[Jax is waiting at STAR Labs after a nice dinner with his mom, checking in and reassuring her that yes, he's really okay. The Waverider is cloaked on the roof of the building so they won't exactly have to go far so he can give Cisco that tour of the ship.
But in the meantime? Yeah, he's so poking around the Cortex to check out their systems.]
[When Cisco arrives to find Jax poking around in the Cortex, he just stands there for a bit, arms folded across his chest, an amused look on his face.]
Like what you see? [He teases, smirking slightly.]
Hey man. You know when you guys first brought me here I didn't know what half this stuff even did. [An amused grin as he looks at the set of tools carefully laid out on a table.] Not until Rip all but threw me at the Waverider's engines and made me learn 'em inside and out.
Yeah well. Could have been a little better but I guess I can't complain. [He's gone from rebuilding car engines to rebuilding a time drive - hell of a step up.] So! [A grin.] You ready for a tour? Gideon's running a few diagnostic cycles while the rest of the team is on leave so we've got the ship to ourselves.
Cisco hasn't slept properly in days. He can at least partially blame that on the Snarts and Rory, but they aren't the main problem. No. The main problem is the nightmare. It's always the same one, and he always wakes up in a cold sweat, shaking. His chest aches, and he swears he can still feel the hand inside his chest.
On nights like this- which is to say, virtually every night- he ends up at STAR Labs. The familiar, comfortable surroundings and endless work tasks provide a welcome distraction from his thoughts. Not to mention that Dr. Wells has appreciated the sudden increase in his productivity.
And though it surprises him, he actually enjoys having some time to himself in the lab. Caitlin and Barry are like family, but ever since the nightmares started, he feels like he's lying to them every time he doesn't bring them up. It's nice to have a break from secrets.
Sometime in the night, when he's nice and distracted, deep into some project or other that he's working on at the time, Cisco will hear some commotion in one of the back rooms in the lab. And when he goes to investigate, he'll find a mirror image of himself stumbling out into the hallway.
"Ohhh shhh--" He points an accusatory finger in the direction of his younger self, "You weren't supposed to be here."
He blinks and stares back because seriously, he knows he knew about the concept of doppelgangers back then. At least in a theoretical and theatrical sense. Literally being faced with it was a whole other story, though.
"Would you believe me if I said 'you, from the future'?" Because honestly, he's not sure how else to explain this to...himself, and he'd figure out the truth eventually if he lied anyway. So why beat around the bush about it?
"Yes," he says without hesitation. After the whole thing with two Barrys- while also dealing with Hartley again, wasn't that fun?- Cisco is very aware that time travel is a thing. "But I'm gonna need you to prove it anyway."
Cisco thinks for a moment. What's the best way to prove that this guy is really him and not just a trick or illusion?
He isn't even a little surprised at his younger self's insistence on proving the fact. He folds his arms across his chest as he considers the question, squinting in thought for a moment. "The first time we ever broke a bone was when we were nine, after a dare from Dante that went terrible, terribly wrong. He felt so bad about it, he did our chores until the cast came off."
Cisco eyes him a moment. "Okay, technically other people could know that, but if you were some evil supervillain from the future, that would be a stupid thing to use to defend yourself. I'm sold."
He drops into his chair, more relaxed now. "So what brings you from the not-so-distant-future?" His hair is a little longer, but he doesn't look too much older. A few years at most.
He has a whole argument set up about why that was a totally perfect and valid thing to bring up, but...his younger self seems to accept it anyway, so he decides not to worry about it.
"I...can't tell you much, I can't risk the timeline. It's a risk, me even being here." He frowns slightly, that sounds so shady, even to him, even knowing everything he does about how time works and changes. "I need to know how far back I went, though. What's going on for you recently?"
Jesse paces restlessly around their apartment, nervously fiddling with things and rearranging Cisco’s hot sauces as she waits for him to come back. There was a little bit of an emergency at S.T.A.R Labs, but not so much of an emergency that it called for three speedsters. Which was good, because she’s been feeling unwell lately.
And now she knows WHY.
She knows why, and she doesn’t know what to do. They haven’t... It’s not like they haven’t used protection. They always use protection. Only it failed and now she’s... now they’re...
