''I feel like a teenager ay his first date ''Thought freya as she sat in front of her vanity mirror, brushing her curling hair with a soft bristled antique brush. She was wearing an emerald green cocktail dress, low cut with thin straps. In front of her were two diamond earrings with gold settings resting on a bed of velvet. They were a match for the diamond drop necklace already secured on her neck.
Her makeup was already applied, reddish coral lipstick and subtly gold eyeshadow. Her hands shook a little as she worked on her hair. She had debated for nearly an hour but had finally settled on leaving it loose and falling to her shoulders per Barry's suggestions before he'd been deployed for a mission. She'd said Freya's usual styles were a bit too intense for a date.
Date?. She was never on a date except with Malcolm.
It was her first one in so many years she barely even remembered. Only one night stand.
" You look beautiful Freya. Snart eyes will fall out if his head" Oliver said, and Barry gaped at him. "Oliver!Help me here"
"It took 12 frozen banks, 3 burnt down museums, and 1 city hall on the verge of breaking down, for Freya to agree to go out with him." Oliver said, ignoring his boyfriend's protest.
" Thank you" said Freya with a soft voice. Barry looked at his aunt and boyfriend . Freya had taken to Oliver instantly, and he had found in her the motherly love he had long missed. Barry, returning after an emergency rescue one afternoon, had found them sitting together on the porch and laughingly told his aunt she had adopted another orphan.
The woman looked at the card that was back in her office. She had agreed to the appointment himself when she sent a copy of the paper.
We'll flirt, play fights, talk 24/7, say goodmorning and goodnight every day, give each other nicknames, hang out, talk on the phone for hours, take cute pictures together, make promises to each other and hold each other.
And whoever falls in love first, loses.
The doorbell rang.
Today there will be blood," Lieutenant Freya Novak's strong commanding voice rang through the night. Hearing the steely command and determination in her voice caused the men to stand straight and proud as they listened to the woman who always led them to victory. Watching her soldier's reaction to her authority never ceased to make her proud as she saw the respect they had for her and she strove to keep it.
"There will be death!" Freya roared as the soldiers cheered. Raising a closed fist in the air to silence them the men immediately quieted. After making sure she had their silence and attention she continued in a somber voice conveying the seriousness of the situation.
"I can't promise you that some of that blood will be ours," Freya trailed off as she remembered past wounds some of them were her fellow soldiers and some hers. Freya worried how many injuries will befall them this time. "And as much as I wish everyone will go home alive, I can't promise you that either."
There was a moment of silence for their fallen soldiers in the past and those yet to come. After a moment of silence Isabella finished her declaration in a voice full of promise and determination. "But I promise you three things," Freya paced before her troops looking each man in the eye as she gave her vow. "We will have our victory. The people will have their freedom. THE ENEMY SHALL FALL!"
The men cheered at their leaders promise, all doubts were gone as they roared their approval. "FOR VICTORY!" Freya screamed as her men took up the chant.
"FOR VICTORY!"
"FOR VICTORY!"
"FOR VICTORY!"
The men continued to chant as Freya looked on proudly with a wide smile on her face.
All of these memories flashed through her mind as she once again found her purse wedged behind the sofa cushion. Barry and Snart were talking, and Barry was tense and glaring daggers at the older man. How adorable, Barry was being a little man of the house, probably threatening Snart to take good care of her. She brushed between them and Snart flashed a smile at her.
"I'm ready, sorry again."
Snart offered her his arm in such an old school gesture of gentility that it startled her. Men never treated her with such deference...he acted like he had waited a lifetime just for her. She smiled and intertwined her arm with his and they stepped out the door.
" AUNT!" Said Barry urgently.
"Yes, sweetheart?" she said brusquely, torn between her mothering and dating instincts.
"Have a good time." Barry mumbled forlornly. Freya was touched. When she got back, she would be sure to have a long talk with him about how he felt. As much as she wanted to have a social life again, she would give it all up if it would hurt him.
The criminal opened the door for her and helped her inside the car. As she settled in, he closed the door gently and in less than a moment was seating himself beside her. He was remarkably quick and extremely graceful, and it threw her for a moment. He had the reflexes and speed of a teenager.
He smiled at her, and her heart sped up a tad. She wondered again what it was about him that had charmed her so quickly. Her guard had been up for years, and Barry would be stunned to know the number of suitors she had turned down cold, including her own boss (hence the passive aggressive shift schedule he had imposed on her since then). The man just seemed...like he was from another planet or from a different race. She knew that she had never met anyone like him before. Not a single alarm bell had gone off.
But why did that feel wrong? Like betrayal?
Malcolm let out a string of curses.
He had been screwed the moment he laid eyes on Freya Nova.
