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Title: Ameliorate
Fandom: Legends of Tomorrow
Pairing: Leonard Snart/Mick Rory
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with DCTV It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary:Mick isn't a hero, but just as he and Len are starting to work past the differences they found in Star City 2046 the Waverider lands in Central City a few weeks after they've left. This Central City is ruled by a villainous Flash and now it's up to the team to figure out how to fix the past.
A/N: Originally started for the Coldwave week prompt In Captivity. I'm posting the first part of this, which is set-up before the team arrives in Central City, so that I quit fussing with it instead of moving on.
Warning: This chapter gets a bit dark. There is discussion of Mick having his meds messed with and Gideon having not been at capacity as an AI due to Time Master interference Also Barry is evil and confessing to having killed this worlds versions of Mick and Len, even though he had a past relationship with Len.
Ameliorate:
Mick leans his head back to take in the stars. He breathes in the cool night air and smiles as he feels some of the tension in his gut uncoil. He takes several slow breaths and sighs. Len fingers tap against the hull of the Waverider. Mick puts his hands behind his head as he stares up at the stars, “Definitely the outskirts of Central.”
Len makes a considering noise beside him.
“We doing this now?” Mick asks as he lets his arms go back down to his sides and glances at Len. It’s either push, go back to dancing around each other awkwardly, or try to pretend there’s nothing to resolve.
Len looks him up and down slowly, unfurling from where he’s leaning against the hull. He tilts his head. Mick waits. Len starts to speak, thinks better of it and frowns. Mick leans his head back again, waiting for Len to decide where to start.
“I don’t want to fight with you.”
Mick feels a bit more of his tension ease. He turns to face Len. He wants a fight, it would help him relax, but he doesn’t want this to end in a standoff. He doesn’t want to yell until Len is coming up with compromises. Pulling their guns on each other isn’t going to solve this. He doesn’t want to go back to 2046, but he’s not ready to go home to 2016. He’s not a hero either.
“Ask,” he pushes.
“Are you manic, Mick?” Len drawls the question out slowly as he closes the distance between them.
“Was,” he admits. “Gideon fucked with my meds.”
Len stills, every part of him taunt. Slowly his eyes narrow, his tone is flat. “We’re going home.”
Mick sighs.
“Why am I finding out about this now?” Len demands, offence seeping into his tone.
Mick crosses his arms and glowers.
“Right,” Len agrees, still bristling.
“Wasn’t her fault,” Mick attempts to temper.
Len raises his eyebrows, clearly wanting an explanation.
“Someone fucked with her first. Made her more computer and less AI. Jax and I fixed her.” Mick informs him and then watches as Len processes and comes up with their next move.
“You brought your own meds? We don’t need to rely on her?”
“She and I sorted out my meds together. She’s keeping an eye on my blood levels.”
Len tilts his head to the side, face still that shrewd look of planning. “Should we call your shrink?”
Mick considers the question for a moment, before he blows out a breath. “Better to have your perspective, I can’t always see where I am.”
He turns to look at Len and doesn’t like how still the other man is. He tells Len to stop overthinking it. Len shakes his head. “Did you tell Hunter, that someone fucked with his sidekick?”
“Tried. He was too busy wallowing. Jax was going to try.”
“Then we landed here,” Len wrinkles his nose, then regards Mick slowly again. “You didn’t say.”
“Didn’t want to start a fight when I still sorting myself out. I think I’m okay now,” Mick says. “I got…how grandiose was I?”
“Loving every minute,” Len tells him.
“I did,” he agrees, before admitting. “Wouldn’t have lasted.”
“Really?”
Mick wants to kiss him, for the way he draws out the word, there’s belief, relief, and yet questions in it. He’s only ever heard Len and Lisa put so much meaning into one tone. He shrugs instead. “You were bored.”
Len raises his eyebrows.
Mick raises his eyebrows back as he points out, “You were bored and miserable. I was too caught up enjoying it to question why.”
“We weren’t there to try and stop it,” Len explains. “Team Flash was, died trying. Lisa was with them.”