What does she do? How does she tell him? She doesn't want to lose him.
Cisco was needed for a more-minor-than-world-ending crisis back at the lab, but it's all solved with something like relative ease in the end. Soon enough, everything is back to Central City's typical level of 'normal'. He's ready to go home and curl up on the couch with Jesse, though, so he doesn't stick around the lab for long afterward.
He does make a quick run through the drive thru for a Big Belly Burger, though. He's kind of starving. So, when he walks inside, the smell of the fries comes first. "Honey, I'm home!" He jokes with a light laugh as he kicks the door shut.
He wanders into the kitchen to set the bags on the counter, where he finds Jesse pacing. "Babe?" He frowns and moves around the counter to her side. "what's wrong?" She's...like...frantic and he can't imagine why.
She didn’t expect him back quite so soon, either, she thought she’d have a little more time, and for a moment that panic skyrockets almost desperately. Oh god. The smell of fries filling the apartment makes her stomach turn a little and she’s not quite sure if it’s because of the state she’s in or how panicked she is.
Maybe it’s both. Could possibly be both.
He moves to her side and she can’t help but crash gently into him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck and holding on. She has to tell him, he deserves to know, but she’s a little bit terrified. They never talked about things like this, because it wasn’t... pressing, was something for much farther in the future. She doesn’t know how he’s going to feel about this. She doesn’t know how SHE feels about this. “I need to tell you something.” Her voice is muffled against him.
His eyes widen a little as she slams into him gently and instinct has him wrapping his arms around her, tugging her close. “Hey, it’s okay…” Whatever it is, he doesn’t even know, but it’ll be fine because they’re in it together. He runs a hand soothingly over her back and just lets her have her moment of comfort here in his arms because he isn’t sure what else to do-- and he refuses to push her if she’s not ready to talk yet.
But hey. Apparently she is! So there’s that.
“Okay…” his hands rest on her shoulders and he pulls her back gently, looking at her, smiling softly. “Then let’s talk.”
That moment of comfort is both exactly what she needs and makes her panic just a little bit more. Because this could be their last moment like this because somehow despite their use of multiple forms of protection she’s... he’s... they’re... So she holds onto him and tries to frame this moment in her head. Just in case. It’s stupid, but she can’t help it.
He pulls her back gently and looking at her with that soft smile of his and she loves him so much she doesn’t know what to do. So she just... talks. Rambles. Because she doesn’t know how to do this. Doesn’t know how to tell him this. “I don’t know how it happened. I mean, I know how it happened. I just don’t know how it happened to me. To us. We’ve been so careful and we never really talked about it because it wasn’t something we were planning. It wasn’t important. We had time. It was something for the future. Our future. Only it sort of IS important, now and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
She takes a breath finally, biting her lip and looking at him. “I’m pregnant.”
Cisco's patient as she looks at him and he can see the nerves practically rushing through her veins with the look in her eyes. Eventually, she finds her voice again though and he listens to the rambles as she gets on a little roll, but it isn't making a whole lot of sense. Something about planning things and the future...? And, well, given their lives, he doesn't immediately jump to the wedding bells and the white picket fence. No, because of how their lives tend to run--literally--he jumps to timelines, time travel, some weird warning of future events....
....and then she says those two words. Those two very big, very important, very heavy words.
And Cisco's frozen for a moment that he knows is too long for what he intended. But it's kind of a lot to process, it feels so...so random and out of left field and she's right. She's right, they weren't planning this, they hadn't even discussed this yet.
But somewhere through the muddled mess that is the panic rising in his chest, there's another thing. Bigger, brighter, warmer than anything else and that thing is what causes the bubble of laughter that escapes him, that plants that grin firmly on his lips. "Really...? I..." he's still trying to process it, but it's slowly clicking into place. "I'm gonna be a Dad?"
Jesse kind of can’t breathe for waiting for him to say something. Only he doesn’t, for a long time, he’s frozen, same as she was when she first found out and she’s more than a little bit terrified because they’d never talked about kids, and whether or not they wanted any and losing him would break her heart, she hadn’t realised how much until the possibility of it was suddenly there in front of her.
Say something. Please.
