{There's a softness behind the mask you wear

[myheadisaprison]

PSL with lichtenbergs
i need a drink and a shade of lipstick that will put the fear of god into a man's heart. [TFLN]
Texts
Well, that's embarrasing [Texts gone awk]
We need a better recruiting process. Seriously, who calls the cops on themselves and goes to jail? ...on a Monday. [TFLN]
Captain Cold makes a house call.
You didnt text me back so....I'm on your street with golf clubs [Drunk texts » action]

Comments

text. at like three in the afternoon one random day.

[lichtenbergs]

kinda important and maybe time sensitive question:
do you have any advice from the criminal end of things for what to do if you happen to get arrested?

[mypriority]

You mean besides hope you have enough money for bail and have the right person on speed dial for your one call?

[A beat.]

What's the charge?

[Bea, what did you do?]

[lichtenbergs]

i haven't been arrested yet
but i'm this close to either punching a suburban mom in the face or going on a tirade that someone is bound to post on facebook

[mypriority]

What did this poor innocent soccer mom do to you?

[lichtenbergs]

she thinks vaccinating her kid is going to turn him into a meta
despite all the science that says that's impossible

text for cisco.

[lichtenbergs]

i think i did something really, really stupid

[thisismadfreaky]

Well, that's promising....

....what did you do?

[lichtenbergs]

i kinda had a weird heart-to-heart with leonard snart
yes, that leonard snart
and now he's basically disappeared

[thisismadfreaky]

A heart-to-heart?
With LEONARD?
[Does. Not. Compute.]

Okay, well.
Maybe he just freaked out. I mean, he's like the polar opposite of a feelings guy.
[Sometimes Cisco doesn't help very well. Sorry, Bea.]

[lichtenbergs]

yeah, with leonard
it's a long story

[ one that she will sum up for cisco but is also kind of hoping he doesn't ask about because... wow that could be awkward. ]

"polar"
that makes sense but it still kind of sucks

{You're breaking into my life, it's out of control, push past my defenses, you are my weakness

[mypriority]

A few days have passed since the last conversation he'd had with Bea. And what a conversation it had been. He's not sure how they ended up where they did in the end, given where things started, but it was a lot. Too Much to deal with, too close, too real. And his knee-jerk reaction was to dip out. Because he is the most mature adult to ever adult maturely.

Which is obviously what has led him to the decision to come by her apartment and confront this whole thing.

Or not.

He stopped by when he knew she would be busy with Flash things and not at home at all. He'd considered texting her, he'd considered leaving her a note. He considered a lot of things but this was easiest. Sit and wait and force himself to have no way to back out. He would have to explain why he was lounging on her couch when she walked in the door and while he could lie and it would be as easy as breathing, it's not really his style. Especially with her.

Tricking himself into confrontation about a thing he rather run from is definitely the best route to go, right?

[lichtenbergs]

The past few days have been a little nerve-wracking. Her talk with Cisco helped, but Bea couldn't help but be worried that maybe she pushed too far. Maybe she inadvertently ruined this thing they'd been building. Between that, and work, and tracking down a new meta human criminal, it's been stressful. She can handle stressful, though. It just... leaves her tired. And maybe a little distracted when she opens the door to her apartment near midnight, dressed in sweats borrowed from STAR Labs, looking like a mess that just came from the gym.

She pauses in the doorway, looking at Leonard sprawled out on her comfy chair, one of her well-worn paperbacks in hand. With a small snort of amusement and a shake of her head, Bea closes the door behind her and locks up. Her shoes get kicked into her bedroom and she ignores her guest for a moment while she gets herself a glass of water.

"You've really got to stop breaking in like this," she says as she flops on the floor. The cool, cool floor. "Or at least bring food when you do." She gives him a long look. Not judging, just--evaluating. "Feeling better?"

[mypriority]

He glances up when he hears the door and he hides a smirk in response to the amusement she expresses at him. As she gets herself settled in being home, he sets the book aside and sits up a bit, one ankle resting across the opposite knee. "If I stopped, we wouldn't have these lovely chats about my glaringly terrible B-and-E etiquette." He smirks slightly.