Mick stares.
“You were,” Len starts, then shakes his head. “It wasn’t the right time to say.”
“I wouldn’t have really heard it,” Mick agrees.
“And would’ve felt guilty later.”
Mick nods, then instructs, “Don’t.”
“One word doesn’t really tell me what I’m not supposed to do,” Len points out.
“Feel guilty.”
“I’m allowed,” Len tells him stiffly.
“You are,” Mick concedes. “Don’t hit me again. You’re not your old man.”
The emotions play over Len’s face briefly, before he looks away, staring into the distance. He manages to choke out, “Got it.”
“You don’t.”
Len turns to glare at him as he stalks closer.
“You don’t Lenny.”
That stops Len short, but they’re almost touching so Mick isn’t going to complain. Len’s voice is low, barely there, as he admits, “I don’t know how.”
Mick wonders if now if the right time to try and convince Len that he needs a shrink too. He’s just not sure how to segue into the subject without Len becoming defensive. Len leans in and Mick pulls him close, wrapping arms around his waist, tight enough to bring them flush together, but loose enough that Len could step back if he wanted. Len leans into him, hands coming up to grip Mick’s arms.
Len frowns. “I know you’re right.”
Mick tightens his hold on Len. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to,” Len reminds. He’s right, it’s a well-tread argument. “I not sold on...”
Mick gives him a moment to sort out his words, but Len just trails off. Len has trouble trusting.
“It’s not easy, it’s difficult at first,” Mick reminds. “Besides we’re time traveling until Savage is taken care of.”
“Is that what you want?” Len prods.
“Not going to let him kill Kendra,” Mick agrees.
Len nods and leans in. Mick moves into meet him halfway, ready to move past talking, seal that they’re past this argument, when Len is just suddenly gone. A gust of wind is the only indicator that he was there.
“Gideon!” Mick bellows. “Lock Kendra in. Tell her there’s a speedst…”
His stomach lurches as he’s pulled away. He barely has time to acknowledge the thought and he’s being dumped into a clearing in the middle of the woods next to Len.
“What the hell?” he growls as he gets to his feet.
Len grabs his wrist. “Wait.”
He glances at Len, who throws a stone in his hand. It fizzles against a barrier and then drops down. He eyes the barrier considering if throwing himself against it will make a difference in overwhelming it or if he’ll just hurt himself.
“Mick,” Len sooths, it sounds like a warning, but it’s the undertone of concern that settles Mick firmly on his heel instead of sprinting forward.
“Boss,” Mick addresses in a differing tone to make his question clear. What’s the plan? Do you have one?
Len’s eyes cut over to him, look calculating. Len’s still weighing variables. Mick nods minutely and starts to look around, seeing if he can catch anything Len hasn’t or might miss. Kendra is a worrying presence in their ear for a moment, till Len cuts her off mid-sentence. “We’re alive. Stay safe.”
The stay locked on the ship and don’t come after us, goes unspoken.
A figure in black with red highlights strolls towards them. It’s similar to the suit their Flash wears, but without the logo, the colors changed and no cowl.
“Flash,” Len greets. “Or are you calling yourself something different?”
“Really? Flash? After everything we’ve been through,” the guy taunts.
“So you just run around letting everyone know that Barry Allen is better than them?” Len challenges.
Barry smirks. “Why hide if it’s true?”
Len raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms.
“You knew it was true.” Barry challenges.
“Did I?” Len glares.
Barry laughs. “I did miss you. It was a shame when I had to kill you for betraying me.”
Len’s postures shifts minutely, becomes less defensive and more languid. Mick knows Len is making the right move if the way Barry is eying Len is any indication, but there is a reason that if they need someone grifted for a heist it usually Lisa that does it, grifting fucks with Len’s head. If they get out of this alive Len is going to be a miserable wreck for at least a few days. He hates having someone he hasn’t gotten slowly comfortable around touch him and he can’t stand having to explain his scars in mundane ways that make their target comfortable.
