He hates this. He hates that he was here in the first place and he hates that Mick followed him. He hates that he's right-- he left Lisa alone in that house with Lewis for eight months years ago, and that was before he'd ever turned a hand on her. It's different, worse now and he can't do that either and he hates that this is what his life has become.
There's no choice, not really. Mick has the bag and tires are screeching, boots pounding pavement as the police fan out to search for their evading suspects.
"I hate this," he mumbles as Mick pulls away and Leonard knows there's no choice-- he has to book it or risk them both being caught. "I'm gonna find a way to bond you out, Mick, I swear to God."
That's the last thing he says before he takes off, hating every part of himself that even allowed him to leave him behind to take the fall for him. For Lewis.
Mick doesn't look back. Mick doesn't watch his partner fleeing into the dark. Nope. Lenny will be okay. He can watch out for Lisa and keep her safe.
He dives headfirst out of the alley and right into the waiting arms of the cops. Stupid pigs. They kick his ass and he gives as good as he gets until he's hauled off in cuffs and into a holding cell. The other crooks that are caught seem surprised to see him - something that has the detectives in question leaning on him pretty hard to explain what happened.
Nope. Sorry. Mick Rory isn't a rat. So he's tossed into prison orange and left in holding until sentencing.
Mick may not look back, but Leonard does. The image of Mick in cuffs meant for him will be forever seared in his brain, and will haunt him for weeks to come.
At first, Lewis was almost proud of the fact that Leonard had gotten away, but eventually he heard enough from the rest of the crew that had ended up caught to realize who had gone in his son's place. The knowledge didn't evoke the best reactions from the man. A lot of comments were thrown around about how he 'Never did understand [Leonard's] fascination with that Rory boy.' and some other, much more derogatory opinions about the assumed relationship between the boys. Leonard held his tongue every time, and surprised even himself at the restraint he had at reacting to any of it, no matter how much he absolutely seethed under the surface over all of it.
He is determined to get Mick out as soon as he can, and immediately starts taking up any random odd-job he can just to squirrel money away for the inevitable bond they'll place on him. Leonard assumes it won't be a light number, so any bit he can get saved toward it is worth it.
Leonard knows what to expect as he walks down the hallway and sits in the chair. Barely seconds pass and Mick, decked in prison orange, appears on the other side of the glass. Leonard picks up the phone, eyes locked on the image in front of him. "Hey, you."
There's a small part of him that almost wants to put his hand on the glass, but he ignores it. That's stupid.
Relief. Mick can't contain the relief that warms his chest as he sees Lenny on the other side of that heavy plexiglass. His hand touches the glass, wishing he could reach out and touch, reach out and comfort his partner.
"Hey partner."
God he's missed him. But this is okay. it is. Because Lenny needs to watch out for Lisa. She needs him more than Mick does.
His eyes flicker away from Mick's face for the briefest second, to his fingers on the glass, and back again. Okay. At least he isn't the only one that had the thought. He won't carry through with it. But still.
"They gonna let me bond you out or...?" His record may be sealed, but Mick's past didn't exactly speak greatly in the judicial system, regardless.
It's okay that Leonard doesn't match his gesture. It's okay that he doesn't mirror his hand. Mick can make it and watch the way blue eyes flick towards his fingers.
"Public defender already wants me to cop a plea bargain, looking at a year, maybe a year and a half."
His chest tightens and his heart sinks. "What?" A single word may have never sounded so disheartened. "No." He's equally determined in that one, however, and his wheels are already spinning. "What are they charging you with, exactly? How many charges? Are they felonies? This is your first offense, as an adult, right?"
He'll find a way out of this, and it'll be quicker than a freaking year. Leonard refuses to go an entire year like this.
And Mick feels utterly sick about all of this. The discouraged look on Leonard's face, the way it shifts into determination once he starts asking about the charges. "Minor felony, first charge as an adult," he shrugs. "But I ain't exactly got anyone on the other side trying to build a case."
"Good." He's practically talking through clenched teeth at this point, "Then they'll let me. Bond you out." Okay, that's much more emotion talking than logic for once, but this is eating at him like crazy. Mick was here because of him. Because of Lewis, really, and God, he hates it.