And then he laughs, a little bubble of laughter, and there’s a grin on his face. She can breathe, then, and something releases in her chest. She nods. “Yeah. Yeah you are.”
“Oh, my god.” He’s smiling, beaming, really, and he can’t really seem to make any words happen, but he takes one of Jesse’s hands in both of his and grins up at her. “So, um--” He laughs, awkward and genuine at once, “I know it’s kind of late, but...I mean, wh- did you….you want kids?” He reaches up to tuck his hair behind his ear with one hand, while leading her over to sit down on the couch.
He takes her hand and it’s such a relief she almost needs to sit down. He’s okay. They’re going to be okay. They’re in this together. (She hasn’t lost him.) He’s holding her hand and grinning and she can breathe a little easier. He leads her over to the couch and she goes, sinking down onto it without letting go of his hands. “Yeah? Yeah. I did, I think. I mean, eventually? I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”
Of course they're in this together, Cisco wouldn't have it any other way-- it was just the shocking kind of news that needed a little bit of processing first. And probably a lot more later, but that's for Later Cisco to worry about. Current Cisco is more interested in this conversation.
"Yeah, me either," he admits. "but I definitely always wanted kids." And he'd make sure to give any child he had a better time growing up than he'd had. "I guess the universe had other plans for us." He chuckles a little.
It’s for Later Jesse, too. Current Jesse has been too busy panicking and trying NOT to panic and failing horrible to process things to any necessary degree. Also trying very hard not to be made sick by the most random smells. “I guess it did,” she agrees quietly, sinking against him almost bonelessly. Now that she knows that they’re okay, that her news hasn’t ruined what they have, she’s almost weak-knee’d at the reality of it.
[ This trip was going to be killing a whole lot of birds with one stone. It had all started with Dinah - she wanted to take a trip to Central City and stop in, say thank you in person to Captain Singh for all the phone calls he'd made and strings he'd pulled to get her sworn in to the Star City PD. Not a lot of captains would have done that, after what she'd done.
But Oliver, despite most appearances to the contrary, actually had an ounce of emotional intelligence now and then, and insisted that she couldn't go alone. Diggle would have been the first choice to accompany her, but Lyla was off doing secret A.R.G.U.S. Lyla things and he needed to be around to take care of his child. Which is where Curtis came in.
Since Paul had given him the divorce papers, he'd been... well, he he'd been doing not that great. Rene had tried to help, in his abrasive, rude, secretly-caring way, but Curtis could only spar the feelings away so much. Felicity had tried, too, but she was too distracted by secret shady hacking business to see it hadn't done much good. When Oliver had caught Curtis skulking around the hotel where Paul had been staying since they separated, the choice had been easy. A change of scenery, at least for a few days, would do him some good.
Which is how Curtis ends up at the train station in Central City, glancing at his watch, waiting to get picked up. Dinah had already made her way to the police station (which was only two blocks away), so he is on his own. He doesn't have a lot of luggage - just a small suitcase with a change of clothes and...
And his vigilante gear, which was the last proverbial bird getting hit by the proverbial stone. He likes his new outfit, but at this point that's all it is: an outfit. No kevlar, no adjustments, no nothing. And everybody knows there's only one person in the superhero biz to go to for that... ]
They met in juvie and Leonard got out before Mick. He didn't expect to ever see him again. What were the chances, really? But apparently Mick had other ideas in mind.
Lewis was out, doing what Lewis always does and he'd pawned Lisa off onto Leonard. He insisted he didn't need Leonard for the job, so he could just stay here with "the kid". Leonard didn't mind, of all the screwed up crap in his life, his baby sister was the one bright spot. She was bigger now than when he'd left, already getting into things she needed to leave alone. She was gonna be trouble, he just knows it.
He's sprawled on the living room floor with Lisa, surrounded by a handful of blocks, adding one to the top of the tower she was very insistent on trying to build, no matter how many times it fell down on her. "Your turn." He isn't sure she really understands most of the things he says, she's not quite talking age yet though she says a few things, but she seems to pick up on what he means most of the time anyway. Weird. Babies are weird.
Lisa is concentrating hard to get the next block on top without making it fall when there's a pounding at the door that makes both of them jump. "Dada?" She looks over at Leonard.
