen. He had kidnapped Cisco's brother, as well as Dr. Snow herself. He had threatened their friend, had hurt him, had actually done a lot of irredeemable things. Still, there were slow changes. A kind of acceptance.

Cisco was their eyes and ears, monitoring, relaying information, just as Caitlin took on the challenge of figuring out how to bring down a meta. Wells was always in the background, monitoring in his own way, and Len found that the man had streaks of brilliance.

He still didn't let them test him.

"Right!" Cisco exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Since you've joined our little team…" He trailed off as he caught Len's hard, warning expression. "Uhm, on a freelance basis?" he tried.

"Let's talk hourly rates next." Len gave him his trademark smirk.

Cisco snorted, truly amused. "Well, anyway. You're part of this merry band, so I got you some new gear."

He walked over to the wall and pushed a button, the panel sliding open. Snart refused to show any kind of reaction to the revelation of a black jacket with ice blue highlights and matching pants draped over a mannequin. The material looked suspiciously like the leather lookalike stuff the red suit was made of.

"It's made out of a reinforced tri-polymer with added impact protection. It's heat, cold and extremely abrasive resistant," Ramon told him, eyes alight, a bright and proud smile on his lips. "It's a little bit modeled after Barry's, but the cold thing is unique to you. We just heat Barry up to thaw him out of a block of ice." He grinned more. "Yours is also a three piece. The shirt's like an underarmor, then there's the jacket and the pants. The hood's designed to stay on, without looking like a cowl. Sorry, no fur."

Len almost snorted.

"Not sure you want a mask. I can still add one. I mean, you've got the goggles, but if you prefer a wrap-around shield or something else, let me know. The goggles are a more resistant version of your old ones. You also got some tech in there."

Cisco walked over to his desk and picked up a very overhauled version of his old cold gun. Actually, it looked absolutely nothing like the old cold gun. It was much sleeker, smaller and looked like it weighed next to nothing.

"This is your new gun," he presented proudly. "Actually, one of two."

"Two," he echoed, brows rising.

On the inside he was absolutely overwhelmed and more than a little excited, bordering on giddy.

"Yes, two. Smaller, lighter, and really, really powerful. Not to mention the different settings. They connect to the suit, so if you lose grip of one, you don't drop it. The cables are thin, but very flexible and they supply power. Really cut back on the weight. Oh! And even in the very unlikely event the cables are severed, they can still fire off blasts of ice. The new core is smaller but twice as powerful. I can even code them to your fingerprints, but that runs a small risk of some stupid meta doing some even more stupid stunt concerning you and your hands." Cisco grimaced. "Same about retinal scans or even a bio-signature."

Snart studied the suit, took in the details, the way it was designed to protect and still keep him flexible and fast nevertheless.

"Sensors," he drawled as he saw the familiar faint lines on the undershirt.

"Uhm, yeah. I mean, we do want to monitor your vitals, right?"

"And my whereabouts."

Ramon blinked. "No?"

"Pull the other one, kiddo."

"We don't. We really don't. It's just that you're important to Barry. Really important. So monitoring how you are is important."

Len was speechless. It rarely if ever happened, but today, this very moment, it had.

"It's important to me, too."

He turned his head without moving his body a single inch. He wasn't really surprised. Part of him was always very much aware where his speedster was, recognizing his presence in a room, and he had automatically catalogued his entrance.

"Scarlet," he drawled.

Barry was leaning one shoulder against the door frame leading into the lab. He was smiling softly and the expression did things to Len he would never confess to feeling.

"I mean it, Len. I want to know you're okay."

"I'm a big boy," he said coolly. "I can take care of myself. I have taken care of myself so far. With my old gun and my own clothes."

Ramon's face fell a little.

Barry pushed away from the door, walking over to him. "Please?"

Oh, damn!

"Trying the puppy eyes? Very much your style, Scarlet, but it's not working."

"You'd look good in them."

"I'm also not modelling."

Barry grinned. "Just, try it? Please?"

He did.

It fit like a second skin. The shirt, suit jacket and pants were amazingly flexible, warm but not suffocating. The gloves that came with the outfit weren't just insulated against backwash from the cold gun. According to Cisco they were antistatic, heat-resistant, and offered a basic protection against chemicals.

The guns were a dream to handle. Len knew he was grinning like a maniac as he tested the settings, got used to the nifty little additions, and he really didn't laugh as The Flash joined in the fun and they gave his new toys a work-out.

It was thrilling, an adrenaline ride, and while Len wasn't aiming at his partner to hurt him, he did his best to stop him. With two guns, which were much lighter and really did have more maneuverability, it was actually quite a learning experience for him, too.

He would need to get used to this. And he would get used to it. Len was a tenacious bastard and he would get a hang of his new toys.

xXXx

An arm slid over his waist, pulled him close to the hard body behind him. Lips brushed over the nape of his neck, with teeth biting lightly. Barry splayed a hand over the flat stomach, played over the warm skin as he kissed one bare shoulder. He left a little bite, drawing a rough chuckle out of the other man.

"I should have known that leather turns you on, Scarlet. Seeing how you dress up in it on a daily basis."

"Reinforced tri-polymer," Barry murmured, wrapping his arms around Len's waist, mouthing closer to his ear. "Not leather."

Len shivered a little. "Whatever floats your boat, Barry," he drawled. "Or gets you hot."

"You in black tri-polymer pants does the trick just fine."

"Honest to a fault."

"You asked."

"Hm, yes, my fault then."