As she settles on the floor nearby, his eyes sweep over her. She's a bit of a mess, but it's that way women can look a mess and still be beautiful; she also looks exhausted, he can see it more at the edges of her eyes than anything in the way she carries herself. "Better is a word for it." Maybe not precisely the one he would choose.

[lichtenbergs]

She huffs out a laugh. "I'm glad you stopped by, even with the B-and-E." She doesn't say even if things don't change, because she's pretty sure he knows that. And Bea's not quite ready to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Small talk and banter is a lot easier to deal with.

"If you're harming my locks though, I'm charging you for new ones," she says, lifting her glass to her lips for another drink. Since he's made himself so at home here, she's not gonna offer him something this time. Instead, she just starts taking out her braids like she'd do if she didn't have company, letting the safe feeling of home take some of the tension out of her shoulders.

[mypriority]

"It's always nice to know my presence is welcome," He makes it sound like a teasing jab or a joke, but it actually is nice to know that she doesn't hate him just dropping by, unexpected, unannounced, and illegally.

"Please. I know what I'm doing." He smirks. "But you could use some better locks, anyway." So maybe she'll end up with some suddenly one day when she least expects it. "What have you been up to?" He can't dive directly into it, he'll work it in somehow, but small talk first.

cool your bed-warm hands down on the broken radiator ▸

[lichtenbergs]

Morning comes, and Bea finds herself waking slowly as she always does on her days off. The sun peeks in through the blinds, the birds are chirping outside her window, and she is pleasantly warm, cocooned in her blanket pressed against Leonard's side. She drifts for a while, enjoying the haze between sleep and wakefulness, before she finally drags her eyes open and looks at her bed partner.

He looks different while he sleeps. Not necessarily younger or more peaceful, the way novels always tend to describe someone. More relaxed, maybe, without the smug and calculating look he almost always wears. A little funny, certainly, with lines from the pillow etched into one cheek.

Bea can't really resist the urge to reach out and ghost her fingers over the fading creases in his skin. The hint of crow's feet by his eyes. The few freckles and beauty marks on his cheeks. The touch is light in hopes it won't startle him awake--barely there, really. She suspects he's going to have one hell of a hangover when he wakes, and she'd rather let him sleep as much as possible. Because of that and because she finds she rather enjoys watching him rest in the warm light of morning.

[mypriority]

Her touch isn't meant to stir him awake, but it does. Not because it was terribly disruptive, but because he's a notoriously light sleeper. Not by choice or trade, but by necessity of too many years trapped with a careless man and a need to act once Lisa had entered the picture and she'd caught the attention she never needed to bear.

The movement is stiff and jerky and he catches her hand with his own. His touch is gentle, eyes still closed and his voice is rough with sleep as he says, "Don't do that." It's not really a reprimand so much as a request. Something she needs to know if they're going to be having sleepovers these days.

[lichtenbergs]

Her fingers curl into her palm, away from his face, the second his hand comes up to catch onto her. "Sorry," she murmurs, biting at her lower lip. She... probably should've guessed his reaction would be something like that.

A little sheepish, she tucks her hands--including the one he's still got a grip on--closer to her chest. There's a lot of things she could say. Most of them sound silly in her head, especially the comments on how nice he looks like this, so after a moment of hesitation she settles on, "Sleep alright?"

[mypriority]

From this close, he can practically feel the awkward tension rolling off of her in waves. It's almost cute. He doesn't let go or pull away, even when she tugs his hand along with her own toward her chest.

He rolls his head to one side, eyes opening lazily. "That the best you got?" he teases, a halfhearted smirk slipping across his lips. Idly, and with the deliberate choice not to think much about what he's doing, he twists his wrist a little so he can thread his fingers through hers. If he's going to commit to this, he's going all in. And, well, if he's honest, he's probably been there since before they started this weird slide into something more official anyway.

[lichtenbergs]

She laughs quietly, not wanting to break the peaceful stillness of the morning, and tilts her head down to press a kiss to Leonard's knuckles. "Hey, it's a legitimate question." Especially with the two of them. Never know when someone might have a nightmare.

