Theo Kent/Ray Palmer + Luke Scofield/Leonard Snart
PG-13 | Complete
Warnings: Fire, Non-Fatal Injuries, Mild Oxygen Deprivation, Characters Waking Up from Breck Plot, Ray being called Idiot, Jess’ Bad Warning Summaries
The walk home from the ice rink wasn’t long and it was still warm enough outside to make the trip on foot. Luke often did it, using the stroll to clear his mind and make plans for himself. He was always making plans although ninety percent of the time he ended up throwing said plans away. Normally, Luke rarely saw a soul on his walk but as he got closer to home, more and more people were gathered outside looking toward a pillar of smoke. Looked like some poor bastard forgot the fire ban.
Rounding the corner, Luke saw his neighbor - a lovely elderly woman who insisted on wearing her floral coat everywhere - come over to him, fear in her eyes. Luke didn’t need to be told twice that his was the house on fire. He raced home, blue eyes wide in horror at the flames licking at the windows. Where the hell was the fire department? Everything he owned was being swallowed in destruction and Luke could only stand there and watch.
Suddenly, he saw a shadow in the window. By the looks of things it was a man but Luke didn’t recall leaving anyone in his house. The silhouette looked extremely familiar and before anyone could grab him, Luke raced inside. He felt a great need to save that man even if it meant sacrificing himself.
Of course, he wasn’t entirely obtuse. Luke pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled the firehouse. “Hello. Yes, it’s Luke. Shut up. I don’t have time to ask what you’re wearing.” He barked into the phone as soon as the firehouse answered. Of course the person on the other end had recognized the number, Luke rang the firehouse a lot to chat to his ‘calendar people’. But now wasn’t the time. “Send someone over quick. My house is burning down with two people inside.”
Luke hung up, not knowing if they’d believe him or not. Pulling the collar of his shirt over his mouth so he didn’t breath in the soot and ash, Luke made his way to where he saw the figure. His eyes stung from the heat but through the blurred vision, he saw him. A man standing over six feet tall, just watching the flames dance about his boots, absolutely fascinated.
“Mick! Get out of here!” Luke shouted at the man, not entirely sure how he knew his name. A crack stole his attention away for a moment but when he looked back the man was gone. Vanished as if he wasn’t there in the first place. Not only was he going to die, he was going to die a crazy man. Just peachy.
Another crack and then suddenly Luke was knocked off his feet as a roof beam split and almost collided with him. He went to push himself up to sitting and let out an excruciating yell of pain. Looking down at his hand, Luke gasped, a large shard of broken glass protruded from his palm and several of his fingers were bent at an angle that caused a great deal of agony. Cradling his broken and bleeding hand against himself, Luke curled, hoping to hear the heavenly sound of fire truck sirens soon.
The phone call from Luke wasn’t new, the other man often called the firehouse to randomly chat up the firefighters. But when Theo answered the call today, his friend sounded different, much more serious. He wasted no time in alerting the crew on call, getting the feeling that this fire wasn’t a figment of Luke’s imagination. Luckily the others took him seriously and any doubts they may have had about the shout were soon swept away as they pulled up outside the house which was already ablaze.
Jumping down from the rig he took one of the air tanks, pulling the mask into place and heading towards the door. A colleague flanked him, while the others turned the hose on the house. As he reached the house the roof above the kitchen collapsed and he heard a yell of agony. Pushing into the building, he went straight to the rubble, assessing if he could free up enough room to get his friend out.
“Hang on, I'll get you out of here.” Much as he hated to, he had to back away as more of the ceiling collapsed. But as soon as he was able he started to shift broken beams and plaster. “Where's the other person? Upstairs?”
The pain in his hand was excruciating, which was saying something as Luke had a tremendously high pain tolerance. However, just past the pain and the smoke, Luke heard a voice that he knew for sure wasn’t in his head.
Theo Kent in all his firefighter glory. Luke felt a flicker of relief but also concern for the other man. He knew it was Theo’s job but if it came down to it, Luke would push the oldest Kent brother to leave him there. A slight wave of deja vu at the thought.
“Not here.” Luke growled out, feeling like a fool and cranky at himself over it. He always got extra snarky when injured and not only was he physically injured, his pride had taken a slight knock too. “Gone back to where ever all good hallucinations come from.”
“Well I’m not a hallucination.” Illumination Theo shook his head, trying to clear the strange intrusive thoughts that kept seeping into his conscious mind. “Just hold tight okay.” Feeling a hand on his shoulder he turned exchanging a few words with his colleague, confirming what Luke had already told him. His friend was the only one in the building.
The structure was rapidly losing stability and the heat was intense enough to start the smoke burning in the room where the fire had originated. He had to get Luke out of there, fast. Shifting more debris, he managed to make enough space to reach the other man, crouching low and moving closer, extending his hand to pull him through.