“Time travel,” Len drawls in explanation. “I haven’t betrayed you, did you give me a reason to?”
“You weren’t too happy when you found out I killed your partner, but there he is alive,” Barry tilts his head. He briefly spares Mick a glance, but then he’s slowly drinking Len in.
Mick wants to tell Len that this isn’t a solid plan, that they can find another way to get close to the speedster and find out how the past got changed, but if he does that he ruins this opportunity.
Len keeps his body language open, runs his eyes very deliberately and admiringly over Barry as he asks. “And my sister?”
“Helping to lead the resistance against me.”
Len makes a considering noise. “Guess she and I need to have a serious conversation about who should really be in charge of Central.”
“Just like that, you’re interested?” Barry questions.
Len stalks forward, movements deliberate and precise as he strokes Barry’s ego, “Central’s my home and I know when to hedge my bets. I just watched you take out Savage. You’re taunting a Bat with one of his kids. Might not be the world I left behind, but I want in.”
Barry wets his lips, stares at Len a moment, obviously trying to decide if he’s getting conned.
“Doesn’t sound like he made it worth your while before,” Mick mock complains to shift Barry’s focus.
“But he misses me,” Len points out, “And at some point one has to stop flirting and get what they want.”
“Nauseating levels of flirting,” Mick pretends to agree.
“Mick lives, Lisa lives, and we won’t have a problem,” Len offers.
Barry’s laugh is cruel and mocking. He darting forward and pulls Len through the barrier. Mick forces himself not to react to being stranded inside with Len out of reach in a situation that could turn dangerous at any moment, is likely already dangerous. Barry’s hand slide over Len, touching intimately as he checks for weapons that are out of his line of sight. When he’s done he moves in to kiss Len, who places a hand on Barry’s chest to stop him.
“They live,” Len glares. “My terms or no agreement.”
Barry smirks, it’s cruel, and Mick has a brief moment to know that both he and Len are going to regret this before both Len and Barry are gone.
Chapters: [1][2] [3]
Fandom: Legends of Tomorrow
Pairing: Leonard Snart/Mick Rory
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with DCTV It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary:Mick isn't a hero, but just as he and Len are starting to work past the differences they found in Star City 2046 the Waverider lands in Central City a few weeks after they've left. This Central City is ruled by a villainous Flash and now it's up to the team to figure out how to fix the past.
A/N: Originally started for the Coldwave week prompt In Captivity. I'm posting the first part of this, which is set-up before the team arrives in Central City, so that I quit fussing with it instead of moving on.
Warning: This chapter gets a bit dark. There is discussion of Mick having his meds messed with and Gideon having not been at capacity as an AI due to Time Master interference Also Barry is evil and confessing to having killed this worlds versions of Mick and Len, even though he had a past relationship with Len.
Ameliorate:
Mick leans his head back to take in the stars. He breathes in the cool night air and smiles as he feels some of the tension in his gut uncoil. He takes several slow breaths and sighs. Len fingers tap against the hull of the Waverider. Mick puts his hands behind his head as he stares up at the stars, “Definitely the outskirts of Central.”
Len makes a considering noise beside him.
“We doing this now?” Mick asks as he lets his arms go back down to his sides and glances at Len. It’s either push, go back to dancing around each other awkwardly, or try to pretend there’s nothing to resolve.
Len looks him up and down slowly, unfurling from where he’s leaning against the hull. He tilts his head. Mick waits. Len starts to speak, thinks better of it and frowns. Mick leans his head back again, waiting for Len to decide where to start.
“I don’t want to fight with you.”
Mick feels a bit more of his tension ease. He turns to face Len. He wants a fight, it would help him relax, but he doesn’t want this to end in a standoff. He doesn’t want to yell until Len is coming up with compromises. Pulling their guns on each other isn’t going to solve this. He doesn’t want to go back to 2046, but he’s not ready to go home to 2016. He’s not a hero either.
“Ask,” he pushes.