"Nah," He shakes his head, pushing himself to his feet. It's definitely not Lewis, no reason to knock on your own door. He scoops Lisa up and sets her on the couch. "Stay here. If it gets loud, go hide, you got it?" She just frowns at him, she has no idea what he's saying, but Leonard's satisfied enough to walk the few feet to the door. It's too dark to see anything useful outside, so he just casts a glance back at Lisa to make sure she's not going to dive off the couch or something and throws the door open, "If you're selling something, we don't wa--" His own smartass comment is cut short as he realizes who's standing on the other side of the door, "Mick?"
"I was bored, thought I'd drop by." He says, like this is completely normal and he did this all the time.
There are so many questions, but the most important one is: "How did you find my house?" Doesn't matter that they'd had some kind of alliance in juvie, he doesn't know him from Adam and he has no reason to really trust him. Especially if he's showing up at his house, unannounced. Leonard's just glad Lewis isn't here or he'd feel the backlash of such an intrusion by morning.
"I'm resourceful," He mutters, pushing his way past Leonard and into the house. "where's that baby sister of yours you wouldn't shut up about?"
Leonard's not sure whether to be impressed, unnerved, or annoyed, and the look on his face could easily be any of them, but mostly it's annoyed as he kicks the door shut behind him. "What d'you want with her?" His voice is instantly a lot sharper. Nobody messes with Lisa, ever.
Lisa, oblivious to everything, is still sat on the couch, watching her brother and some man she doesn't know with squinted, curious eyes. She doesn't have the words to bother trying to ask anything about what's going on, but the nonsensical babbles she does make in their direction somehow manage to sound like a question. Sort of.
"Got somethin' for her." He shrugs a shoulder and trucks his way over to the couch, crouching down in front of the little girl. She's kind of adorable, maybe Leonard had a reason for talking about her so much. "Here." He mumbles and shoves a teddy bear toward her.
She lights up and reaches for the bear, tugging it close to her chest. She likes this guy. Leonard should keep him. Which is what she would tell him if she knew how. Instead, she's going to play with her new toy.
"Cute kid." He says as he moves away and into the kitchen, making himself right at home. "Got any beer?"
"Are you kidding, get out of there," He snaps, stalking after the older boy and slams the refrigerator door shut. "I'm not catching a beating because you're thirsty."
Mick squints dangerously in his direction, but eventually he relents, "Fine. Didn't really want it anyway." Because the decision to walk away was absolutely his and fuck you if you think otherwise.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Leonard follows right on Mick's heels as he moves back into the living room, dropping down onto the couch next to Lisa. Leonard's eyes narrow further into a glare as he folds his arms across his chest, looking particularly accusatory.
Mick doesn't seem to notice. "Told you, just dropped by. Saying hi, that sorta thing."
This was only the first of multiple random intrusions made by Mick on the Snart household. Somehow, he always managed to swing by when Lewis was gone. After awhile, Leonard stopped questioning it because really it didn't matter. Of all the people in the world, this was one of them that he liked and that didn't happen often for him. So, he figured he'd keep him.
It's another convenient stop while he was 'just in the neighborhood'. Lewis is gone for a few days looking into something out of town and Lisa's tucked away in bed asleep when Mick seems to materialize on Leonard's doorstep. He still doesn't know how Mick always seems to know just when to drop by, but it doesn't matter because as long as he keeps stopping by, Leonard doesn't have to worry. He doesn't do that much, most of it's directed toward Lisa, but somehow this firebug has managed to catch a little of that, too. Asshole. He didn't ask for this.
"...so, moral of the story is, don't piss me off." Mick shrugs and pops a chip into his mouth.
Leonard barely resists the urge to roll his eyes--but he manages. "I'll remember that." He sounds nonchalant, like he doesn't think he'll have to remember it.
"What, you think you're special or somethin'? Think I won't break you if I want to?"
He shrugs one shoulder, "You can try."
Mick hates the way he just always blows everything he says off. Like it doesn't matter. Like he's above the rules.
But Leonard knows exactly which buttons to push and how hard to slam down on them. A smirk spreads across his lips because he can see Mick getting ready to blow his top, "Cry more." he says casually before Mick can even start in on him.