A soft, but firm intonation of his voice. "Lenny it's okay. You do what you gotta, but you take care of Lise. You take care of you okay? It ain't so bad in here. It's no picnic, but I can deal."
Be smart. Make a plan. Maybe send him a picture or two, like the old days.
"No, it's not okay," he growls softly into the phone. The last thing he wants to do is make a scene where other people can see it, and everything they say is being monitored. But he feels pretty intensely about this so there's some heat to the words anyway.
"I don't want you to have to deal. I need y--" He huffs, his free arm sliding across his middle and he leans closer to the glass, like that could possibly actually make a difference, and drops his voice quiet, so only Mick should hopefully be able to hear him. "I need you out here...Mick...I can't do this without you."
His fingers twitch against the glass, as if by sheer force of will he could reach through and touch him. "You need to be on the outside for Lisa. You can do this Lenny. Take the key to my place. Talk to Mr. Gonzalez. As long as you can keep on the rent he'll let you hold the apartment." And while it kills Mick to be away from his partner and from his little sister - it's better this way.
Not often does Leonard get legitimately surprised, but nine times out of ten when he does, you could put money on it being because of Mick Rory.
He looks a little shocked at the easy offering. "He'd really let me do that?" He can at least play it off by being surprised about the landlord's not exactly perfectly run business handling, even though that is barely even a thought in his mind.
Of course, it wouldn't be the same without Mick there. But it would still be the same asylum and sanctuary they'd become accustomed to. That kind of stability counted for a lot in the Snart siblings' lives.
"Yeah. He don't really care who's there as long as rent gets paid." And it's a small thing, to be able to offer Leonard that safety net while he was in jail, for however long the bastards wanted to hold him.
It's going to be hard without him, without Leonard to keep him grounded and focused. There are going to be psych evals and fights and people pushing at him damn near constantly. But it's better he's here than Leonard.
"I'll try and cop a plea. See how soon they'd let me out," he promises. "Whatever it takes Lenny."
"Okay," he nods a little. He's not sure how, but he'll find a way to manage it. He needs that escape sometimes. And so does Lisa.
"Do whatever you have to, just..." He pauses, the slightest noticeable thing, because the words 'come home' burn a hole into his tongue, but he switches it out for, "get out as soon as you can, okay?"
Leonard doesn't like admitting defeat, but he doesn't have any other choice right now. "M'gonna visit you... every week." Just like this, until he gets out. "I dunno if you want Lise to see this," he gestures vaguely to the glass separating them; it's not the easiest thing to take in, and she's only just hit double digits, even if she's older than her years anyway because she was forced to grow up sooner than she should have. "but I can bring her, too, if you want..."
"Every week," he echoes. It's not enough, but it'll help and give him something to look forward to. Something to hold on to.
Mick shakes his head slowly. "No. Don't do that to her, not now. Just tell her.. tell her I'm sorry and I'll see her soon." And if she draws him pictures? He'll save each and every one of them.
"You'll be okay. You will. And I'll get out soon as I can. I swear."
He nods, it's a promise and he won't break it unless he has no choice. And he knows Mick knows that. If he doesn't show up one week, it's sure Lewis will somehow be to blame.
"Yeah, okay..." He doesn't really want her to have that memory, either, but he wanted to leave it to Mick's choice anyway. Leonard can't say he's surprised by the one he made, though.
"You better," he mumbles into the phone, and it's almost like a pout because none of this is right or fair and he's still not sure why he let it happen. He shouldn't have. He should have fought harder against the whole thing. But then Lisa would have had neither one of them and that's worse than any amount of missing Mick he might feel.
"Wrap it up, Rory." One of the guards calls.
"Guess that's your cue..." Leonard sighs, biting his lip for a second. "I'll see you soon." He drums his fingers against the glass over the spot Mick's hand was as he gets to his feet and places the reciever back on the hook.
A year. Ten months, technically. Not long considering most of the guys were in for decades or longer but to Mick it feels like forever. He sees Leonard almost every week but there are some misses. Sometimes he shows up a week late with faded bruises. Then there was the week Mick missed because he'd been tossed into solitary.
