not a hero but a legend

You wrote this for me? Come lay down Captain Canary

 So I wrote this on your birthday, and was going to post it as a gift...but life got in the way. So happy belated birthday! 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~

Leonard makes his way back toward their room. Hopefully for more than an hours sleep this time. Between back-to-back missions & the time storms they are running on fumes. None more so than Sara. He’d intended to sneak her away for their anniversary…but if they don’t find the root cause to the storms he’ll never convince her to leave the team.

               He waves the door open, stepping in the dimly lit room with a sigh. The first thing to catch his attention is that Sara is no longer asleep, and is instead sitting at the desk. He doesn’t think she’s been up long; if the way she’s staring distantly at the closed book in front of her is any indicator. “Storm wake you?”

               She looks up, giving a little nod, “everything a’right?”

               He shrugs, “nothing that cannot wait until morning. Gideon is tracing the disturbance as we speak.” He slips out of the sweater he’d thrown on over his sleeping shirt, folding it as he moves toward the dresser.

               “Len?” He looks to where Sara fidgets in her chair. “I’m sorry, I think this was meant to be a surprise?” She holds up a letter, at which point he realizes the book and note are the anniversary gift he hadn’t moved before heading to the bridge.

               She nods to herself, the answer apparently obvious in his hesitated response. “I saw my name and thought it might be a note you left when you got up. By the time I realized it wasn’t…” She gives him a small smile, “I didn’t know you could be such a romantic.”

               “Doesn’t work with my Captain Cold persona.” He replies easily, making his way back toward her. She rolls her eyes, and he shakes his head. “It was meant for the anniversary getaway that we’ll have once our current crisis is solved.”

               “We’re having a getaway?” She sets the letter back down, “I like the sound of that.” She stands, closing the small distance between them. “As four your reputation, I’m pretty sure the whole team knows you better than that…” her sentence trails off into a yawn.

               He chuckles, pressing a kiss to her crown. “Com on, you should get back to bed.”

               “Only if you come too,” she leans into his chest, arms snaking around his back. “the time quakes bother me less if you’re here.” While he knows the statement is true, she says it in a way more similar to pouting than any real fear of the storms.

Another thing worth noting is that he leaned against the bed, LOWERING himself. He is a lot taller than her anyway, and she was on a bed, but he still managed to find a way to position himself where he had to look UP at her. That’s a very obvious sign of submission.

He was showing with every bit of his body language that he messed up, he KNEW he messed up, and he was desperately hoping she would forgive him.

In 1x10, for example, Sara goes to confront him about Mick, and finds him sitting on the floor. Even though he clearly wants the conversation to end, he doesn’t stand up.

In 1x14, they’re playing cards, but once again, she’s sitting up on the bed, and he’s leaning against the edge.

I mean, Captain Cold always sees other people as someone lower than him. He sees himself as a superior, a leader. And then he meets Sara. Damn, just get married, you two.

I also would like to point out that Sara lowers herself when she confronts Len about Mick in 1x10. One of the great things about Sara’s and Len’s relationship is that they view each other as equals. Especially when they have serious conversations, such as Sara confronting Len about Mick and Len talking to Sara about ‘me and you’, they don’t try to assert themelves and their words over the other person. They purposefully lower themselves in order to enforce the idea that they’re having a conversation as equals and not as someone tryig to shove their opinions and thoughts down on the other person and forcing the other person to accept them.