“Are you manic, Mick?” Len drawls the question out slowly as he closes the distance between them.
“Was,” he admits. “Gideon fucked with my meds.”
Len stills, every part of him taunt. Slowly his eyes narrow, his tone is flat. “We’re going home.”
Mick sighs.
“Why am I finding out about this now?” Len demands, offence seeping into his tone.
Mick crosses his arms and glowers.
“Right,” Len agrees, still bristling.
“Wasn’t her fault,” Mick attempts to temper.
Len raises his eyebrows, clearly wanting an explanation.
“Someone fucked with her first. Made her more computer and less AI. Jax and I fixed her.” Mick informs him and then watches as Len processes and comes up with their next move.
“You brought your own meds? We don’t need to rely on her?”
“She and I sorted out my meds together. She’s keeping an eye on my blood levels.”
Len tilts his head to the side, face still that shrewd look of planning. “Should we call your shrink?”
Mick considers the question for a moment, before he blows out a breath. “Better to have your perspective, I can’t always see where I am.”
He turns to look at Len and doesn’t like how still the other man is. He tells Len to stop overthinking it. Len shakes his head. “Did you tell Hunter, that someone fucked with his sidekick?”
“Tried. He was too busy wallowing. Jax was going to try.”
“Then we landed here,” Len wrinkles his nose, then regards Mick slowly again. “You didn’t say.”
“Didn’t want to start a fight when I still sorting myself out. I think I’m okay now,” Mick says. “I got…how grandiose was I?”
“Loving every minute,” Len tells him.
“I did,” he agrees, before admitting. “Wouldn’t have lasted.”
“Really?”
Mick wants to kiss him, for the way he draws out the word, there’s belief, relief, and yet questions in it. He’s only ever heard Len and Lisa put so much meaning into one tone. He shrugs instead. “You were bored.”
Len raises his eyebrows.
Mick raises his eyebrows back as he points out, “You were bored and miserable. I was too caught up enjoying it to question why.”
“We weren’t there to try and stop it,” Len explains. “Team Flash was, died trying. Lisa was with them.”
Mick stares.
“You were,” Len starts, then shakes his head. “It wasn’t the right time to say.”
“I wouldn’t have really heard it,” Mick agrees.
“And would’ve felt guilty later.”
Mick nods, then instructs, “Don’t.”
“One word doesn’t really tell me what I’m not supposed to do,” Len points out.
“Feel guilty.”
“I’m allowed,” Len tells him stiffly.
“You are,” Mick concedes. “Don’t hit me again. You’re not your old man.”
The emotions play over Len’s face briefly, before he looks away, staring into the distance. He manages to choke out, “Got it.”
“You don’t.”
Len turns to glare at him as he stalks closer.
“You don’t Lenny.”
That stops Len short, but they’re almost touching so Mick isn’t going to complain. Len’s voice is low, barely there, as he admits, “I don’t know how.”
Mick wonders if now if the right time to try and convince Len that he needs a shrink too. He’s just not sure how to segue into the subject without Len becoming defensive. Len leans in and Mick pulls him close, wrapping arms around his waist, tight enough to bring them flush together, but loose enough that Len could step back if he wanted. Len leans into him, hands coming up to grip Mick’s arms.
Len frowns. “I know you’re right.”
Mick tightens his hold on Len. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to,” Len reminds. He’s right, it’s a well-tread argument. “I not sold on...”
Mick gives him a moment to sort out his words, but Len just trails off. Len has trouble trusting.
“It’s not easy, it’s difficult at first,” Mick reminds. “Besides we’re time traveling until Savage is taken care of.”
“Is that what you want?” Len prods.
“Not going to let him kill Kendra,” Mick agrees.
Len nods and leans in. Mick moves into meet him halfway, ready to move past talking, seal that they’re past this argument, when Len is just suddenly gone. A gust of wind is the only indicator that he was there.
“Gideon!” Mick bellows. “Lock Kendra in. Tell her there’s a speedst…”
His stomach lurches as he’s pulled away. He barely has time to acknowledge the thought and he’s being dumped into a clearing in the middle of the woods next to Len.