But there were pictures from Lisa. Spanning his hand on the thick glass and the way Snart would tap it lightly on the way out.
He's going home today. Showered and dressed in the clothes he'd been arrested in. A little broader, a little bulkier, and so fucking ready to see his partner. To hear Lisa chatter about everything and anything. Mick's worked so hard for this. Behaved. Kept his head down. Went to the damn shrink. Anything to get his sentence shaved down.
Ten months, two weeks, and four days, actually. Not that Leonard was counting or anything.
He spent the time upkeeping the apartment and working on figuring out how the hell he could get Lisa away from Lewis. There were a lot of late nights of research and trips to the library to check out the newest literature on custody laws; it's all he could do to keep himself occupied while he waited out this sentence.
But finally, his time is up and he's being released. And Leonard is there to pick him up when he gets out.
They had both been counting. But it had been worth it. Lenny was safe. Lisa was safe. The apartment was still there and they had the closest thing to a home for any of them.
He can't stop his smile as he crosses the parking lot. Free and easy and who gives a shit who sees it? Mick is a free man. "Hey," a smile as he closes in and only just checks a desire to touch, to draw him in.
But he doesn't. Not until they're in the car and he can just slide his hand into his partner's. It's enough. Not nearly what Mick needs but it's a damn sight better than his hand on thick, scarred up glass for ten months.
Just then, Leonard may not have cared at all, he has a pretty overwhelming urge to hug right now. But he won't. Maybe later, but not here. It's an easy slide of his fingers between the spaces in Mick's once he's in the car, though. No one can see that and Mick's hand is a comforting weight in his own.
"Hey," he answers back in a near-breathless sort of way. It was so good to see him, really see him; like he remembered what breathing was like, and like a piece that was missing was clicking back into the place it belonged.
He doesn't say anything else, just puts the car in drive and heads towards Mick's apartment.
Right now it's enough to be free of there. The car is quiet with just the hum of the engine and the wind blowing by. He can breathe again. He's not on guard, not watching out for everything. He has Lenny beside him.
When they get back into the apartment and the door closes, Mick fiddles with the edge of his jacket for a moment, an aborted movement forward. "Lenny.. can I.. please?" Can he touch? He needs it so much right now, but he's going to try and at least remember to ask rather than just grabbing or assuming that it's okay.
Behind closed doors in Mick's apartment, Leonard will let a lot of things happen, with or without question. He doesn't hate that Mick asks, even when he doesn't have to, not now, not after nearly a year without him. He doesn't even answer, instead he pushes forward and wraps his arms around Mick's neck, clinging tight and desperate. "You have no idea how much I missed you." he mumbles against his shoulder.
Mick just melts into that touch, wrapping his arms around him and hanging on tightly, pressing his face into him. "Lenny. God I missed you." He missed him so much, he can hold him now, he can touch him. Breathe in the scent of his skin and his hair and he's finally come home.
He wants to stay here and live in this moment forever because in Mick's arms, he feels safe, wanted, and he'd missed that feeling, desperately while he was gone. That feeling was his drug and Mick was his supplier and he'd been cut off completely and it felt like he was suffocating, until now, when Mick sinks against him and it's such a perfect feeling that he could really get lost in. His own fingers twist in the material of Mick's shirt in something of a death grip.
"You're not allowed to ever fucking do that shit again, asshole." he says as he finally pulls away, shoving him lightly, square in the chest.
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no subject
Date: 2018-03-03 04:08 pm (UTC)There's no choice, not really. Mick has the bag and tires are screeching, boots pounding pavement as the police fan out to search for their evading suspects.
"I hate this," he mumbles as Mick pulls away and Leonard knows there's no choice-- he has to book it or risk them both being caught. "I'm gonna find a way to bond you out, Mick, I swear to God."
That's the last thing he says before he takes off, hating every part of himself that even allowed him to leave him behind to take the fall for him. For Lewis.
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Date: 2018-03-03 04:32 pm (UTC)Mick doesn't look back. Mick doesn't watch his partner fleeing into the dark. Nope. Lenny will be okay. He can watch out for Lisa and keep her safe.
