atms | OPEN POST.

Lenny,
Don't be mad
I might've borrowed your phone
And talked to a girl
And you didn't tell me she was hot
Well, you didn't tell me she existed, but she does and she's hot and why are you keeping me a secret?
You're not ashamed of me, are you?

[Don't mind her as she blows up your phone with rapid-fire texts, Len.]

[ jeSUS THAT'S A LOT OF DINGING ]

What? What are you
You texted Sara.
You met up with Sara?

[ fuck his liiiiife ]

I'm not keeping you a secret, I

[ you know what, no, this is a conversation better had in person or at the very least over the phone. ring ring, sis. ]

Yeah, Sara
Hot blonde you've been running with

[Oh, hi phone. Ringing with a not-so-clever ringtone: Cold as Ice by Foreigner.]

Lenny? You're mad at me, aren't you? [The tone of her voice leads to the obvious visual of a pout on her face. She's sorry, Leo. She really didn't want to make you mad...]

Yes, I'm mad, but that's not why I'm calling.

[ even though he definitely sounds annoyed as all get out. ]

"You're not ashamed of me, are you", Lisa? That's what you're going with?

Well, I am just the bratty little sister. I mean, yeah, you let me around Mick, but he's Mick. It's kinda hard to keep him out of my life when he's so entwined with yours.

I didn't even now you had friends on the side. You've been so secretive lately.

[Someone might be feeling a little left out...]

I'm not--

[ she can't see it, but he's pinching the bridge of his nose as he lets out a huff. len's voice goes a little quiet as he continues. ]

I'm not ashamed of you, Lis. I never could be. But this thing Mick and I have got ourselves into... It's dangerous. More than what we usually do.

[ he's just trying to protect her. ]

And I wouldn't exactly call them friends. Acquaintances, maybe. Occasionally useful crewmates. [ except sara. and jax. and raymond on his good days. and--okay they're pretty much friends but he's not gonna admit that. ]

I'm not afraid.

[Because she wants to be brave for him. She wants to make him proud and be good enough to be part of the gang. Whether the goal's crime or otherwise, she just wants to be trusted with it.]

She seemed pretty close to you. [But she won't argue the friends thing. She knows how he gets with 'feelings' and admitting that he has them for anyone.]

I wanna help. I've gotten better! I mean, Red and I have kind of followed the same understanding you two had while you and Mick have been gone. And you know I can defend myself. Please, just trust me with this.

[ 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. ]

Depends on how we're defining eat.

[ :> ]

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!]

Why don't you enlighten me?

[ this is a much better topic than her feelings and possible softness at heart. ]

[ 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. ]

Stop me if you've heard this before, but there's the literal definition of "eat out" and a more euphemistic one.

[ :>> ]

OPEN POST.

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holy wall of text batman

8D The best kind of wall, tbh!

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for @taer

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