Drunkenly confessing feelings Captain Canary

Also requested by @littlemissanon

Takes place somewhere in S5. Everything is the same except Len gets rescued somehow. Neither character has been shown to get drunk...so I went more for simply lowered inhabitions.

~~~

               Sara sits, head in her hands and partially empty bottle in front of her. She hears footsteps, absently recognizes them as Leonard’s, but doesn’t look up just yet. She hears him get a glass from the cabinet, coming to join her at the table.

               “Not like you to drink alone.” He drawls, pouring a glass from her bottle.

               “Hardly seemed fair to subject someone to my misery.” She replies, throwing back what’s left in her glass. “Besides, figured everyone was asleep.”

               He shrugs, “still adjusting from…wherever I was.” After a couple minutes of quiet drinking he sighs, “I’m sorry, about Ava.”

               “You shouldn’t be,” she runs a hand down her face, “I should have done it sooner.” He doesn’t seem sure how to respond, so he doesn’t, instead simply refilling her glass. “I tried…to be happy, to be what she wanted me to.” Sara shakes her head, glaring at the liquid. “The you came back.”

               “Sara,” He frowns.

               She looks up at him, “you did nothing wrong, if that’s your concern.”

               “It doesn’t matter if it was right.” He rests his hands on the table, “you should know I never wanted to come between you, not if you were happy.”

               “That’s the thing,” she takes another drink. “I told myself I was happy, that if Ava was willing to stay despite my faults I should make things work. I’d almost convinced myself too.” She leans back in her chair, regarding Leonard with eyes that are still sharp despite the alcohol. “I tried to ignore the way my heart leapt when I saw you, to push aside all those feelings I locked away for almost four years.” Her hands begin to fidget, drawing Len’s attention to her ring covered fingers. But specifically to a familiar silver band. “You made me laugh, supported as much as you questioned.” There’s an emotion he can’t quite pinpoint her eyes. “You make me feel like myself,”

               “I don’t know if I should say your welcome or I’m sorry.” It’s not true, Leonard knows exactly what he wants to say. It’s the same thing he’s wanted to say to everyone on this ship since his return. But it’s not his place, especially since he hardly knew these people.

               Sara scoffs, “Leonard Snart is not a man to apologize.”

               He can’t help but smirk, “true, but I might have tried.”

               “I’m glad you didn’t,” She reached out, toying with her empty glass. “Ava deserved something better than a girlfriend who was still in love with someone else.” He stiffens, but she continues. “I cared for her, I really did…but having you back.” She blows out a slow breath, “I forgot what it felt like to have someone who pushed me to be better, who didn’t want me to be….” She shakes her head, “this would always have happened, I think we both knew that.”

               “You,” he’s not sure how he wants to continue. Still have feelings for me? Deserved better too? He settles for, “should never feel you have to change for anyone.”

               She frowns suddenly, “what I said…” She shakes her head. “Don’t feel like you owe me anything because of my feelings.”

               “I think we should wait to have this conversation once you’ve slept off the alcohol.” He replies, taking her cup and stacking it in his.

               “I’d rather you tell me you’ve moved on while I’m drunk.” She replies, grabbing the bottle defensively.

               He sighs, reaching out to take her hands in his. “Sara, these past four years haven’t existed for me.” He takes a slow breath, “that conversation, about me & you….that was only a few weeks ago for me.”

               She watches him, “I’m not the same woman you asked.”

               “Yes, you are.” He shrugs, “maybe a little more confident, more experienced…even a little more hurt.” He runs a finger over the ring, “But I’m still willing to try.” He rises, taking the bottle and glasses. “But that is not a conversation for tonight.”

               She pouts, and he has the irrational urge to lean down and kiss her, instead he shakes his hand and takes the glasses to the sink. When he returns he offers his hand, she takes it, allowing him to pull her to his feet. “Thank you, Crook.”

Sara Lance in 105 - Fail-Safe

Sara Lance in 105 - Fail-Safe

29.   Scars disappear when soulmate touches/kisses themCaptain Canary

 This got out of hand, and I regret nothing!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

               Sara is exhausted, her body aches and she’s definitely going to have a few bruises come morning. But right now none of that matters as much as the conversation she’s about to have. She nearly lost Leonard at the Oculus today; he’d been honest enough to ask her for something more, and then it was almost taken from her.

               She pauses at his door, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before knocking. There’s a pause, then the door slides open. Leonard is on the bed in only sleeping pants and a short sleeved shirt.  She doesn’t normally get to admire his strong arms in the light, instead of when she’s slipped into his bed after the nightmares wake her.

               He looks up at her curiously, “you alright?”

               “No,” he frowns, and she waves her hand before he gets up. “I’m not injured, I just…” she huffs, slumping into the desk chair. “You could have died.”

               He nods, straightening some. “Yes, any of the team could have.”

               “The rest of the team didn’t ask me about a future.” She sighs, “I didn’t almost lose the rest of the team without telling them yes.”

               Leonard stands, moving toward her. “You didn’t tell me no.” There’s a shadow of a smirk, “my timing was less than ideal.”

               “Didn’t matter.” She shakes her head, rising to her feet. “I was upset, sure. But I knew what I wanted.”

               “And what is it you want, Sara?” he’s just inside her space now.

               “I want you.” It’s almost a whisper. “I want me & you, I don’t care if it’s messy and hard, or if it’s not meant to be.” She reaches out, hand softly closing around his. “I want to choose my own destiny, and the universe can get over itself.”

               Len watches her, his free hand coming up to cup her face. “I couldn’t have said it better.” He kisses her, a slow exploring kiss that leaves Sara breathless.

               Strong arms lift her onto the desk, pulling a soft laugh from Sara before diving back in. When they break for air she’s grinning, both breathing heavy and his blue eyes are getting darker by the minute. “Are you sure?”

               “Yes,” she wraps her legs around him. “but maybe not at the desk?” He chuckles, lifting her easily as they move to the bed.