Something about it just struck Mick as funny, even if he refused to give Snart the satisfaction of actually laughing, instead he just pulled a face and shoved him away, leaving Leonard smirking despite the uncountable number of times he's told Mick to stop touching him. He'll let it slide. Just this once.
"So, how long do you have the place to yourself anyway?" Mick asks, glancing over at the younger boy curiously.
Leonard shrugs, "Two days, three tops. Depends on the job he's casing, he wouldn't tell me anything." Which was weird all in itself, but he knew better than to question Lewis, it didn't lead anywhere good and he had Lisa to look after.
"Good, I'll keep that in mind."
He perks a brow at that, but he doesn't push it. He isn't entirely sure he wants the answer to just why Mick thinks he needs to remember that. He wouldn't entirely hate another visit so soon-- not that he would admit that, if asked.
Mick declares he's bored and the two of them head downstairs to the living room, where he turns on some ninja movie. He likes those a lot, apparently. Leonard can deal with it.
It's late when the movie is over, or early, depending on how a person looks at it. He should really get something masquerading as sleep soon, babies are unnecessarily early risers. But he won't say anything because as much as he may ignore it and shove it down and pretend it isn't there, he likes the company.
"I should head out," Mick mutters, suddenly pushing himself to his feet. It's all so abrupt, it's kind of jarring. Maybe that's what makes Leonard do what he does next.
Before Mick can take so much as one step away from where he's standing, Leonard catches his wrist, "Stay," it's a quiet command, one he hopes the pyro listens to.
Mick's head snaps back over his shoulder to stare at Snart, anyone else and he would have decked the guy without thinking. His gaze drops to the hand on his wrist, "Hnng...no," is the only thing he growls out, and there's a look of realization in his eyes when he looks back up at Snart. The shift in the younger boy is immediate, obvious in his eyes but he doesn't quiet have time to process it all enough to move away before Mick adds, "But I'll be back in the morning."
Leonard's hand drops back down and they both pretend that nothing had happened at all. "I won't wait up," he quips with a smirk.
"Good, you look like you need some beauty sleep, Princess." Mick calls out over his shoulder as he leaves, giving a bark of a laugh before the door falls shut behind him.
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Text to Cisco - Waverider shenanigans
Date: 2017-02-12 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-02-12 05:13 pm (UTC)Of COURSE I do.
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Date: 2017-02-12 05:42 pm (UTC)Cool, we'll be putting down in about two days. I'm gonna have dinner with Mom but I'll meet you at STAR after, say around ten?
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Date: 2017-02-12 06:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-01 04:13 pm (UTC)But in the meantime? Yeah, he's so poking around the Cortex to check out their systems.]
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Date: 2017-03-05 09:28 pm (UTC)Like what you see? [He teases, smirking slightly.]
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Date: 2017-03-06 03:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-06 06:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-07 05:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-15 03:00 am (UTC)Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey stuff
Date: 2017-02-12 05:37 pm (UTC)On nights like this- which is to say, virtually every night- he ends up at STAR Labs. The familiar, comfortable surroundings and endless work tasks provide a welcome distraction from his thoughts. Not to mention that Dr. Wells has appreciated the sudden increase in his productivity.
And though it surprises him, he actually enjoys having some time to himself in the lab. Caitlin and Barry are like family, but ever since the nightmares started, he feels like he's lying to them every time he doesn't bring them up. It's nice to have a break from secrets.
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Date: 2017-02-12 08:24 pm (UTC)"Ohhh shhh--" He points an accusatory finger in the direction of his younger self, "You weren't supposed to be here."
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Date: 2017-02-13 03:39 am (UTC)His head hurts.
"Who are you?"
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Date: 2017-02-14 12:37 am (UTC)"Would you believe me if I said 'you, from the future'?" Because honestly, he's not sure how else to explain this to...himself, and he'd figure out the truth eventually if he lied anyway. So why beat around the bush about it?
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Date: 2017-02-14 02:40 pm (UTC)Cisco thinks for a moment. What's the best way to prove that this guy is really him and not just a trick or illusion?
"Tell me something only I would know."