"Though maybe," she continues after a moment, "I should be asking you how your head is. You were pretty drunk last night."

and if i may just take your breath away ▸

[lichtenbergs]

Inviting him to dinner was a spur of the moment thing. A "wow, that was really sweet, and since we were just talking about you seeing me naked, I wouldn't mind if that happened soon but I can't exactly come out and say that" kind of a thing. Bea's fairly certain that she wasn't being as subtle as she hoped she was, but honestly? She doesn't mind. Not if Leonard isn't going to point it out.

Of course, this also leaves her with a problem. Namely, the fact that her apartment is a mess. If it weren't for her superspeed, getting things ready for him to come over would probably be a lot more stressful. As it is, Bea's got more than enough time to get ready (looking nice but hopefully not like she's trying too hard and with her nice sexy-and-makes-her-feel-confident underwear on) and then... sit around. And think. And think some more.

Which, in all honesty, is potentially even more of a problem because it means she's a little antsy when she answers the door. Enough so that, once Leonard is in her apartment and the door's shut, it seems like a good idea to press him back against it and kiss him. Thoroughly.

[mypriority]

The invite for dinner was a little random, but he supposes that's sort of expected to be a regular thing now or something, really. He doesn't mind, because he actually enjoys spending time with Bea so it's not like it's a problem or anything.

She's barely let him inside when Leonard suddenly finds himself pinned to the door. It's sudden and unexpected and he's tense, initially, until his brain catches up a little and he relaxes, kissing her back, hands wandering down to grip her hips and tug her closer. He's not sure what this is about, but he isn't exactly complaining.

[lichtenbergs]

That little moment of tenseness almost has her pulling away, but then he's kissing her back and pulling her close and any thoughts about stopping this go flying out of Bea's head. A little pleased noise catches in the back of her throat as she leans into him. Her hands clutch at his shoulders, slide up around his neck, and oh, this is really nice.

You know, except for the fact that her somewhat cold front door is now pressing against the backs of her hands and she hasn't even said hello yet.

"Sorry," she murmurs, smiling crookedly as she pulls back enough to breathe. "I've been wanting to do that since you called me pretty perfect."

[mypriority]

That soft noise she makes is nice and his his fingers tighten the slightest bit around her hips in response. He'd never cross a line into hurting her, but being a little rough didn't seem like it would do any harm.

"Don't apologize," he smirks a little and it fades into something a little more genuine as she continues to explain. "Maybe I should say things like that more often."

{Tonight I'll let you kiss away the memories of the scars against my skin

[mypriority]

The thing about Bea that is equal parts amazing and disturbing to Leonard is how comfortable he is around her. Most people would probably find it a good thing, and in a lot of ways, he does, too, but there are reasons he is the way he is and has the walls he does at all times. But she's sneaky and she's slipped her way into some of the cracks in those walls and she's just sort of...gotten everywhere-- in his head, in his heart, sometimes it's like she's running in his goddamn veins.

He was the slowest-to-warm-up type in this whole relationship thing--and most of the time, he still refuses to call it that, or refer to her as his girlfriend, even if that's exactly what she is--and there's a certain Saint's Patience that comes with dealing with Leonard Snart in this particular capacity. A patience that Bea Allen has met with grace and understanding that Leonard isn't sure he's ever seen from anyone, ever. Even Mick showed obvious frustrations at times and they'd spanned actual entire decades with each other.

But that's just Bea.
She's a people pleaser and better taking care of others than she is in remembering to take care of herself. It's just who she is.
And sometimes? That kind of thing has an epic sort of pay off.

It's a generic night that ends in y and he's draped across her couch, only half-listening to whatever is on the tv and not actually looking at it at all. Instead, he's focused on her, and the way she's at the opposite end of the couch, with his feet in her lap, like it's the most normal thing in the world.

And all he can think about is how he isn't even sure how he got here to this contented place with her.
And that he wouldn't want to change it for anything in the world.