“What the hell?” he growls as he gets to his feet.
Len grabs his wrist. “Wait.”
He glances at Len, who throws a stone in his hand. It fizzles against a barrier and then drops down. He eyes the barrier considering if throwing himself against it will make a difference in overwhelming it or if he’ll just hurt himself.
“Mick,” Len sooths, it sounds like a warning, but it’s the undertone of concern that settles Mick firmly on his heel instead of sprinting forward.
“Boss,” Mick addresses in a differing tone to make his question clear. What’s the plan? Do you have one?
Len’s eyes cut over to him, look calculating. Len’s still weighing variables. Mick nods minutely and starts to look around, seeing if he can catch anything Len hasn’t or might miss. Kendra is a worrying presence in their ear for a moment, till Len cuts her off mid-sentence. “We’re alive. Stay safe.”
The stay locked on the ship and don’t come after us, goes unspoken.
A figure in black with red highlights strolls towards them. It’s similar to the suit their Flash wears, but without the logo, the colors changed and no cowl.
“Flash,” Len greets. “Or are you calling yourself something different?”
“Really? Flash? After everything we’ve been through,” the guy taunts.
“So you just run around letting everyone know that Barry Allen is better than them?” Len challenges.
Barry smirks. “Why hide if it’s true?”
Len raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms.
“You knew it was true.” Barry challenges.
“Did I?” Len glares.
Barry laughs. “I did miss you. It was a shame when I had to kill you for betraying me.”
Len’s postures shifts minutely, becomes less defensive and more languid. Mick knows Len is making the right move if the way Barry is eying Len is any indication, but there is a reason that if they need someone grifted for a heist it usually Lisa that does it, grifting fucks with Len’s head. If they get out of this alive Len is going to be a miserable wreck for at least a few days. He hates having someone he hasn’t gotten slowly comfortable around touch him and he can’t stand having to explain his scars in mundane ways that make their target comfortable.
“Time travel,” Len drawls in explanation. “I haven’t betrayed you, did you give me a reason to?”
“You weren’t too happy when you found out I killed your partner, but there he is alive,” Barry tilts his head. He briefly spares Mick a glance, but then he’s slowly drinking Len in.
Mick wants to tell Len that this isn’t a solid plan, that they can find another way to get close to the speedster and find out how the past got changed, but if he does that he ruins this opportunity.
Len keeps his body language open, runs his eyes very deliberately and admiringly over Barry as he asks. “And my sister?”
“Helping to lead the resistance against me.”
Len makes a considering noise. “Guess she and I need to have a serious conversation about who should really be in charge of Central.”
“Just like that, you’re interested?” Barry questions.
Len stalks forward, movements deliberate and precise as he strokes Barry’s ego, “Central’s my home and I know when to hedge my bets. I just watched you take out Savage. You’re taunting a Bat with one of his kids. Might not be the world I left behind, but I want in.”
Barry wets his lips, stares at Len a moment, obviously trying to decide if he’s getting conned.
“Doesn’t sound like he made it worth your while before,” Mick mock complains to shift Barry’s focus.
“But he misses me,” Len points out, “And at some point one has to stop flirting and get what they want.”
“Nauseating levels of flirting,” Mick pretends to agree.
“Mick lives, Lisa lives, and we won’t have a problem,” Len offers.
Barry’s laugh is cruel and mocking. He darting forward and pulls Len through the barrier. Mick forces himself not to react to being stranded inside with Len out of reach in a situation that could turn dangerous at any moment, is likely already dangerous. Barry’s hand slide over Len, touching intimately as he checks for weapons that are out of his line of sight. When he’s done he moves in to kiss Len, who places a hand on Barry’s chest to stop him.
“They live,” Len glares. “My terms or no agreement.”
Barry smirks, it’s cruel, and Mick has a brief moment to know that both he and Len are going to regret this before both Len and Barry are gone.
Chapters: [1][2] [3]