The cracking of several more beams was the only warning he had before the remnants of the ceiling caved in on them. Typically, Theo tried to protect the injured man as best he could, using his own body as a shield. But now they were both trapped.
Luke gritted his teeth and nodded, despite the fact Theo probably couldn’t see it. He had to have faith that his friend would pull him free. Theo was a hero, that’s what he did. However, that didn’t stop Luke from giving a snide remark. “Don’t mean to rush you, Theo, but it’s getting hot in here. Normally I wouldn’t complain but…” His voice trailed off, hearing some kind of movement.
Seeing the hand through the smoke, Luke reached out with his good hand. His fingertips grazed Theo’s just as the sound of ominous cracking was heard from above. The next few seconds were a blur and Luke felt his body pushed back and covered as the remnants of the ceiling caved in.
“Well this is cozy. But now we’re both trapped.” Luke growled out, shoving at Theo to get off him and cradling his injured hand close again.
As Luke pushed at him, Theo gave him as much space as he was able, which wasn’t much considering his hips were pinned under a beam. “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know, Luke.” Giving a grunt of pain as he tried to shift the beam himself, he swore under his breath as it stubbornly wouldn’t move thanks to the masonry that had come down with it.
Looking at his friend, he tried to calculate how much time they had before the smoke would get to Luke. Probably not long and judging by the way the older man was cradling his hand close to him, he was injured too, so wouldn’t be too much help in freeing them. Trying to see if there was any way to crawl out, he twisted a little wincing as he heard something metal shearing. God, he hoped that wasn’t his air tank.
“Can you kick this crap off of me?”
Theo wasn’t normally so snarky, the response he gave caught Luke off guard. But looking down it was understandable. His would be hero was pinned under a beam, one that could have easily crushed them both. However, if they were both going to survive, Luke needed to get his friend out.
Luke nodded to the question, angling his body to get his legs under the beam and using his strength, levered the debris off of Theo enough so he could crawl out from under it. Kicking the debris away, Luke flopped, the exertion and lack of oxygen was starting to make him feel weak. He closed his eyes briefly but opened them with a start. He couldn’t rest yet.
“Knew this place needed rewiring.” He murmured to himself, although given their close proximity Theo would have heard it. “So what now, genius?”
Breaking free of the beam as Luke managed to shift it, Theo immediately started to test other parts of the rubble to see if he could make a safe route out. As Luke closed his eyes Theo reached out to rouse him, but pulled his hand back as his friend blinked back awake.
“Keep low…” An alarm started to chime, coming from his air tank and he suppressed a groan. That was all he needed. Taking a slow breath, he decided to break all the rules in the book, pulling off his helmet and mask, instead holding the respirator to Luke’s face.
Luke saw Theo’s hand hovering above him, undoubtedly to rouse him. It wasn’t a good sign. He started to feel weak and knew if they didn’t get out soon that there would be serious repercussions.
As Theo pulled his mask off, Luke tried to protest but anything he was going to say died in his throat. He felt the rush of fresh oxygen fill his lungs as the respirator was place on his face. Luke tried to calm his breathing, knowing his panicked state would suck up the little remaining oxygen they had left.
“You’re such a schmuck, Raymond.” Luke murmured, not registering that he called Theo by a wrong name. “You can’t play hero all the time. Sometimes, you’ve got to do what you can to survive.” He sent Theo a meaningful look with his blue eyes. It was almost like they had had this conversation before. Not the exact wording but Luke was feeling a sense of deja vu over it.
Pulling the buff he wore up to cover his nose and mouth, Theo lay down as low as he could get, making sure his stubborn friend kept the mask in place for at least a few breaths. He was trying to remain calm, he’d been in worse situations. Like the last time he’d run out of oxygen.
Memories of that day blurred across his vision and he frowned behind his makeshift mask. At least he wasn't in space this time, though death by asphyxiation wasn't pleasant in any circumstances. What he wouldn't give to have his ATOM suit now.
“And lose you all over again? Sorry, Leonard, I can't do that.” Ray's eyes met Leonard's, brown staring down blue, letting the other know he wasn't going anywhere. Not this time. He only looked away when he had to blink, but once his eyes closed he didn't feel much like opening them.
Luke opened his mouth to protest again but his brain seemed to finally register the words and he paused, mouth slightly agape. There was not only stubbornness and determination in those brown eyes, but pain and sorrow. It was hard to not feel regret at one’s actions when the consequences of those actions was blatantly staring at him in the face.
“You’re an idiot.” He ground out, however there was no hint of malice in his voice.
Leonard blinked, suddenly feeling more awake. When Ray didn’t open his eyes, Leonard shook him with his uninjured left hand. “Hey. No time for naps. We’re getting out of here.”
