atms | OPEN POST.

[ god, this whole conversation got full of feelings really fast. it leaves him unsteady. that's why, for a moment, his voice goes loud and harsh. ]

Well, I am.

[ len pauses. clenches his hands and closes his eyes for a moment as he puts himself back on as even of ground as he can find. ]

The things that've happened--the things that could happen to you, that have happened to Mick... It ain't pretty, Lisa. I want you as far away from this as possible.

[That... wasn't where she'd expected this conversation to go, but now she was even more worried. Which also meant she was even more determined to go with him next time because someone needed to look after Mick and Lenny while they were looking after eachother!]

I can handle it, Len! [Oh, by the way, she's still just as stubborn.] You don't have to protect me anymore, you know. I've been working on that so you don't have to. You've always been there for--Len, are you at the safehouse? I don't like doing this over the phone...

[Because she's getting emotional and she hates being emotional.]

[ he sighs. ]

Yeah, I'm at the safehouse.

[She almost echoes his sigh, but not out of petulance. It's her own genuine exasperation.]

I'm close. Give me five minutes.

[True to her word, she's there in just under five minutes. She pulls the helmet off her head when she steps through the doorway and locks the front door behind her.]

Lenny? [She sets the helmet down on a table.]

[ he's sitting on the shitty couch they have in the safehouse when she comes in, elbows on his knees and hands clasped in front of his mouth. every line of him is tense, from his jaw down his spine. ]

I'm not gonna change my mind about this.

Why?

[Lisa drags a chair over to sit in front of him, posture prim and proper, crossing her legs at her knees, giving Leonard a very stubborn stare.]

I promise, I won't be a burden. Please, Lenny.

[ for a moment, he softens. just a little. ]

'Course you wouldn't be. You wouldn't ever be.

[ it's not about her capabilities. hell, it's not even about whether or not he'd enjoy having her around. 'cause he would. he'd love to see lisa with sara and jax. love to see her punch rip in the face and fluster the hell out of ray. teach kendra a few things about kicking ass. she would do so well on the waverider and he knows it.

but even if things have smoothed out now, he remembers abandoning mick. he remembers being cuffed and watching as mick--his partner who he'd already lost twice--threatened to kill lisa over, and over, and over again. he remembers watching kendra bury carter. watching jax and stein worry over each other.

lisa traveling with them could be the best thing to happen to the team. or it could break leonard irreparably. and he doesn't know how to tell her that.

he looks down at his hands and picks his words carefully. ] We lost Mick for a while. He was--tortured and brainwashed. It wasn't because he screwed up or wasn't good enough. Wasn't really anybody's fault except mine. And I can't-- [ he rubs a hand over his face. ] I can't fucking lose you too, alright? I can't. So will you please just leave it be?

[Lisa watched him, and she could see things running through his head. She may not know what he was thinking, but she could tell he was thinking. She waited patiently. Whatever it was, it had Leonard pretty wrecked and he wasn't one to let emotions control him.

When he finally did continue speaking, she tensed at the words that were said. It was like a jolt of ice water through her veins. Mick was family. And she wouldn't argue with Leo about blame, but she knew he had a tendency to blame himself when someone important was hurt.

Lis got up and moved to the couch, dropping next to him, just enough that their shoulders bumped.]

Okay. [That one word was soft and gentle. It lacked all her usual flourish, but it was honest Lisa.] You know, I can't lose you either. So just be careful, okay? You're all I've got.

[She may be a bit childish and immature, she may be a little clingy and needy, she may even pretend to be aloof and only interested in superficial things, but she really just wanted to be there for him. And if being there for him meant not actually being there, she'd suffer through that.]

[ were he anyone else, he might reach out. put an arm around lisa's shoulders, maybe press a kiss to her hair. but he's not anyone else, so he just leans into the shoulder bump for a moment. ]

I know. I will be.

[ he's not planning on dying on this little adventure. and he's gonna be a hell of a lot more careful (and have more escape plans) from here on out. ]

Now what's this about you and Sara meeting?

[She'd grown up expecting physical contact to hurt more often than not. She also knew Leonard. So the small bump was not only comforting, but it spoke volumes about the emotion behind it.]

You'd better be. [It was even more comforting to hear him say he'd be careful. She relaxed slightly against him and happily ran with the subject change.]

How angry would you be if I said I might be interested in her? We shared a few drinks and... we flirted.

[It was telling that Lisa was actually flirting when there wasn't a con involved. She flirted with Cisco because she genuinely liked him, but he also was more of a Romeo and Juliette story. Wrong side of the tracks. She wouldn't subject him to her life. He was too sweet and too pure. But Sara could handle herself. She didn't have to worry that Sara would get hurt around her.]

[ all the earlier tension slowly bleeds out of him as len slumps down to slouch on the couch, hands covering his face for a moment as he moves and figures out how to answer... this. ]

I wouldn't be surprised if you were interested in her.

[ because sara is awesome. ]

The fact that we apparently have the same taste in women, on the other hand? That I didn't exactly see coming.

[ not... that he's actually made a move or anything yet. so there's no reason for that to stand in lisa's way. it's just.

weird. ]

[Lisa has to think about that for a moment because it almost flies over her head. Wait. Did Lenny just admit to showing interest in someone? ...well, shit.]

And that's my cue to stop flirting. [Lisa's posture straightened but she was grinning rather than uncomfortable.] You'd better make a move on her or I'll hijack your phone again and do it for you.

I'm proud of you. I didn't know you had such good taste. [She's teasing.]

[ he turns to raise an eyebrow at her. ]

That's because I don't kiss and tell. Unlike some people I could mention.

[ note how he says nothing about actually making a move. ]

I already told you, I don't like hiding things from you, Lenny. [That sure was an innocent excuse to tell him everything.]

Ohhh, you've already kissed her? [Why yes, she's excited about that!]

[ that is the worst excuse ever to tell him all these things he most vehemently does not want to know ]

It's a turn of phrase.

[ no, he has not already kissed her. ]

[Lis pouts.]

You're no fun.

[But that's okay, because that means she has plenty of time to orchestrate the actual first kiss between them and that is totally worth his party pooper attitude.]

[ SQUINTS........ ]

No playing Cupid.

OPEN POST.

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holy wall of text batman

8D The best kind of wall, tbh!

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