He dives headfirst out of the alley and right into the waiting arms of the cops. Stupid pigs. They kick his ass and he gives as good as he gets until he's hauled off in cuffs and into a holding cell. The other crooks that are caught seem surprised to see him - something that has the detectives in question leaning on him pretty hard to explain what happened.
Nope. Sorry. Mick Rory isn't a rat.
So he's tossed into prison orange and left in holding until sentencing.
Which is when he gets a visitor.
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Date: 2018-03-04 12:08 am (UTC)At first, Lewis was almost proud of the fact that Leonard had gotten away, but eventually he heard enough from the rest of the crew that had ended up caught to realize who had gone in his son's place. The knowledge didn't evoke the best reactions from the man. A lot of comments were thrown around about how he 'Never did understand [Leonard's] fascination with that Rory boy.' and some other, much more derogatory opinions about the assumed relationship between the boys. Leonard held his tongue every time, and surprised even himself at the restraint he had at reacting to any of it, no matter how much he absolutely seethed under the surface over all of it.
He is determined to get Mick out as soon as he can, and immediately starts taking up any random odd-job he can just to squirrel money away for the inevitable bond they'll place on him. Leonard assumes it won't be a light number, so any bit he can get saved toward it is worth it.
Leonard knows what to expect as he walks down the hallway and sits in the chair. Barely seconds pass and Mick, decked in prison orange, appears on the other side of the glass. Leonard picks up the phone, eyes locked on the image in front of him. "Hey, you."
There's a small part of him that almost wants to put his hand on the glass, but he ignores it. That's stupid.
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Date: 2018-03-04 02:00 am (UTC)Mick can't contain the relief that warms his chest as he sees Lenny on the other side of that heavy plexiglass. His hand touches the glass, wishing he could reach out and touch, reach out and comfort his partner.
"Hey partner."
God he's missed him. But this is okay. it is. Because Lenny needs to watch out for Lisa. She needs him more than Mick does.
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Date: 2018-03-04 02:18 am (UTC)"They gonna let me bond you out or...?" His record may be sealed, but Mick's past didn't exactly speak greatly in the judicial system, regardless.
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Date: 2018-03-04 02:31 am (UTC)It's okay that Leonard doesn't match his gesture. It's okay that he doesn't mirror his hand. Mick can make it and watch the way blue eyes flick towards his fingers.
"Public defender already wants me to cop a plea bargain, looking at a year, maybe a year and a half."
A swallow. "Lise okay?"
Are you okay?
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Date: 2018-03-04 02:40 am (UTC)He'll find a way out of this, and it'll be quicker than a freaking year. Leonard refuses to go an entire year like this.
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Date: 2018-03-04 02:49 am (UTC)"They just wanna get rid of me."
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Date: 2018-03-04 02:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-04 03:01 am (UTC)A soft, but firm intonation of his voice. "Lenny it's okay. You do what you gotta, but you take care of Lise. You take care of you okay? It ain't so bad in here. It's no picnic, but I can deal."
Be smart. Make a plan. Maybe send him a picture or two, like the old days.
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Date: 2018-03-04 04:00 am (UTC)"I don't want you to have to deal. I need y--" He huffs, his free arm sliding across his middle and he leans closer to the glass, like that could possibly actually make a difference, and drops his voice quiet, so only Mick should hopefully be able to hear him. "I need you out here...Mick...I can't do this without you."
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Date: 2018-03-04 01:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-05 05:26 am (UTC)He looks a little shocked at the easy offering. "He'd really let me do that?" He can at least play it off by being surprised about the landlord's not exactly perfectly run business handling, even though that is barely even a thought in his mind.
Of course, it wouldn't be the same without Mick there. But it would still be the same asylum and sanctuary they'd become accustomed to. That kind of stability counted for a lot in the Snart siblings' lives.
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Date: 2018-03-05 04:09 pm (UTC)It's going to be hard without him, without Leonard to keep him grounded and focused. There are going to be psych evals and fights and people pushing at him damn near constantly.
But it's better he's here than Leonard.
"I'll try and cop a plea. See how soon they'd let me out," he promises. "Whatever it takes Lenny."
