WHO: Barry Allen and Leonard Snart WHAT: Shopping and not stealing. Really! WHEN: Friday Evening (slightly backdated) WHERE: Walmart WARNINGS: Rated S for SNARK. STATUS: Closed/Completed Gdoc
Barry had avoided the stores on Black Friday. Even as fast as he was, he didn’t want to deal with the pushing and shoving and the madness that seemed to overtake people who obviously found it impossible to be thankful for what they had for an entire day.
Now that things had cleared out a little bit, though, Barry was totally ready to go to the stores and do some shopping for decorations and gifts for the people he cared about. He actually loved Christmas, except for the crowds and shopping madness.
Pushing his cart through the aisles, he was humming Christmas music as he came around a corner and saw Leonard Snart. He tensed almost instantly, but it was Christmas time and Barry couldn’t help deciding to give him another chance. After all, he hadn’t done anything terrible here that Barry had heard about, and he had helped him back home.
Maybe he really could change.
“Merry Christmas, Snart,” he said. It wasn’t Christmas yet, of course. At least not technically. Barry was one of those people for whom Christmas lasted the whole month.
***
Shopping wasn’t something Snart did often. At least not in the legal sense. His discounts were the ones that he gave himself with his five fingers. While he may have lifted a few odds and ends, Snart was being careful with his daring endeavors. It wasn’t just his own safety on the line these days. Since he had started running with Rogue, Snart kept his eye on her most of the time. She could take care of herself after all.
“Barry Allen,” he said with a smirk, juggling a small snow globe from hand to hand. Snart would be careful. Breaking it meant buying it and he had no intention of doing so. Though he had no intention of stealing it either. It was hardly worth the money.
“How festive of you.”
***
“May I point out that you are the one holding the ridiculously Christmassy snow globe?” It had reindeer and Santa Claus on the roof of a house surrounded by decorated Christmas trees. It was hardly Snart’s style. Well, except for the fact it looked really cold in that snow globe. That might be his style.
“Next thing I know you’ll be wearing Christmas sweaters.”
Barry had worn Christmas sweaters. There was probably even proof of it somewhere. Hopefully that somewhere was back in Central City where there was no worry about anyone here finding it.
***
“Perhaps I have a liking for festivities. People like me do have holiday spirit.” Juggling the globe once more, Snart placed it back on the shelf.
Placing his hands into his pockets, Snart took a few steps toward Barry. He was taking Sara’s words into consideration. Barry didn’t know what he had done for the Legends. At least as far as Snart knew. People could change.
“Are you looking to deck your halls with boughs of holly this fine day?”
***
No, he didn’t know. At least not in any sort of detail. He knew that Snart had died, because he’d had to go back in time to get his help, but none of the circumstances that surrounded it.
Barry stayed put as Snart moved closer. He wasn’t afraid of the guy, not really. He’d been an enemy, yes, but a complicated sort. And he was still convinced that Snart wasn’t all bad, even if maybe Snart didn’t know that yet. Still, he needed to keep his eye on him to make sure he didn’t give into his bad side. Snart had done bad things. Barry needed to make sure that bad things didn’t happen here.
“Uh, sort of?” He said. He wasn’t very good at coming back to Snart’s snarky side. He was too sincere and good himself to really know how to deal with that. “Although I think the plant girl might threaten to kill us for that, too, so I’d better buy plastic.”
***
“Always the one to make everyone happy, aren’t we?” There was no malice in his tone, though. If anything, there was a lightly mocking tone. Was he teasing Barry? Absolutely. “What’s it going to hurt to have true evergreen decorating your home for a few weeks?” It was obvious what Snart would be using to decorate his apartment.
If he decorated. Considering he had a ward now, there was a possibility that he’d get roped into getting a tree and everything.
“What about a wreath? Some jingling bells? Or how about some mistletoe, hmm?” Snart had been going through some decorations as he continued his way toward Barry. Holding up a ball of the white, floral decoration, Snart grinned. It was one of those grins where you couldn’t tell just what he was thinking.
“Give it to, oh what’s her name? Dr. Snow?” He really did enjoy ruffling Barry’s flashy feathers.
***
“Well, it hurts the plant,” he said logically. And it really seemed to upset Tefe. It wasn’t that hard to get a tree you could plant again, or to use fake greenery, so why wouldn’t you do just that to avoid upsetting someone? Barry certainly would.