~~~~~~~~~

               Sara wakes curled against Leonard’s back, it’s a comforting warmth that accompanies a contentment she hasn’t felt in a long time. The room is still bathed in a soft light, and Sara takes the opportunity to look over the scars of his back as he sleeps.

Right before this scene, Len and Sara were in her room playing cards when the Time Lords started boarding the ship. Then, a few scenes later, it cuts to this; Len climbing out of a hidden compartment in Rip’s office just off the main bridge, then holding it open for Sara to follow.

So in the span of a few minutes- or maybe even under a minute- Len got them both out of Sara’s room and to the bridge, realized what was happening, and chose a spot to hide. Len also hid them very, very effectively. The Time Lords found every single other team member on board, which means they knew the ship pretty well. Which makes it all the more impressive that Len somehow managed to find the one spot on the ship they never thought to check, probably never even knew existed. It made me wonder how often Len prepares contingencies for scenarios like this, to the point that he was prepared when something this crazy actually happened. 

The other reason I liked this moment was because it made me realize how much trust Len has to have in Sara, and how much she has to have in him. (Only emphasized by the fact that later on, when he threatens to shoot her, she knows it’s an empty threat just as well as he does and doesn’t back down. But I digress.) She would have had to trust him when he said something was wrong and followed directly behind him to the bridge, or they never would have gotten there in time to hide. Then she would have had to jump feet-first into a small, dark space beneath the deck that she didn’t know existed until seconds before. Then she would have had to wait there, in darkness and in silence, and trust she’d be safe and wouldn’t get found.

So you have the thief who cases a place to rob and finds a place to hide, and not only remembers this knowledge but uses it, and the former assassin who trusts him enough to go along with this plan rather than fighting their way out or hiding anywhere else.

Of course, the moments after this scene were great too, with them sneaking around all guerrilla warfare-style and wreaking havoc on their enemies. But this moment right here was what really cemented their friendship for me. (And, you know, relationship too. Which brings me to the question…how small was that space down there? And what exactly did they do while hiding for an hour?

Here you go love! Sorry it took so long!!

Captain Canary - Established RelationshipGoldenvibe - Established RelationshipNo specific time frame.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

               Sara ducks into the small side room to find Len already waiting. He cuts a stunning figure in the dark suit, turning to give her a small smile. “You look lovely,”

               She smiles, stepping up beside him. “Wait till you see her.”

               He takes a slow breath, shaking his head. “I still can’t quite wrap my head around this.”

               Sara chuckles, “I know what you mean.” She slides one hand into his, “try not to cry to much.”

               He gives a breathy laugh, “wouldn’t dream of it.”

               Iris pokes her head in, “you to ready?”

               “Yeah,” Sara tugs his hand slightly. They walk out to where the rest of the wedding party, Len taking a sharp breath as Lisa turns to face him.

               He delivers several squeezes to her hand in rapid succession as they approach, her mind deciphering the Morse code into words just as quickly I’m not ready to let go

               She gives his hand a reassuring squeeze, followed by the return message. Big brothers never are. She leans up to press a soft kiss to his cheek, then steps away and into her place with the bridesmaids.

               She, Iris and Caitlin walk out with the groomsmen, lining up along the steps and all watching the doors expectantly. The wedding march starts, and Leonard steps out with Lisa on his arm. Lisa is beaming, Len watching her with a bittersweet smile as they approach the steps. She doubts the others see the conflict in him; the joy that she’s found someone, mixed with the knowledge that she is no longer his to protect.

Harry looks between him and Cisco, giving the Lisa the smallest of smiles. “Who gives this woman?”

Sick Day

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12378978/chapters/48831482

There are many thoughts that go through Leonard’s head when he first opens the door to his and Sara’s bedroom and is greeted by the sight of Sara standing in the center of the floor; too big pajamas hanging off her frame, her hair a mess, and a tissue pressed to her red nose.

The thoughts go in exactly this order.

Ouch.

Adorable.

Those aren’t pajamas.

“Is that my sweater?” He asks as she tosses her tissue into the wastebasket, and misses. “I’m going to have to burn that thing now that you’ve contaminated it.”

Even through her sniffle and the tiredness of her eyes, her glare still manages to be deadly, at least before it falters when she breaks out coughing.

He winces as he swipes the door closed, though he’s sure she can still be heard throughout half the ship.

“Mm… Tough luck.” She groans and he snickers, stepping closer and laying a hand onto her forehead.

She closes her eyes the instant that he touches her, a touch she leans into. That’s part of the clue to how sick she is, her letting him take care of her with absolutely no fight put up.