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Date: 2018-03-05 05:04 pm (UTC)"Do whatever you have to, just..." He pauses, the slightest noticeable thing, because the words 'come home' burn a hole into his tongue, but he switches it out for, "get out as soon as you can, okay?"
Leonard doesn't like admitting defeat, but he doesn't have any other choice right now. "M'gonna visit you... every week." Just like this, until he gets out. "I dunno if you want Lise to see this," he gestures vaguely to the glass separating them; it's not the easiest thing to take in, and she's only just hit double digits, even if she's older than her years anyway because she was forced to grow up sooner than she should have. "but I can bring her, too, if you want..."
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Date: 2018-03-05 05:41 pm (UTC)Mick shakes his head slowly. "No. Don't do that to her, not now. Just tell her.. tell her I'm sorry and I'll see her soon." And if she draws him pictures? He'll save each and every one of them.
"You'll be okay. You will. And I'll get out soon as I can. I swear."
no subject
Date: 2018-03-05 07:18 pm (UTC)"Yeah, okay..." He doesn't really want her to have that memory, either, but he wanted to leave it to Mick's choice anyway. Leonard can't say he's surprised by the one he made, though.
"You better," he mumbles into the phone, and it's almost like a pout because none of this is right or fair and he's still not sure why he let it happen. He shouldn't have. He should have fought harder against the whole thing. But then Lisa would have had neither one of them and that's worse than any amount of missing Mick he might feel.
"Wrap it up, Rory." One of the guards calls.
"Guess that's your cue..." Leonard sighs, biting his lip for a second. "I'll see you soon." He drums his fingers against the glass over the spot Mick's hand was as he gets to his feet and places the reciever back on the hook.
Going Home
Date: 2018-03-05 09:16 pm (UTC)Not long considering most of the guys were in for decades or longer but to Mick it feels like forever. He sees Leonard almost every week but there are some misses. Sometimes he shows up a week late with faded bruises. Then there was the week Mick missed because he'd been tossed into solitary.
But there were pictures from Lisa.
Spanning his hand on the thick glass and the way Snart would tap it lightly on the way out.
He's going home today.
Showered and dressed in the clothes he'd been arrested in. A little broader, a little bulkier, and so fucking ready to see his partner. To hear Lisa chatter about everything and anything. Mick's worked so hard for this. Behaved. Kept his head down. Went to the damn shrink. Anything to get his sentence shaved down.
And it's all paying off.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-05 11:21 pm (UTC)He spent the time upkeeping the apartment and working on figuring out how the hell he could get Lisa away from Lewis. There were a lot of late nights of research and trips to the library to check out the newest literature on custody laws; it's all he could do to keep himself occupied while he waited out this sentence.
But finally, his time is up and he's being released. And Leonard is there to pick him up when he gets out.
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Date: 2018-03-06 01:59 am (UTC)But it had been worth it. Lenny was safe. Lisa was safe. The apartment was still there and they had the closest thing to a home for any of them.
He can't stop his smile as he crosses the parking lot. Free and easy and who gives a shit who sees it? Mick is a free man. "Hey," a smile as he closes in and only just checks a desire to touch, to draw him in.
But he doesn't.
Not until they're in the car and he can just slide his hand into his partner's. It's enough. Not nearly what Mick needs but it's a damn sight better than his hand on thick, scarred up glass for ten months.
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Date: 2018-03-06 02:35 am (UTC)"Hey," he answers back in a near-breathless sort of way. It was so good to see him, really see him; like he remembered what breathing was like, and like a piece that was missing was clicking back into the place it belonged.
He doesn't say anything else, just puts the car in drive and heads towards Mick's apartment.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-06 05:50 pm (UTC)When they get back into the apartment and the door closes, Mick fiddles with the edge of his jacket for a moment, an aborted movement forward. "Lenny.. can I.. please?" Can he touch? He needs it so much right now, but he's going to try and at least remember to ask rather than just grabbing or assuming that it's okay.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-06 06:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-06 06:51 pm (UTC)"I missed you so much."
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Date: 2018-03-06 07:54 pm (UTC)"You're not allowed to ever fucking do that shit again, asshole." he says as he finally pulls away, shoving him lightly, square in the chest.
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