He could feel it was time to rest but knew he probably wouldn't get any today.
Why did everything have to be so confusing?
Jealous? Harboring feelings of romance? Absolutely not!
Now if he could just convince his mind of that and the heart he had buried for so long.
But Freya was on a date.
Freya was on a date, and it wasn't with Malcolm.
Their "relationship" was a strange one. He still tried to push her away for her own good. And as always she would push back. Try as he might to persuade her there was nothing between them, the chemistry that they shared was undeniable. There was an unspoken bond between them. Next to Tommy, she had the uncanny ability to read him like no one else. Not even Rebecca had been able to do that.
And God was she beautiful. How many times had he fantasized about touching that alabaster skin and running his long fingers thru her gorgeous chestnut hair? Too many to count. Of course that didn't include all the times he would just stare at her across the room when she wasn't looking.
But when their eyes did meet, neither of them had to say a word. All the longing and desire was there in their eyes for the other to drown in…to get lost in. And though he would never admit it, he did have feelings for Freya.
The car ride is pretty quiet except for when Snart asks which radio station Freya wants to listen to and Freya says he has no preference.
They're both nervous and hyperaware of not wanting to say the wrong thing. After all, this is their first date.
After about fifteen minutes of silence, Snart announces "we're here."
Freya looks out the front windshield and sees that they're at a cliff that overlooks downtown. It does more than overlook downtown, it gives a beautiful view of entire downtown Centrall. She's never been here before, but she's heard of this place.
"Come on," says Snart as he opens his door and goes to the back to grab the picnic basket.
Freya follows suit and gets out of the car. She closes her car door and walks closer to the edge of the cliff. Man, that view of downtown is amazing.
"You like it?" asks Snart as he approaches Freya carrying the picnic basket.
"It's beautiful," says Freya as he turns around and smiles at Snart. "I've never been here before."
Snart opens up the picnic basket and pulls out a Yankees blanket. He shakes it open and drops it on the ground.
"I hope you like the Yankees," says Snart as he flattens the blanket out.
"I'm more of a football kinda guy," says Freya as Snart steps onto the blanket. "But the Yankees are cool."
Snart sits down and pulls the picnic basket in front of him.
He looks up at Freya. "Am I gonna sit here by myself or are you going to join me?"
Freya smirks at Snart and sits down next to him
Look at that view," says Snart looking over the cliff. "It's so beautiful. When I was younger, I always used to come here with my mom. My dad was off being an egomaniac My mom and I would come here to watch the sunset, talk, and just enjoy the serenity. This is the spot where she told me that she always knew I was gay and that it made me special. She told me right here that she would always be in my corner and that she loved and supported me no matter what; I was her little boy and nothing could ever change that."
Snart clears his throat and blinks back tears. "I thought I loved this place before my mom died, but after, I would come here to feel close to her. Coming here made me feel like she was still with me. I could feel her spirit with me when I was here, loving me and protecting me like she always did."
Freya listens to Snart's words touched by the sentiment and the emotion. This is an extremely special place to Snart, Freya knows what it's like to lose your mom, and Snart chose to share this place with her.
"I can't believe you brought me here," says Freya in amazement as Snart turns to face her. "This is a very special place to you and you chose to share it with me."
"I know that typical first dates are like dinner and a movie or something cliché," says Snart hoping this isn't too much for a first date. "But I've never been one for clichés. This is about us getting to know each other better and I couldn't think of a better way to show you a part of myself. I hope it's not too much."
"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that," says a panicked Freya realizing that the meaning behind what she said didn't come out right. "I'm honored that you chose to share this place and the story behind it with me. It's beautiful, thank you."
Snart puts his hand out and Freya reaches out to put her hand on top of Snart's and interlocks their fingers. They smile at each other.
"So are you hungry?" says Snart as he gently undoes his hand from Freyas and leans forward towards the picnic basket.
"Starving," says Freya as Snart opens the picnic basket. "What'd you bring?"
"I hope you like chicken cutlets, although they're cold from being in the fridge all day" says Snart pulling a plastic container with a few pieces out. "There's also pickles and potato salad. I wasn't really sure what to make."
"I do like them," says Freya as Snart pulls out the pickles and potato salad. "You made all this?"
"Just the chicken cutlets, they were one of the things that my mom taught me how to make," says Snart as he pulls out some plastic dishes, silverware, napkins, and two bottles of water. "I got the pickles and potato salad at the store."
Freya looks at Snart impressed. He really put a lot of thought, time, and effort into this date.
Snart opens up the chicken cutlets and holds out the plate to Freya. "Taste it and let me know how they are, I haven't made them in a while."
Freya breaks off a piece of one and eats it.