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Date: 2017-03-02 01:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-03 02:50 pm (UTC)He drops into his chair, more relaxed now. "So what brings you from the not-so-distant-future?" His hair is a little longer, but he doesn't look too much older. A few years at most.
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Date: 2017-03-15 02:57 am (UTC)"I...can't tell you much, I can't risk the timeline. It's a risk, me even being here." He frowns slightly, that sounds so shady, even to him, even knowing everything he does about how time works and changes. "I need to know how far back I went, though. What's going on for you recently?"
future things
Date: 2017-02-13 03:31 am (UTC)And now she knows WHY.
She knows why, and she doesn’t know what to do. They haven’t... It’s not like they haven’t used protection. They always use protection. Only it failed and now she’s... now they’re...
What does she do? How does she tell him?
She doesn't want to lose him.fjkdlasjfdla !!!!! -- p.s. how long-ish should we say they've been together at this point?
Date: 2017-02-14 12:43 am (UTC)He does make a quick run through the drive thru for a Big Belly Burger, though. He's kind of starving. So, when he walks inside, the smell of the fries comes first. "Honey, I'm home!" He jokes with a light laugh as he kicks the door shut.
He wanders into the kitchen to set the bags on the counter, where he finds Jesse pacing. "Babe?" He frowns and moves around the counter to her side. "what's wrong?" She's...like...frantic and he can't imagine why.
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Date: 2017-02-14 05:15 am (UTC)Maybe it’s both. Could possibly be both.
He moves to her side and she can’t help but crash gently into him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck and holding on. She has to tell him, he deserves to know, but she’s a little bit terrified. They never talked about things like this, because it wasn’t... pressing, was something for much farther in the future. She doesn’t know how he’s going to feel about this. She doesn’t know how SHE feels about this. “I need to tell you something.” Her voice is muffled against him.
no subject
Date: 2017-03-05 09:32 pm (UTC)But hey. Apparently she is! So there’s that.
“Okay…” his hands rest on her shoulders and he pulls her back gently, looking at her, smiling softly. “Then let’s talk.”
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Date: 2017-04-28 09:17 am (UTC)He pulls her back gently and looking at her with that soft smile of his and she loves him so much she doesn’t know what to do. So she just... talks. Rambles. Because she doesn’t know how to do this. Doesn’t know how to tell him this. “I don’t know how it happened. I mean, I know how it happened. I just don’t know how it happened to me. To us. We’ve been so careful and we never really talked about it because it wasn’t something we were planning. It wasn’t important. We had time. It was something for the future. Our future. Only it sort of IS important, now and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
She takes a breath finally, biting her lip and looking at him. “I’m pregnant.”
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Date: 2017-04-29 06:05 am (UTC)....and then she says those two words. Those two very big, very important, very heavy words.
And Cisco's frozen for a moment that he knows is too long for what he intended. But it's kind of a lot to process, it feels so...so random and out of left field and she's right. She's right, they weren't planning this, they hadn't even discussed this yet.
But somewhere through the muddled mess that is the panic rising in his chest, there's another thing. Bigger, brighter, warmer than anything else and that thing is what causes the bubble of laughter that escapes him, that plants that grin firmly on his lips. "Really...? I..." he's still trying to process it, but it's slowly clicking into place. "I'm gonna be a Dad?"
no subject
Date: 2018-01-30 07:09 am (UTC)Say something. Please.
And then he laughs, a little bubble of laughter, and there’s a grin on his face. She can breathe, then, and something releases in her chest. She nods. “Yeah. Yeah you are.”
no subject
Date: 2018-02-06 07:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-02-18 08:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-03 03:49 am (UTC)"Yeah, me either," he admits. "but I definitely always wanted kids." And he'd make sure to give any child he had a better time growing up than he'd had. "I guess the universe had other plans for us." He chuckles a little.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-04 09:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-24 07:55 pm (UTC)for cisco
Date: 2017-03-06 05:38 pm (UTC)But Oliver, despite most appearances to the contrary, actually had an ounce of emotional intelligence now and then, and insisted that she couldn't go alone. Diggle would have been the first choice to accompany her, but Lyla was off doing secret A.R.G.U.S. Lyla things and he needed to be around to take care of his child. Which is where Curtis came in.