“You’re burning up.” He notes, and she makes some little sound that he thinks is a grunt.

Gideon gave her some medicine, but at this rate he isn’t sure it’s helping. Still, it’s too soon to give her any more.

He takes his hand away, and as a result she lets herself fall forward until her head is leaning against his shoulder. He brings his arms around her and she groans into him.

“Throat feels better.” She reports in a mumble, “Everything else feels like shit.”

He isn’t sure whether he should frown or smirk at that. On one hand, it is a good thing that her throat is feeling better; she wasn’t talking at all yesterday. But he does hate seeing her miserable like this.

He drops a kiss to her hair and squeezes her tighter, then lets her go.

“Come on,” He says encouragingly, “Lets take a nap.

She groans, loudly, but when he nudges her towards the bed she goes and flops down rather exhaustedly.

He crawls in after her, over her actually, and settles himself quickly so that she can get comfortable against him. They’re more sitting than lying down; she can’t breathe laying flat right now. She curls into his chest and wipes at her nose with the cuffs of his stolen sweater, her eyes downcast and fixed on where her fingers are picking at the lint of his shirt“Do you want me to put on a movie?” He asks and she nods. “Ok, which one?”

She shrugs, “Don’t care.” She murmurs sleepily. “Nothing too exciting.”

They end up agreeing on Groundhog Day; something he finds amusing giving their chosen life paths as time travelers, and she finds it entertaining but not to the point she needs to finish it.

Or start it, in this case.

Gideon projects the movie onto the wall of their room but Sara never rolls over to watch it. She’s content just to listen to it. As for Leonard, he doesn’t pay much attention to the movie either. He is much happier to watch Sara until her congested breathing slips into light, thick snores. He smiles, his fingers have long since slipped up the back of the sweater she’s wearing and started caressing along the flushed skin of her back, and he doesn’t dare stop.

N:  Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

Yes…I have a Captain Canary E2 story that I would really like to see finished. I have a collection of chapters, but I’m missing so much in the middle and I feel like I’m never going to have the time to work all those missing sections out.

O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters?

Almost always the characters.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

Only one bedFriends to loversHappy EndingsRedemption Arcs

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Character death 100% for dramatic effectSkipping over repercussions of trauma (not exactly a trope, but definitely a trend I see)Cheating/Breakups for drama

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much. (Just three???)

@stillthewordgirl/Jael - I mean, does anyone not love her work? She does so well with all of the Legends characters, and her Chances Are verse is one of my all time favorites.

@captainwhogotthecanary/crazygirlne - Her fic Something in your eyes is the first mutlichapter CC fic I read, and plausibly the reason I ended up in CC fandom here.

@flabbergabst - My plot partner. Her short CC pieces never cease to be the highlight of my day. 

V. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose? 

There used to be a story on FF.net called Court of Souls. It was a Kingdom Hearts fanfiction taking place after the first game. But instead of Disney worlds it was all Animes. There was also a companion fic called Of many hearts that followed Riku’s adventures at the same time (the two blending together at the end)

Leonard has never given much thought to his neighbors.

Ok, that’s a lie, but he has never given them much more thought than he would typically give to any other neighbors.

They moved in to the apartment next door after the reclusive old lady who had lived there probably as long as he’s been alive, died. Two women, sisters judging by the shared last name and lack of wedding rings (not to mention decent amount of late-night company). They’re nice enough, often in the apartment at opposite times from what he’s seen, so they don’t make much noise. (Except for when “entertaining” the aforementioned company, he hears plenty of that through the walls.) So, again, he has never had much need to give them much thought.

Until today.

Sara, he’s pretty sure she’s the younger one, the one with brighter tones of blonde in her hair, has been sitting on the stoop of her front door all day.

He knew something was up when he left for work at 5:30 this morning and she was standing against her door, smirked and gave him a chipper “Sup” and a wave. It isn’t unusual for him to run into her at that time, but normally she’s dragging her feet and the wave is accompanied by a groan. Now, coming home from work and finding her slouched against the door, he realizes that smirk had been out of embarrassment.

He looks to the clouds as he gets out of his car, dark and already rumbling. It’s going to start pouring any minute. He sighs and walks pasts front door, over to her, with her watching his the whole time.

“You been out here all day?”

Her lips are already in a frowned, but it turns more thoughtful with a bite on her lower lip.

“Yeah.” She confesses, “Laurel’s on a business trip until tomorrow, dad’s out of town with his girlfriend. I forgot my keys when I left last night.”

He sighs, and looks around again, just as another rumble of thunder hits, and he knows the feel of rain on the back of his neck when he feels it.