"Well, how bad are they?" asks an anxious Snart as Freya finishes chewing.
"They're delicious," says Freya as he reaches for a napkin and cleans her hand of breadcrumbs. "Thanks for making these for me."
"My pleasure," says Snart as he smiles at Freya and notices a little breadcrumb on the side of her lip.
"You have a little," says Snart as he reaches out his hand and gently brushes the breadcrumb off of Freya's lip.
"Thanks," says Freya meeting Snart's eyes as Snart brushes his hand against Freya's face.
Snart smiles, his hand now firmly on Freya's cheek, and Freya leans in towards him. Snart leans in the rest of the way as their lips press together. This kiss is different than the kiss they shared at the hospital a few weeks ago. This kiss is gentle and slow as Freya and Snart reposition themselves so that Snart's hands are on Freya s face and Freyas hand are wrapped around Snart's waist. Freya deepens the kiss and directs her tongue into Freya's mouth, an action which Snart matches in seconds by putting his tongue in Freya's mouth.
They break apart after a few minutes and both catch their breath. Now that was a kiss.
"Let's eat," says Snart as they smile each other.
Ten minutes later, both Freya and Snart have some of the food in paper plates and are eating and talking.
"My mom was a doctor and my dad was a successful business man." Freya shrugged, eyes seeming to glaze into memories. "My mother was an amazing doctor, so the fact she caught the symptoms so late were startling."
"Symptoms?" Snart pryed.
"She had dementia," Freya explained. "Frontotemporal Dementia. It, uh, leads to the loss of some brain functions and also shrinks your brain. She died when I was five and it has no cure."
Snart was silent, minds racing at this new information of the woamn.
"After my mom died, my dad turned into a Triple-A parent,"
Snart looks away. He knew about that kind of parent.
"He sorta lost it after my mom. He wasted the money on whiskey and other forms of liquor. He didn't really hit me until I was eight. He just verbally abused me, telling me how worthless I was, how it was my fault my mom died. Everything just crashed around me. I had lost both my parents and I was alone."
Snart was mad. Matbe he was a criminal but women and childrend are his limits. He would never hurt a kid or woman.
"You know it wasn't your fault right?" Snart asked, handing reaching to touch some part of Freya before drawing his hand back.
Freya shrugged, gazing deeply into the man eyes, like it had all the answers. "I left when I was 14," she continued. "I didn't want to live like that anymore. But living in the streets with nothing but the clothes in my back, life wasn't easy." A dark look passed over Freya's eyes, shoulders hunching. She seemed to debate on whether she wanted to tell them before resigning to her fate.
"When I was 15, I had gotten used to some of the ways of the street. I knew which people I should manipulate to get food, which people to avoid. Of course I couldn't avoid all of them."
"Freya-"
"I was raped."
The silence was deafening.
What?"
"I was raped," Freya repeated. She seemed to just be talking now, her eyes wouldn't even meet the man. "I was walking down a clear road, people everywhere and he grabbed me from an alley. I was screaming and crying for someone to help me but no one came. I couldn't trust anyone. He told me that a pretty boy like myself shouldn't be all alone. Once he finished with me though, that's what he did. I was bleeding, hurting and felt like I was dying and he just walked away, like nothing even happened. I changed then."
" Training became my escape from the cruel world. Alec Woodblack was the man which pulled me away from the streets and he showed me things that I never dreamed could happen."
Snart reaches out to takes Freya's hand and squeezes it reassuringly. Of course he doesn't want to see Freya cry, but Snart's glad Freya's allowed herself to be vulnerable enough to open up like this.
"I'm sorry," says Freya sniffling. "Crying is a sure fire way to ruin a date."
"Not this date," says Snart trying to meet Freya's eyes, still holding her hand. "There's no need to apologize."
Freya gives him a small smile. Snart is really different than he ever thought and they have a lot in common.
The sun setting over downtown catches Snart's eye. What a sight.
"Look at that," says Snart pointing to the sunset in order to bring it to Freya's attention.
Freya turns to look and is mesmerized by how beautiful the sunset looks on the buildings.
Snart lets go of Freya's hand and lays back on the blanket putting his hands behind his head.
Freya turns to give him a strange look, but Snart just smiles. "Don't make me lay here all by myself. I don't bite, I promise."
Freya smiles at Snart's cute gesture understanding that it's Snart's way of saying he wants Freya to lay with him.
Freya lays her body down on the blanket and scoots over to lift her head onto Snart's chest with her legs spread out to the side of Snart's body. Snart adjusts his position so Freya gets comfortable and once he does, he drapes his arm over Freya's stomach.
"Better?" asks Freya looking up at Snart.
"Much," says Snart giving Freya smile and closing his eyes.