Since Paul had given him the divorce papers, he'd been... well, he he'd been doing not that great. Rene had tried to help, in his abrasive, rude, secretly-caring way, but Curtis could only spar the feelings away so much. Felicity had tried, too, but she was too distracted by secret shady hacking business to see it hadn't done much good. When Oliver had caught Curtis skulking around the hotel where Paul had been staying since they separated, the choice had been easy. A change of scenery, at least for a few days, would do him some good.
Which is how Curtis ends up at the train station in Central City, glancing at his watch, waiting to get picked up. Dinah had already made her way to the police station (which was only two blocks away), so he is on his own. He doesn't have a lot of luggage - just a small suitcase with a change of clothes and...
And his vigilante gear, which was the last proverbial bird getting hit by the proverbial stone. He likes his new outfit, but at this point that's all it is: an outfit. No kevlar, no adjustments, no nothing. And everybody knows there's only one person in the superhero biz to go to for that... ]
{I hate to say the words, but here I am, because I don't want to have to let you go
Date: 2017-04-23 01:56 am (UTC)Lewis was out, doing what Lewis always does and he'd pawned Lisa off onto Leonard. He insisted he didn't need Leonard for the job, so he could just stay here with "the kid". Leonard didn't mind, of all the screwed up crap in his life, his baby sister was the one bright spot. She was bigger now than when he'd left, already getting into things she needed to leave alone. She was gonna be trouble, he just knows it.
He's sprawled on the living room floor with Lisa, surrounded by a handful of blocks, adding one to the top of the tower she was very insistent on trying to build, no matter how many times it fell down on her. "Your turn." He isn't sure she really understands most of the things he says, she's not quite talking age yet though she says a few things, but she seems to pick up on what he means most of the time anyway. Weird. Babies are weird.
Lisa is concentrating hard to get the next block on top without making it fall when there's a pounding at the door that makes both of them jump. "Dada?" She looks over at Leonard.
"Nah," He shakes his head, pushing himself to his feet. It's definitely not Lewis, no reason to knock on your own door. He scoops Lisa up and sets her on the couch. "Stay here. If it gets loud, go hide, you got it?" She just frowns at him, she has no idea what he's saying, but Leonard's satisfied enough to walk the few feet to the door. It's too dark to see anything useful outside, so he just casts a glance back at Lisa to make sure she's not going to dive off the couch or something and throws the door open, "If you're selling something, we don't wa--" His own smartass comment is cut short as he realizes who's standing on the other side of the door, "Mick?"
"I was bored, thought I'd drop by." He says, like this is completely normal and he did this all the time.
There are so many questions, but the most important one is: "How did you find my house?" Doesn't matter that they'd had some kind of alliance in juvie, he doesn't know him from Adam and he has no reason to really trust him. Especially if he's showing up at his house, unannounced. Leonard's just glad Lewis isn't here or he'd feel the backlash of such an intrusion by morning.
"I'm resourceful," He mutters, pushing his way past Leonard and into the house. "where's that baby sister of yours you wouldn't shut up about?"
Leonard's not sure whether to be impressed, unnerved, or annoyed, and the look on his face could easily be any of them, but mostly it's annoyed as he kicks the door shut behind him. "What d'you want with her?" His voice is instantly a lot sharper. Nobody messes with Lisa, ever.
Lisa, oblivious to everything, is still sat on the couch, watching her brother and some man she doesn't know with squinted, curious eyes. She doesn't have the words to bother trying to ask anything about what's going on, but the nonsensical babbles she does make in their direction somehow manage to sound like a question. Sort of.
"Got somethin' for her." He shrugs a shoulder and trucks his way over to the couch, crouching down in front of the little girl. She's kind of adorable, maybe Leonard had a reason for talking about her so much. "Here." He mumbles and shoves a teddy bear toward her.
She lights up and reaches for the bear, tugging it close to her chest. She likes this guy. Leonard should keep him. Which is what she would tell him if she knew how. Instead, she's going to play with her new toy.
"Cute kid." He says as he moves away and into the kitchen, making himself right at home. "Got any beer?"