“You’re gonna sit out here until she gets back?”

She shrugs, her eyes moving between the sky and him.

“Phone’s in there too.” She explains,”And I don’t exactly have anywhere else to go.”

Damn it.

“You do now.” He says, nodding his head towards his door. “Come on, before the rain start.”

“You don’t have to-”

“What’s your alternative?” He asks, maybe a touch impatiently, but he really needs to get his bike covered up before the storm starts, and standing here arguing with her isn’t helping that at all.

“I could sit in my car.” She points over to the “car” in question; an old little buggy that he doubts was designed by a person who had ever slept in a car.

That’s not even to mention all the rust.

“Come on,” he says again, “I have hot chocolate.”

She smirks this time, after a moment of consideration.

The body swapping spell, that is eons away from Leonard’s comfort zone. The fact that when the entire team had fallen victim to it he’d ended up in Sara’s body and her in his, well, he’ll call that a small fortune. She knows his body already, intimately, so he has nothing to hide from her. With that in mind he didn’t think he was going to have much of a problem riding this out until they can figure out how to undo it.

He was wrong, for maybe the stupidest possible reason.

Sara is so. fucking. short.

He’s always been somewhat aware of the height difference between them, more in the beginning than now, well, until now that is. He’s gotten used to leaning down a bit to her level since the day he met her, but how far down has he been leaning? She’s never made much comment about her height, an occasional “hey, can you grab this for me?” when she’s going for something on a top shelf and someone else is right there. But that’s it, she’s never let on that it bothers her. But how could it not?

He can’t reach literally anything without standing up on his - her - toes. He has to look up to EVERYONE. Nora, well, Charlie in Nora’s body, is the only one at his eye-level, and she has always seemed so freaking short to him. Are she and Sara really the same size? Maybe it’s standing next to Raymond that makes her look shorter.

It’s not even just the things he can’t reach all of a sudden that’s throwing him, it’s the things he can. He doesn’t have to lean down to the meat drawer in the fridge, not beyond looking down. He doesn’t have to duck his head to see what’s on the bottom shelf of any of the cabinets.

It’s all really freaking him out.

He’s off to tell Sara as much, she’s in her office, and he promptly trips and falls flat on his face getting through the doorway.

He hears her snickering at him, in his own mocking voice, as he starts to pick himself up, wondering what the hell happened?

Oh, right, he didn’t pick his foot up high enough for the step.

He groans, rather exasperated, and much higher in pitch than he thinks even she would normally emit, but he’s had a long day.

“Do you have any heels or something?”

She snorts, his signature, amused sound of judgement.

“You want to try walking in heels?”

God, does he always sound that judgey?

“It can’t be any worse than this!” He exclaims, “How do you live being this close to the ground all the time?”“Well, for starters, I’m not usually as close to the ground as you are.” She remarks, and he rolls his, her, eyes and gets off his hands and knees.

“You know what I mean.” He snaps, arms folding in front of himself. “How do you do anything at this height?”

“You do realize I’m on the taller side of average for women, right?”

He blinks. He can tell she is trying her damndest not to laugh, and for that he’ll give her credit.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

Sudden kid fic. Be it babysitting or their own actual child, the trope of a ship having to take care of a kid with no prior warning is my favorite thing and I wish I could think of more creative ways to write it.

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics. It’s not that I hate it, I just don’t understand how the hell it works. Like... I get how the concept works, sort of, but how are the placements determined? Are the characters part wolf in these AUs? Just more animalistic humans? Are these placements determined by social status? Is it just an inherent thing? I just... I don’t understand the mechanics to the point where I can’t stand the trope.

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

@stillthewordgirl : I love her because A: super sweet person! B: Fantastic writer who is so creative and I don’t know HOW she comes up with what she does. Also, amazing formatting skills and without her work as a guideline I would not be half the writer I am today.

@flabbergabst : Amazing writer because they are so dedicated! I remember reading their early fics back when Legends was first starting, I was kind of at the point of being a writer where I could recognize someone who had great ideas, but was still finding their writing style. Every fic I read was better than the last, and just today I came across a new fic from them and it was SO WELL WRITTEN! I can tell they care so much about what they’re writing.

@sylvanheather : Not a fic writer, but a SUPER supportive reader who has gone out of her way to tell me I’m doing a good job and has read and commented on nearly all of my fics, including every chapter of the multi-chapter ones, and dear GOD I would not have the patience for that.

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

Rip Hunter. Look, I’m not a huge Rip fan to begin with, but even on his good days writing him exasperated and at the center of chaos is just too freaking funny.

Y: A character you want to protect.