“The tinsel wreath is pretty,” he said, pointing to a wreath that included no real plants but sparkles with red and green tinsel.
...which almost matched Barry’s face at Snart’s next words.
“Caitlin? What are you talking about? She’s my friend, that’s it.”
Wasn’t it? Of course it was. Right?
***
“It hurts the plant. It kills the animals. It pollutes the oceans. Everything is always being threatened by something these days.” Which could also be said for their lives even here in Madison Valley. You never knew what you were going to wake up to at any given moment in the town.
“Good thing people like me are behaving.” For the most part.
Snart did his best not to laugh at the coloring on Barry’s face. “Oh precious, little Flash. You don’t hide things well, you know. Your identity aside, of course.” Giving the mistletoe a light toss into the air, he tossed it toward Barry.
“Tinsel wreaths are hideous. At least stick with your fake greens,” he said, picking one from the wall. “And, look. It’s even wrapped with a bright, red bow.”
***
Barry caught it easily, of course he did. But then he cast it aside like it was poisonous or in some way seriously going to injure him. He didn’t need mistletoe. Especially with Caitlin. What in the world was Snart thinking?
“Caitlin is my co-worker, Snart. We’re friends. Good friends.”
And it he maybe sort of might have felt something a little bit more for her, well, that was certainly none of Snart’s business.
***
“And here I thought we were discussing Christmas decorations. You were looking for an alternative to something real.”
There was a pause as Snart replaced the wreath and went for another one. The annoyingly bright tinsel one that Barry had noted prior. “I could see why you would prefer the shimmer and shine, though. Your attention doesn’t stick all that well, does it?”
The tinsel wreath was dropped into Barry’s cart. “I was merely making an opinionated statement regarding Miss Snow.”
***
“Well, yeah,” he said. “We were definitely discussing that, too.” Barry wasn’t all that great with sarcasm. He was mostly a sincere person himself and keeping up with wit wasn’t one of his superpowers. Or even close to it.
“My attention sticks just fine.” He scowled at the wreath at first, but really, he did kind of like it, so the scowl faded quickly.
“You know nothing about it. Or her.”
***
“You’re awfully defensive for such a casual conversation, Barry Allen.” Snart raised a brow, a smirk on his face as his attention was brought back to Barry from the Christmas decorations once more.
Most of the items were just too much for Snart’s taste. He enjoyed things that sparkled to have a high value behind them. The plastic and metal were useless lest you wanted to make your home look like a giant disco ball for the next month.
He did pick up a stocking that was black, white, and red. It seemed to be the choice palette for his ward, so perhaps he would pick that up if nothing else. Picking up a large and bulky Santa hat, Snart gave it a thorough once over before dropping it on Barry’s head.
“What don’t I know?”
***
“She’s been through a lot. And she’s an amazing woman. I care for her a lot but it’s not like that.” Was it? He didn’t think it was. Although he did think about her a lot. Maybe more than he should, since they were just friends.
He grunted unhappily and pulled the hat off his head, putting it on Snart’s head instead.
***
“If you insist I play Santa, does that mean you plan on sitting on my lap, Allen? I’m sure my list is quite extensive.” Snart was probably always on the ‘naughty’ list if it had existed. That was okay, though. He played by his own rules anyway.
Taking the hat from his hand, he placed it on a shelf. “Well, I’m glad you’re able to admit to your feelings, Flash. It’s healthy.” Snart gave him a firm clap on his shoulder, doing his best to keep a straight face. Digging himself under Barry’s skin was something Snart really enjoyed as, for him, it was so easy at times.
“Don’t forget some lights for your tinsel wheel. I have some things to...pick up.”
***
“No, I’m not sitting in your lap.” Even the thought was disturbing.
Barry’s eyes narrowed at his final words.
“Snart,” he said, in the same voice that almost all teachers had perfected for scolding children, “These better be things that you’re paying for.”
He didn’t like the way he’d said ‘pick up’, especially with what he knew about Snart and his sticky fingers.
***
“Of course, Flash. I’m a man of my word.” Which was true to an extent. Snart had lifted a few things here and there. Nothing too important. Nothing that would cause the town chaos or terror. Most of it had been from the strange Krypton world with Rogue. What Barry Allen didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
“Merry Christmas, Barry Allen,” he said as he continued down the aisle, Snart’s hands in his coat pockets. At least for the time being.