"Are you kidding, get out of there," He snaps, stalking after the older boy and slams the refrigerator door shut. "I'm not catching a beating because you're thirsty."
Mick squints dangerously in his direction, but eventually he relents, "Fine. Didn't really want it anyway." Because the decision to walk away was absolutely his and fuck you if you think otherwise.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Leonard follows right on Mick's heels as he moves back into the living room, dropping down onto the couch next to Lisa. Leonard's eyes narrow further into a glare as he folds his arms across his chest, looking particularly accusatory.
Mick doesn't seem to notice. "Told you, just dropped by. Saying hi, that sorta thing."
This was only the first of multiple random intrusions made by Mick on the Snart household. Somehow, he always managed to swing by when Lewis was gone. After awhile, Leonard stopped questioning it because really it didn't matter. Of all the people in the world, this was one of them that he liked and that didn't happen often for him. So, he figured he'd keep him.
It's another convenient stop while he was 'just in the neighborhood'. Lewis is gone for a few days looking into something out of town and Lisa's tucked away in bed asleep when Mick seems to materialize on Leonard's doorstep. He still doesn't know how Mick always seems to know just when to drop by, but it doesn't matter because as long as he keeps stopping by, Leonard doesn't have to worry. He doesn't do that much, most of it's directed toward Lisa, but somehow this firebug has managed to catch a little of that, too. Asshole. He didn't ask for this.
"...so, moral of the story is, don't piss me off." Mick shrugs and pops a chip into his mouth.
Leonard barely resists the urge to roll his eyes--but he manages. "I'll remember that." He sounds nonchalant, like he doesn't think he'll have to remember it.
"What, you think you're special or somethin'? Think I won't break you if I want to?"
He shrugs one shoulder, "You can try."
Mick hates the way he just always blows everything he says off. Like it doesn't matter. Like he's above the rules.
But Leonard knows exactly which buttons to push and how hard to slam down on them. A smirk spreads across his lips because he can see Mick getting ready to blow his top, "Cry more." he says casually before Mick can even start in on him.
Something about it just struck Mick as funny, even if he refused to give Snart the satisfaction of actually laughing, instead he just pulled a face and shoved him away, leaving Leonard smirking despite the uncountable number of times he's told Mick to stop touching him. He'll let it slide. Just this once.
"So, how long do you have the place to yourself anyway?" Mick asks, glancing over at the younger boy curiously.
Leonard shrugs, "Two days, three tops. Depends on the job he's casing, he wouldn't tell me anything." Which was weird all in itself, but he knew better than to question Lewis, it didn't lead anywhere good and he had Lisa to look after.
"Good, I'll keep that in mind."
He perks a brow at that, but he doesn't push it. He isn't entirely sure he wants the answer to just why Mick thinks he needs to remember that. He wouldn't entirely hate another visit so soon-- not that he would admit that, if asked.
Mick declares he's bored and the two of them head downstairs to the living room, where he turns on some ninja movie. He likes those a lot, apparently. Leonard can deal with it.
It's late when the movie is over, or early, depending on how a person looks at it. He should really get something masquerading as sleep soon, babies are unnecessarily early risers. But he won't say anything because as much as he may ignore it and shove it down and pretend it isn't there, he likes the company.
"I should head out," Mick mutters, suddenly pushing himself to his feet. It's all so abrupt, it's kind of jarring. Maybe that's what makes Leonard do what he does next.
Before Mick can take so much as one step away from where he's standing, Leonard catches his wrist, "Stay," it's a quiet command, one he hopes the pyro listens to.
Mick's head snaps back over his shoulder to stare at Snart, anyone else and he would have decked the guy without thinking. His gaze drops to the hand on his wrist, "Hnng...no," is the only thing he growls out, and there's a look of realization in his eyes when he looks back up at Snart. The shift in the younger boy is immediate, obvious in his eyes but he doesn't quiet have time to process it all enough to move away before Mick adds, "But I'll be back in the morning."
Leonard's hand drops back down and they both pretend that nothing had happened at all. "I won't wait up," he quips with a smirk.
"Good, you look like you need some beauty sleep, Princess." Mick calls out over his shoulder as he leaves, giving a bark of a laugh before the door falls shut behind him.