----
The first thing he noticed as he roused and took a slow breath was that the air was clear, not heavy with smoke and heat; the second was the noise, or lack thereof. It was peaceful, just the gentle sounds of someone else’s breathing, slow and steady, accompanying his own. He opened his eyes cautiously, knowing that there was logically only one place he could be after surviving that fire. The lights were off, just a faint glow coming from the exit sign above the door and the night-dimmed monitors adjacent to his bed.
Shifting to sit a little more upright, he took stock of his surroundings, eyes resting on the figure wearing a hoodie over his scrubs currently asleep in the chair beside the bed. Wyatt. Dylan, his newly regained memories corrected him. This was going to be messy.
Turning his attention to the other bed, he tried to work out if they were asleep or not, deciding in the end to say something. He wasn't sure if he wanted a reply, would Leonard remember calling him Raymond? Or would he still be Luke?
“Hey,” his voice was soft, but he still worried that he’d wake his little … not brother?
He lay in a hospital bed, propped up against the pillows, watching a news report on tv on mute. His hand was bandaged, resting on his chest and his mind chewed over the recent upload of memories it received.
It was strange. He had both memories of his original life, his one as Leonard Snart, and his alternate life as Luke Scofield. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a jumbled mess in his head. There was a very distinctive separation in his mind of their lives - his lives. But he felt as though he had lived them both. Very strange feeling indeed.
The screen flicked to images of his house burning and Leonard sighed softly, knowing Luke had lost almost everything but Leonard gained so much in it’s demise. He wondered if Ray remembered and just as his thoughts turned to the other man, he spoke up. Cool blue eyes turned to acknowledge the greeting.
“I suppose I should thank you for not losing me. But in the end you were just napping on the job, Raymond.” The barb was blunt, no intention to hurt the other man but rather held a curious edge to it - asking silently if he was speaking to Ray or not.
The familiar drawl from across the room turned the corners of his mouth into a smile, though Leonard's voice wasn't as smooth as usual, that would be the smoke, it was still recognisable and subtly different to Luke’s. A slight blush tinted his cheeks at the words and he was thankful for the light being low. “Just doing my job… Theo’s job?” He paused momentarily, trying to wrap his head around the dual memory. “Yeah, I was tired, seemed like a good choice.”
“How are you feeling? Is your hand alright, not too badly damaged?” He felt awkward and he wasn't sure why, they both had the double life issue to deal with, Leonard knew him in both lives. So why was this so weird?
At the fumbling over whose job it was, Leonard knew he was talking to Ray. He remain quiet at the pause, understanding what was going through Ray’s mind. However, Ray’s next sentence had Leonard giving him a withering look and a drawled, “Idiot.”
The next few questions were just so typically Ray, Leonard just looked away and lifted his bandaged hand. “Two broken fingers and a new scar to impress with.” He avoided the feeling question altogether. Leonard didn’t do those.
The conversation seemed to die an awkward death as both men had their own thoughts brewing away inside. Leonard wondered how long it would take before the room was filled with Ray’s… no, Theo’s family. Dylan… Wyatt, whatever he called himself this week, had a headstart on the others as he worked at the hospital. He wasn’t so bad. But Leonard felt like he should split from the place before the others got there with all their feelings and get well soons.
Laughing as he was called ‘idiot’, Ray shook his head slightly, “always a charmer, Leonard.”
Chewing on his lip as his fellow Legend explained his injuries, Ray couldn't keep the concern from flooding his dark eyes. Again he was grateful for the gloom, so Len couldn't call him a sap. As the other man fell silent, Ray could take a fairly well educated guess as to what was going through his mind. Theo had family who would no doubt be wanting to see their eldest.
“Don't even think about sneaking off.” He piped up, trying to sound intimidating but probably failing. The threat however did manage to filter through to Dylan however, as he mumbled in agreement.
“Nobody's going anywhere.” The younger doppelganger uncurled himself, stretching like a cat and yawning.
Leonard didn’t respond to being called a charmer. Just lay in silence gathering his thoughts, trying to figure out a plan on how to handle the situation. Would he be stuck as Luke forever? It wasn’t an overly bad life to be stuck with but it wasn’t Leonard’s. Plus there was that pesky saving creativity thing to deal with.
However, staying in the hospital was the best course of action for the moment but Leonard really didn’t want to deal with the Kents and various friends Theo had. He needed to go, plot, work out this dual life business. But then both the other men in the room spoke up and Leonard looked over with a soft glare.
He knew requesting a room change would be rebuffed too so there was no point arguing just lie back and wait out the inevitable. “Fine.” There was a tiny pout on his lips, feeling very put out by the situation. He shot Ray a look to say that they’ll need to chat later about their recent memory upgrades but Leonard wasn’t holding his breath for Ray to understand.