The kiss was almost reverent, a light touch, a bare whisper of a connection, and it told Barry so much about the deeply rooted emotions. The intimacy between them was nothing he had experienced with anyone before. It was deeper, routed within what they fundamentally were, and it had him breathless and wondering how he could be so lucky.

So maybe their little make-out session turned into some really passionate sex, Barry claiming his shield with a fervor that even surprised him. Len grinned at him, holding the speedster close. He was featuring some interesting marks, too.

"If this happens every time, I think I have to give back the outfit," he purred. "Though I really don't mind. I love it when you let go."

Barry hummed, sounding pleased. Len's grin was seductive.

"I sometimes think you're making up for lost times," he teased. "Still not sure why you didn't get laid on a regular basis."

"Thin, pale nerdy types don't really attract a lot of attention. Well, we attract the wrong kind of attention."

Len ran sharp eyes over the slender form. "I don't think getting hit by lightning changed your physical attributes."

"Well, it gave me abs."

He burst out laughing and shook his head. Barry grinned.

"It's true. But no, nothing else changed. I was just very, very unlucky in that regard."

"Not even a quicky?"

"Not my style."

Len kissed him and Barry lost himself in the hot, slick contact.

"I like your style, Scarlet," he murmured.

And he set out to prove to Barry that while Leonard Snart was a normal human male, he had a few tricks up his sleeve to get his speedster into a pleasantly fucked-out afterglow.

Cisco didn't stop at the outfit and the guns. He actually went crazy on the motorbike redesign, going from some additions or upgrades to finally drawing up a completely new bike that had Len stare at the computer model in absolute surprise. It was the closest anyone outside Barry had ever seen him caught off guard and bewildered. He masked it all, presenting his usual, very indifferent mask, but there were tells. Especially in his eyes.

"She's a beauty!" Cisco gushed. "And you'll have hyper-speed, though that's hardly a fair name compared to Barry's hyper-speed. You'll be fast, but never Flash-fast. Her maneuverability will be out of this world! Since your brain's not on Barry's level of input-output processing capabilities, the computer will make sure you don't crash into the side of a house or something."

Len gave the younger man a sneer. "Thanks."

"The AI program also handles tight maneuvers, keeps her balanced, and you'll have real time info about the environment you're in. Think of it as a really crazy version of Google Maps."

"AI?"

Cisco nodded with excitement. "Not some really far out advanced AI. Nothing you can talk to or that makes small talk. It's constantly aware of your surroundings, a kind of pre-sense. You have several different radar and collision detection methods that allow certain automated interventions. Of curse you can override it."

Len studied the charts. He had worked with an interactive artificial consciousness program named Gideon. She was a person, so to speak of. Well, she had a personality and quirks.

Cisco was typing on his tablet, entering data. "Give me a week and we can get going on test drives!"

"A week," he echoed.

Ramon grinned. "I already have the basic model done. Just need to add the shielding and some of the gadgets. If you want to take a peek…?" He was already bouncing on his feet and radiating excitement by the pound.

Len followed him to the workshop.

And there she was. The motorbike that defied the so very bland description of a motorbike. Even now, without any color and still in a raw mode, Len could see she was above and beyond anything anyone had ever driven.

"She'll be bad ass!" Cisco proclaimed.

Len raised his eyes from where he had been studying the machine. "Why?" he asked, trying to keep his emotions in line.

"Huh?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Uhm, to give you a sweet ride to wherever you guys need to go? I mean, Barry can't always flash you somewhere. And your bike's great, but it could be awesome. This is awesome. More than awesome. She'll be excellent when I'm done with her!" He gestured at the bike. "It also has the armor and weapons you might need. Don't get me wrong, but you're not The Flash. You don't have superpowers, just an equally awesome gun I designed." He grinned again. "But that's just a gun. You might need more. Especially when it comes to transportation."

Len's brows lowered again. "The question is still: why?"

Cisco frowned, then the light bulb went on. "You mean… why give you, the former Captain Cold, ex-nemesis of The Flash, ex-criminal, not-so-ex master thief, a super-cool machine and really cool outfit? Dude, you're Barry's shield, anchor and partner! The not-Guide to his meta side. And we're a team!"

That easy. It sounded so easy, but it was something profound. It was an admission on a very big, almost grand scale.

"You're part of it all," the engineer went on. "You've been part of this for a very long time and while you did some pretty bad stuff and I can't really forget a large part of it, I can forgive and move on. We had apparent good guys betray us. We had not really bad guys help us, even die while helping us." For a brief moment he looked really distraught. "And you… you're bonded to our very own meta Sentinel. You're very much part of this and here to stay. We'll make sure that you'll stay in one piece, Snart."

Something inside him jittered and whirled. It was the part deep down inside, that broken construct of his soul that had started to slowly heal and even more slowly recover. Cisco wasn't lying. He spoke the truth and nothing but.

He was part of Team Flash. He might fight, bitch, complain or just silently glare, but he was. Because of Barry Allen, his Sentinel, and the man he felt a lot of things for. A whole lot.

"Thank you," he said calmly after a long moment.

"Hey, you're test driving her the moment she's ready. Thank me when you don't end up in a muddy ditch," Cisco laughed, voice filled with teasing.

"I'll send you the laundry bill," Len deadpanned.

When he did get to test drive the new bike, no one saw his smile. That wide, delighted, downright happy smile as he gunned the smooth, slick ride to the max and shot down the tarmac of the old airfield test track.

Somewhere in the distance Cisco whooped with delight, keeping an eye on the numbers.